Copy Editing

Copy editing is a most important and time-consuming task. It
requires the editor’s close attention to a document’s every
detail, a thorough knowledge of what to look for and of the
style to be followed, and the ability to make quick,
logical, and defensible decisions in correcting for grammar,
punctuation, terminology, sentence structure, clarity,
conciseness, tone and voice, inconsistencies, and
typographical errors.

To begin with, editors are thoroughly familiar with
and comfortable applying the universally accepted editorial
and typographic marks and symbols—as described in the
Chicago Manual of Style and summarized under proofreader’s
marks in Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary—that are
commonly understood by compositors working in English.

The editorial function comprises two processes:
mechanical editing and substantive editing. Mechanical
editing involves a close reading, with an eye on consistency
of capitalization, spelling, and hyphenation; agreement of
verbs and subjects; scores of other matters of syntax;
punctuation; beginning and ending quotation marks and
parentheses; number of ellipsis points; numbers given either
as figures or as words; and hundreds of other, similar
details of grammatical and typographic style.

In addition to regularizing those details of style,
the copy editor is expected to catch infelicities of
expression that mar an author’s prose and impede
communication. Such matters include but are by no means
limited to dangling participles, misplaced modifiers, mixed
metaphors, unclear antecedents, unintentional redundancies,
faulty attempts at parallel construction, mistaken junction,
overuse of an author’s pet word or phrase, unintentional
repetition of words, race or gender or geographic bias, and
hyphenating in the predicate, unless, of course, the
hyphenated term is an entry in the dictionary and therefore
permanently hyphenated. Job seekers especially need to
attend to such details in their

executive résumé.

The second, nonmechanical, process—substantive
editing—involves rewriting, reorganizing, or suggesting
more-effective ways to present material.

o Experienced editors recognize, and do not tamper with, an
author’s unusual figures of speech or idiomatic usage.
o They preserve the author’s voice with a view toward the
faithful reproduction of the author’s manuscript.
o They silently correct inconsistencies, misusages, and
misspellings solely for the purpose of clarifying
the unclear.
o They know when to make an editorial change or simply
suggest it.
o They know when to delete a repetition or merely point it
out to the author or to job seekers on their executive
résumés.
o They respect an author’s right to expect conscientious,
intelligent editorial help.
o They never make queries that sound stupid, naive, or
pedantic or that seem to reflect upon an author’s
scholarly ability or powers of interpretation.
o And they handle untold and unsung other matters of
style and usage.

Adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style · * * * * * * * * *
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