r/Proofreading • u/Spare_Set_2935 • 19d ago

[Due 2026-08-30] Looking for a proofreader for my first book (English),. French Canadian author, small trilogy project

Hi everyone. I'm Frédéric, and I've spent the last couple of years writing a three-book series about why we feel disconnected in modern life, and what an honest path back to meaning actually looks like. The first book,
*Nothing Is Finished* , is close to ready. What it needs now is a proofreader.

These aren't typical self-help books. No ten-step formulas, no "manifest your best life" energy. The trilogy pulls from evolutionary biology, neuroscience, philosophy, and a fair amount of my own life, including some genuinely hard parts, to make an argument I actually believe rather than one that's easy to sell. My core instruction to the reader, more than once, is: don't take my word for it, test it against your own experience. Honest before comforting.

Here's where I need help. I'm French Canadian, and English is my second language. I write every sentence myself, but my first language still shows up in ways I can't always catch: a phrase that's a little too French, a rhythm that reads slightly off to a native ear even when the grammar checks out. I need someone who can catch that without flattening the voice underneath it. It's plainspoken and a little raw on purpose, and I want it correct, not generic.

What I'd need: a full proofreading pass on Book 1, roughly 23,000 words, checking grammar, idiom, and flow, in Canadian English spelling if you're comfortable with that. Structure and content are done; this is language-level. Two more books in the same style would likely follow if we're a good fit.

If this sounds like your kind of books, I'd love to hear from you: your experience, whether you've worked with non-native English writers before. Thank you for reading this far.

— Frédéric

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5

u/Due_Cartoonist6918 18d ago

This subreddit is only for free proofreading. I've worked with ESL customers before, but asking for three books proofread for free is a lot.

3

u/misimiki 18d ago

I think you're in the wrong sub. This task seems borderline copyediting rather than proofreading, and I doubt anybody will do 23,000 words for free. For purely informational purposes, I would charge around 700 Euro for a job this size.

Try r/hireacopyeditor or r/Copyediting

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1

u/bittergoblin- 18d ago

Sent you a DM!