Introduction
There are different types of editing: developmental, line, proofreading. Today we’re going to talk about copyediting. For the most part, copyediting is mechanical editing. A copyeditor's focus is on specific queries like “Is this the right spelling?” or “Will the readers understand this as the author meant for them to?” rather than global issues like story development or overall writing style.
Copyediting is a broad term, so it applies to all manners of copy including manuscripts, marketing copy, advertising copy, social media copy, etc.
An excellent copyeditor should improve the content without compromising the author's voice or message. It doesn’t matter how the editor prefers things to be written or what “feels right.” This is the author’s book, not the editor’s.
“Being an editor doesn’t make you a better writer—or vice versa. The worst thing any editor can do is be in competition with his writer.” —Joseph Kanon
Responsibilities of the Copyeditor
Let’s talk about some things that the copyeditor is responsible for:
Grammar
Spelling Mistakes
Punctuation Mistakes
Ambiguous sentence construction
Misused Terminology
Factual Errors
Deviation from the written material's main voice, tone, or style.
Fundamentally, a simple copyedit ought to achieve uniformity and adhere to an editorial style, which encompasses the following:
Acronyms and Abbreviations
Using bold and italicized text
How headers, lists, tables, charts, quotes, foreign language, footnotes, endnotes, and other elements are handled
Capitalization
Handling of digits and/or numbers
Keep the Reader in Mind
Copyeditors also look at the manuscript from a reader’s POV. Are there parts where you can’t tell who’s talking? Factually wrong elements that the author’s overlooked? Do you have experience with a subject, hobby, or location that the story got wrong? The copyeditor is there to point those things out in the margins, for the author to address.
Warm-Up
Grammar and spelling, syntax, punctuation, consistency, and other things that could otherwise go unnoticed are all checked during copyediting.
Take notice of the style requirements prior to beginning copyediting. A particular style guideline, such as the Chicago Manual of Style or the Associated Press Stylebook, is likely to be followed with working with nonfiction books. Style guidelines don't only come from manuals. While many publishers follow such styleguides, some have a “house style” that may contradict the Chicago Manual of Style, for instance. Therefore, the author will be beholden to the house style.
Look at this example below of a copyedit and an appropriate comment by A.E. Williams:
“Writing without revising is the literary equivalent of waltzing gaily out of the house in your underwear.” –Patricia Fuller
The Copyedit
Different Copyediting Types
According the Copyeditor’s Handbook by Amy Einsohn and Marilyn Schwartz, in a perfect world, decisions about the level of copyediting would solely be an assessment of the quality of the writing and the needs of the author. But unfortunately, there are financial considerations and deadline pressures we have to keep in mind as well, for example: “This manuscript would benefit from a heavier hand, but the author has many pressing commitments and won’t have the time or the money for a heavily edited manuscript, so let’s go for a light edit.”
So, depending on the budget and scheduling of the client, they chose between a light, medium, or heavy copyedit (also known as a line edit or content edit).
Table 1 from The Copyeditor's Handbook, 4th edition, p. 16
When You Need One
The editing process is a multi-step procedure that requires reading the same material many times, but from new perspectives each time.
Developmental editing is the initial phase of the editing process. Language isn’t really looked at much in the developmental editing stage. Rather, an editor concentrates on the text as a whole while they are carefully editing a draft. It addresses issues of voice, tone, and intended readership in addition to the general structure of a written work.
Copyediting should happen once a piece of work is well-organized, and the writer and developmental editor are satisfied with the overall structure and story idea of the book. Now that everything is clean, organized, and how you want it to be, the copyeditor can focus on the little mechanical issues.
Conclusion
It’s understandable that, as an author, you have a lot on your mind besides choosing a consistent style. In essence, the copyeditor takes over to relieve you of that burden. To help make your experience with a copyeditor a good one, view them as someone who is there to assist you rather than as someone who is meant to correct you and make you feel horrible about all the mistakes you made.
To guarantee that the final content is correct, clear, and professional, copyediting is an essential stage in the writing and publishing process. Both authors and editors can navigate this step more skillfully if they have a thorough understanding of the responsibilities, types, and talents involved in copyediting.
Hopefully this article cleared up any questions or confusions regarding copyediting. If not, and you’re still left wondering about anything regrading this blog post or copyediting in general, feel free to shoot us an email or leave a comment below!
Resources
The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction by Amy J. Schneider – “Although The Chicago Manual of Style is widely used by writers and editors of all stripes, it is primarily concerned with nonfiction, a fact long lamented by the fiction community. In this long-awaited book from the publisher of the Manual, Amy J. Schneider, a veteran copyeditor who’s worked on bestsellers across a wide swath of genres, delivers a companionable editing guide geared specifically toward fiction copyeditors—the first book of its type.”
The Chicago Manuel of Style – Published continually by the University of Chicago Press since 1906, the Chicago Manual of Style is a reference to American English style and use. It is regarded as the industry standard for US style in book publication and is still extensively used in many academic fields today.
Reedsy – Or other YouTube channels that discusses editing. “Reedsy was founded in the summer of 2014 by Emmanuel Nataf, Ricardo Fayet, Vincent Durand and Matt Cobb. Since then, we've proudly built a community of over 1 million authors and 3,700 freelance professionals — helping them bring more than 15,000 books to market each year.”
From the Editor's Desk – Our Medium publication, From the Editor's Desk, is where we give firsthand experiences of Book Editors from A.E. Williams Editorial and discuss the book publishing industry.
Our Blog – Where we have numerous articles giving resources writers to help them with their craft.
Skye Crump is a Junior Editor at A.E. Williams Editorial, a provider of editorial services for indie authors and publishing houses (including a Big 5 publisher). She can be found on LinkedIn and her personal website.
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