copyediting- why, what and how

Leanne Slavin is a copyeditor at MUP, and came in for three sessions to discuss the copy editing role, what it entails and how you can go into it. She also gave us some great insight into the changing publishing landscape for editors in particular.

Copyediting is defined by the following roles:

• Checking basic spelling mistakes
• Checking grammar and continuity
• Checking for sentence formatting and re-editing appropriately
• Checking for coherence
• Checking references and style
• Checking that the text meets the house style guidelines (more in the 'commissioning editing' posts earlier in the blog)
• Checking reader understanding and general readability (these academics can be a bit wafflly)
• Checking facts and dates - although the author is primarily given this responsibility.

However, the editing process is not as simple as first assumed.  This is because a very tenuous relationship exists between editor and author, and this must be maintained carefully at all times. For this reason, the 'track changes' feature on Microsoft Word is a lifesaver. This gives the author the opportunity to see what has been changed, and also offers the editor the chance to 'flag up' any peculiar wording or incorrect facts before omitting it completely. This will be very useful on the copyediting test.

We also heard about the development of certain BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China. With the rise of educational budgets in developing countries, UK publishers can create a larger print run to reduce costs, and then export a majority of these books to schools abroad.

UPDATE: The copyediting test went really well, and I received a good grade. Although I like to edit work, I do not think I could choose this path as a career as I am a very fast reader, and I am not certain that I would be able to slow down spot small errors to the level expected.