I’m just the opposite with regard to my preference for work: Most of the time, I’d rather proofread than write content for clients. Of course, if I’m proofing my clients’ work, it helps if they have a basic notion about what they’re trying to say; that way, if I go back to them with a question about what they meant to say, I don’t get a shrug, a blank stare and a mumbled, “Gee, I dunno… what do you think it means?”

Some other proofreaders I know swear by reading copy backward to catch errors; that just sends me running for the Tylenol! I generally start by scanning for glaring spelling errors; spacing glitches usually leap out at me, too.

Then, like you, I read aloud (often running a finger beneath each line of text as I go), making sure I read every word. Of course, the dog thinks I’m insane, but I’ve come to expect that.

Then, when I’ve finished, I go through it again, especially if it’s a particularly complex piece.