A copy edit is the final type of edit you may need while your story is in manuscript form, and considers the mechanics of the prose itself—grammar, spelling, punctuation, hyphenation, etc.—as well as ensuring consistency in everything from character and place, descriptions and plot, word usage and much more. A good copyedit will also include fact-checking of things like trademarks, historical details, dates, settings, etc.
If you’re planning to self-publish, copyediting is essential; nothing makes a book seem less professional (or risks alienating readers) as much as sloppy grammar, spelling, and factual mistakes. If you’re seeking representation or submitting to publishers, a copy edit is likely unnecessary (unless you know you have exceptionally poor linguistic skills…in which case, as a writer it’s time to polish those most essential tools in your toolbox!).
Make sure your copy editor knows and uses the industry standard style and reference books (the most recent editions of the Chicago Manual of Style and Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, not MLA or AP).
Proofread
Back in the day of printed galleys typeset from the author’s original manuscript pages, a proofreader compared the former against the latter word by word to ensure complete accuracy in the final published pages.
In today’s digital environment, “proofreading” is most often used to refer to the final check of a manuscript’s formatted file prior to publication to make sure there are no dropped or garbled sections of text, that all running heads and folios (page numbers) are in place and printed correctly, that chapters are numbered and titled properly, and that the formatting is otherwise clean and consistent.
Knowing What You Need—and Who Can Provide It
The author looking for an editor in the above-mentioned Facebook post replied to the query about what type of edit she needed ,that she was looking for a copy edit with some developmental edit notes too—two very different skills an editor may not be equally expert in.
Each type of edit is a specialized skill, and not all types of edit—and editors—are created equal. It’s vital that you know what you need at what stage of your writing process, and who is qualified to provide it, a topic next month’s post in the series will examine more closely.
Leave a Comment