Everything You Need to Know About Copy-Editing
Copy-Editing vs Proofreading, the question comes up often; and from the outside it is understandable why the two are so often confused. A Copy Editor takes a deeper look into the text and is more focused on fixing the issue while the Proofreader is focusing on anything glaring that might have slipped through.
I saw it described once like this: when you’re Copy-Editing, you’re in the blacksmithy and hammering out the blade, you’re sharpening it and honing the story to a fine tip. When you’re proofreading, you’re examining the hilt for imperfections, checking the blades edge.
If you didn’t know the difference between Copy-Editing and proofreading, your understanding might be incomplete. In which case, this is the post for you.
Another common thought that comes up is: should I hire a Copy Editor for my book? On the surface, it’s common for clients to look at what a Copy Editor does and believe they can save a few bucks by using a free tool like Grammarly or by hiring someone cheap on Fiverr. I can’t stress this point enough, it’s far too common that new authors take this route and don’t even realize all the mistakes that have gone untouched.
An average copy editor will look for:
Grammar and spelling errors.
Correct punctuation usage.
Common mistakes like double words, double spacing, erroneous capitalization.
A good copy editor will look for:
Verb tense errors. Ensuring that if your story is first-person present, your verbs will match it accordingly.
Incorrect pronoun usage.
Numbers, dates, and other easy-to-identify consistency issues.
Continuity errors related to plot details, character descriptions, world-building elements, etc.
A bad copy editor might:
Only highlight the most basic issues.
Ignore language based context (Canadian-English vs United States-English).
Ignore or misinterpret comma splice issues.
Now that you have a good grasp on Copy-Editing, consider checking out our Editing Types post, where we go over the 5 Steps of Editing under a simplified framework.