What Our Research, Verification, and Proofreading Process is Like

At Raconteur, we take the practice of writing keepsake life story books very seriously, knowing our books will serve as invaluable records for families today and generations down the line. Keeping this importance at the forefront of our minds, we strive to produce perfectly accurate books.

To make that happen, a lot of research goes into every project. We attempt to verify every proper noun spelling (such as the names of people, towns, businesses, and more), reference to historical events, distance between locations to ensure travel narratives weren’t misremembered, and more. Additionally, a major portion of the research process is in the area of genealogy, because we endeavor to verify every date of birth, date of death, time of immigration, years of graduation, years of marriages, and more.  

Once the research and verification phase is complete, we move forward with proofreading. First, the writer of the work self-proofreads the manuscript twice. This is followed by a thorough proofread by the chief editor. The project manager then proofreads, as does another editor. Later, once the book is designed, it undergoes three more rounds of proofreading, during which time we not only read the work, but also follow a specific checklist of focused micro proofreads, such as an extra round of just reviewing all headers or photo captions, or just verifying every date in the timelines and pedigrees align with the text. 

As you can see, we invest a lot of time in research, verification, and proofreading. Our aim is to produce factual, beautiful heirlooms our subjects are proud to give to their families.