Copyediting: Don’t Let Your Manuscript Leave Home Without It

This post is the second in a series about different editorial services. You can also read about developmental editing, proofreading, and the manuscript evaluation.

In the post, “Am I ready for an editor?” I pointed out that editing is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Different types of editing have specific goals. In my post about the developmental edit, we talked about the big picture. Today we’re talking about the next step: the (line and) copyedit.

A brief note on names

Editors, like many an other industry, use specialized terms to describe their work. Ironically—for a profession whose primary watchword is “consistency”—editors don’t necessarily use the same words for the same types of work. Fun, huh?!

There are all kinds of idiosyncratic and historical reasons for this. However, as this post isn’t a history lesson or a deep dive into editorial nerdery, what I want you to know is the following.

“Copyediting” is historically the most common umbrella term for this type of work. I also frequently use the term “copy-line,” as a way to describe both the “line” and “copyediting” aspects of the work. In my experience editing books, it’s difficult to separate the two, and most indie authors don’t go in for two separate rounds of review, often because of money.

So if you hear about a type of editing that’s working on the line level (rather than big picture), odds are you’re hearing about a kind of copyediting.

What is a (line and) copyedit?

When most people talk about “editing,” copyediting is what they have in mind (sometimes they’re thinking about proofreading—see the difference here). In many ways, this type of editing calls back to the markups we got from our English teacher in school. I’ve had many prospective clients joke with me about the “red pen.”

Where development is the 30,000-foot view, copyediting is what the landscape looks like from the road, while you’re driving on it. This is where you can fine-tune all those suggestions from the developmental edit in a practical way.

Traditionally, the “copy” in “copyediting” focuses on consistency. Copyediting focuses on details you often don’t think about unless they’re out of place or haven’t been checked, such as weird capitalization, repetitive words, and specialized terms or names.

Whole books have been written about writing choices (ahem, Chicago Manual of Style!) and copyediting is interested in all of these.

Typical details brought up in a copyedit include:

• Repetition
• Word choice
• Clarity
• Consistent terminology/details
• Transitional elements
• Style and formatting of every element you could possibly imagine, such as headers and captions
• All those writing tics you may not have realized you had (how embarrassing!)

As I mentioned in my first post about developmental editing, many writers love this part. The specificity can be incredibly satisfying and relaxing, especially in comparison to developmental editing notes.

For other writers, this review can drive them nuts. Ever heard of the phrase “the Devil is in the details”? That’s the copyedit.

What happens in a copyedit

As with the developmental edit, your editor is going to read the full manuscript. Since the copyedit is where we tie all the strings together—notes you have left to yourself such as “refer to chapter X” and “remember to callback to Y detail”—you want to make sure your work is as complete as possible.

Depending on your genre, we may ask you for additional notes. Nonfiction may have a list of terminology and facts about references; fiction a character and place list.

Your editor will confirm which style guide they are using. Typically, in non-academic book publishing, the Chicago Manual of Style will apply, unless you or your editor decide otherwise.

Your editor then goes into a deep dive, and starts making a lot of notes about word usage. We’re going through your mms line by line. Every word should be there for a reason. We’ll create a reference sheet on anything that’s different from the style guide, or extra.

Once again, you’ll receive a completely marked up manuscript, and generally a cover letter as well as the style sheet. I always want to speak with my authors after the copyedit.

Are you ready for a copyedit?

Make sure that you’ve done developmental work first. If you haven’t, you should not be messing around in a copyedit. Full stop.

If you are still playing with narrative structure, or if your manuscript is incomplete, you are not ready. This is because a copyedit needs the whole manuscript to be able to see and impose consistency.

When you want to make sure the paragraphs, sentences, and style choices play nice together, you are ready for a copyedit. When you are happy with the overall flow of the manuscript and are not planning on moving any big chunks around, you are ready.

The bottom line

A copyedit is one of the most important things you can do for your manuscript, no matter your genre or style. You might have made some big changes following the developmental edit, and the copyedit makes sure your manuscript is in good shape.

Usually, you will have the choice to accept or reject changes. Be cautious about rejecting them. Be sure you know why. Always explain your decision to your editor.

A good copyedit can make the difference between a work whose impact is “ho-hum” and a text that sizzles. Let’s get you sizzlin’!

CC image Light Reading courtesy of Martin on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

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