Proofreading and pesky punctuation

Not all super heroes wear capes. Proofreaders are a case in point.

I don't think I am the worlds biggest punctuation felon or grammar fiend but the shear scale of the errors and issues found by my proofreader for the latest novel was astounding. There is no way I would have the patience or stuborness to correct every missing comma or incorrect speech mark in 70k+ words. I would be pulling my hair out.

Yet the correct and polished manuscript that came back to me last week was such an improvement on the raw version I sent for proofreading that I cannot help but have the upmost admiration of the art. Granted, I did have to manually approve every one of the suggested changes but that was a small price to pay.

It got me wondering just how perfect and polished I need to get my initial draft before sending it to be proofread. I have reread both of my books a few times each, fixing and amending as I went, before sending to the proofreader, should I be doing that or should it be more of a collabioration?

Perhaps thats (yet another) advantage of being with a publisher, I would get that help and advise from them, developing and perfecting the raw words as well as the story, as a team. But I can see the downside to that approach as well. With a commercial interest in the story, I am sure publishers are pretty insistent on certain "suggestions" being acted upon. How would I react to that kind of scrutiny and imposition on what has been, until now, a solo effort that I am 100% in control of. I would hope the collaboration would lead to a better end product, and to a more successful commercial outcome. Would that be enough for me to keep my mouth shut and toe the line?

I guess time will tell. If I ever get a publisher I'm sure I will find out!