Info-Authority: Manuscript Editing

Manuscript editing, often simply called copyediting, is the practice of thoroughly reviewing a completed piece of writing for errors in grammar, spelling, style, or factual assertions, usually in order for the piece to be published professionally. The errors are then corrected. If ambiguous, they are pointed out to the author to receive his or her input. Copyediting is an essential step in the publication of any manuscript, whether it be a newspaper article, magazine column, or a novel from a publishing house.

Copyediting a Manuscript

Copyediting is distinguished from proofreading in that the latter tends to be more oriented toward punctuation and technical issues, while copyediting may also encompass missteps in tone or clarity. Copyediting is further distinct in that it is concerned with maintaining a specific house style. The house style is the set of rules and conventions practiced by the publisher to whom the copy has been submitted, which covers all issues in formatting, from the precise amount of space allotted for margins and headers, to the approved version of regional or variant spellings (for example, “color” versus “colour”, or “judgment” versus “judgement”), to the usage of numbers and measurements (“94 ft.” versus “ninety-four feet”). An important aspect of the copyeditor's task is to enforce consistency on these matters throughout the length of the manuscript. In cases where no specific house rule exists, consistency must still be maintained, and so most copyeditors make use of a style sheet, in which they list the conventions the author seems to prefer and check occurrences of certain terms to ensure they do not deviate.

Fact Checking Technical Texts

In technical texts, such as those written on scientific or historical subjects, copyeditors are usually not expected to act as extensive fact checkers, but will be required to check the spelling and usage of technical terms and proper names. They are also expected to keep an eye out for false assertions that are clearly the result of general sloppiness, such as obvious typographical errors. For this reason, copyeditors must possess a broad range of general knowledge, in addition to a solid facility with the language.

Approaches to Copyediting

Copyediting is usually termed to be light, medium, or heavy, depending on how much latitude the copyeditor is allowed in manipulating the original text.

Light copyediting entails correcting grammatical errors without being overly concerned with the flow of words

Medium and heavy copyediting increasingly involve the rewriting of certain passages that seem to express themselves poorly

The chief concern of the copyeditor is to interfere with the author's tone as little as possible, while still producing a clearly worded and technically correct manuscript. Copyeditors must consistently resist the urge to over-edit by imposing personal word choices and stylistic preferences on a piece simply because the author has not written it as the copyeditor would have.

Copyediting and Technology

Manuscript editing has evolved to make use of new technologies. Previously, copyediting was done on paper using a variety of established proofreading symbols. However, with word processors now in standard use, most copyedits are performed on-screen, with changes being made directly to the text of a document.

By Matthew Ingalls




	Manuscript Editing Manuscript editing, often simply called copyediting, is the practice of thoroughly reviewing a completed piece of writing for errors in grammar, spelling, style, or factual assertions, usually in order for the piece to be published professionally. The errors are then corrected. If ambiguous, they are pointed out to the author to receive his or her input. Copyediting is an essential step in the publication of any manuscript, whether it be a newspaper article, magazine column, or a novel from a publishing house. Copyediting a Manuscript Copyediting is distinguished from proofreading in that the latter tends to be more oriented toward punctuation and technical issues, while copyediting may also encompass missteps in tone or clarity. Copyediting is further distinct in that it is concerned with maintaining a specific house style. The house style is the set of rules and conventions practiced by the publisher to whom the copy has been submitted, which covers all issues in formatting, from the precise amount of space allotted for margins and headers, to the approved version of regional or variant spellings (for example, “color” versus “colour”, or “judgment” versus “judgement”), to the usage of numbers and measurements (“94 ft.” versus “ninety-four feet”). An important aspect of the copyeditor's task is to enforce consistency on these matters throughout the length of the manuscript. In cases where no specific house rule exists, consistency must still be maintained, and so most copyeditors make use of a style sheet, in which they list the conventions the author seems to prefer and check occurrences of certain terms to ensure they do not deviate. Fact Checking Technical Texts In technical texts, such as those written on scientific or historical subjects, copyeditors are usually not expected to act as extensive fact checkers, but will be required to check the spelling and usage of technical terms and proper names. They are also expected to keep an eye out for false assertions that are clearly the result of general sloppiness, such as obvious typographical errors. For this reason, copyeditors must possess a broad range of general knowledge, in addition to a solid facility with the language. Approaches to Copyediting Copyediting is usually termed to be light, medium, or heavy, depending on how much latitude the copyeditor is allowed in manipulating the original text. Light copyediting entails correcting grammatical errors without being overly concerned with the flow of words Medium and heavy copyediting increasingly involve the rewriting of certain passages that seem to express themselves poorly The chief concern of the copyeditor is to interfere with the author's tone as little as possible, while still producing a clearly worded and technically correct manuscript. Copyeditors must consistently resist the urge to over-edit by imposing personal word choices and stylistic preferences on a piece simply because the author has not written it as the copyeditor would have. Copyediting and Technology Manuscript editing has evolved to make use of new technologies. Previously, copyediting was done on paper using a variety of established proofreading symbols. However, with word processors now in standard use, most copyedits are performed on-screen, with changes being made directly to the text of a document. By Matthew Ingalls Related Links: Wikipedia - Copy Editing Wikipedia article on copy editing.