Listed below are details of what a copy-editor undertakes for a publisher or client. This information is taken from the Society for Editors & Proofreaders' website. I have not listed everything that they have detailed on their site, as some of the information relates to in-house copy-editors - I am freelance. I do not use any type of codes or symbols when copy-editing. I undertake all work on-screen using Microsoft Word's Track Changes feature. Please note that I have no experience of working with type setters. Also, I do not copy-edit references.
What is copy-editing?
A copy-editor makes sure that an author's raw text, or copy, is correct in terms of spelling and grammar and is easy to read so that readers can grasp his or her ideas.
What does a copy-editor do?
Professional copy-editors correct errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, style, and usage. However, copy-editing is not just about dotting Is and crossing Ts. Editors also tackle the following:
Common mistakes – which an experienced copy-editor will be able to deal with efficiently – include:
What does a copy-editor not do?
What is copy-editing?
A copy-editor makes sure that an author's raw text, or copy, is correct in terms of spelling and grammar and is easy to read so that readers can grasp his or her ideas.
What does a copy-editor do?
Professional copy-editors correct errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, style, and usage. However, copy-editing is not just about dotting Is and crossing Ts. Editors also tackle the following:
- Suitability of text for intended audience Has the language been pitched at the right level? Do any terms or abbreviations need explanation?
- Content and structure Is anything missing or redundant? Is the order logical? Headings break up text and make it more readable: are there enough of them? If there are more than four levels of sub-headings, the structure probably needs to be rethought. Are footnotes essential? Could 'supporting material' go into an appendix? Is a bibliography necessary?
- Sentence and paragraph length This is dependent on the readership, the type of copy, and how the copy is going to be read (e.g. in a book or on a computer screen). In general, however, sentences should be kept short or at least uncomplicated, and new paragraphs should introduce new ideas and help break up a page.
- Consistency A list of decisions about alternative spellings and hyphenation has to be kept. Illustrations and tables should agree with the text and captions, as should chapter headings and running heads with the table of contents.
Common mistakes – which an experienced copy-editor will be able to deal with efficiently – include:
- Style George Orwell's six rules for authors – contained in his Politics and the English Language (1946) – are a good starting point:
- Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech that you are used to seeing in print.
- Never use a long word where a short one will do.
- If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
- Never use the passive where you can use the active.
- Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
- Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
- – the overuse of exclamation marks and emphasis, in italic, bold or capitals.
- – very long sentences with little punctuation.
- – very long paragraphs.
- – changing between the first and the third person for no good reason.
- Accuracy All spellings of names of people and things should be checked.
What does a copy-editor not do?
- Rewriting and restructuring text in depth – often known as developmental or substantive editing.
- Ghost writing
- Proofreading, which has a different purpose.
- Text or cover design
- Indexing
- Research, beyond basic fact-checking.