I never sent my texts out for proofreading. I mean, to a professional proofreader.
In theory, proofreading should come right after editing. Any prepress service (we're talking about self-publishing here) offers paid editing, proofreading, and typesetting. And there's no shortage of independent specialists either. I've already written about editing and typesetting, so it's only fair I tell you about my experience with proofreading too.
Everyone knows the truth about their own spelling and grammar. There are people who never quite grasped Russian grammar rules in school, and there are, say, people with dyslexia. No problem, as they say. In either case, I'd of course recommend turning to a professional. It's like me and English. I can chat freely with Australian friends at a bar, but I wouldn't dare translate my own book into English myself. There are too many nuances I don't know that matter for translation. I hope in a couple of years I'll be able to do it myself. But for now it's one of my dreams — to learn English well enough to write books in it.
Anyway :))) That covers people who struggle with spelling and grammar.
But my own grasp of it is pretty solid. Not perfect, I'd say, but at a decent level. So after shelling out a substantial sum on editing and other services for the first book, I got stingy, honestly, when it came to proofreading. I paid for a service (it was much cheaper than a proofreader), put my brain to work, and got on with it. I went through the text twice. Done.
If your goal is to land a publishing deal, then once your manuscript gets a 'Yes!' (usually after countless attempts), professionals will be waiting for you there. Editing polished to a shine, proofreading polished to a shine, typesetting, covers, blurbs, all of it. So, in my humble opinion, it's worth investing wisely in prepress work.
You do need to prepare your manuscript before sending it to a publisher. And editing, proofreading, typesetting can all be done, for instance, on a service like EditRoast.com, without spending a fortune. A lot of writers put their manuscripts in a drawer, waiting for better times while they save up for editing. Why wait, when $79 is an affordable price for any writer on EditRoast.com?
You'll save money, nerves, and the time you'd otherwise spend waiting in line for independent specialists. Your manuscript will look presentable and clean, and editors will be glad to take it on. Nobody wants to deal with rough, unpolished material, believe me. Publishers get hundreds of manuscripts a day. What if yours is the one they're waiting for today?
So why does proofreading matter? When it's there, nobody notices it. But they will absolutely notice when it's missing.
Do you really need that?