People often say …
“Write drunk; edit sober.” I don’t love the saying because it leaves out copy editors. Yes, you should write without inhibition. Yes, you should then edit very seriously. But after that, you should ask for your work to be copyedited.
Photo by Carlotta Luke
Copy editors take what you have written (and edited!) and, with a trained eye, make sure it is grammatical, structurally sound, and well organized.
I fully respect your text. I will not change your research, your ideas, or the arc of your narrative. Instead, I give you ideas for how what you’ve written can be best presented—to follow the metaphor, I will put your drink, whether whiskey or water, in the best glass for it.
My services
For reasons that are known to no one, I love combing through texts with an eye for picky details: the hyphen that should be an en dash, the grammatically inconsistent list, the unclear citation, or the table label that doesn’t comply with your publisher’s style.
But copyediting should also consider audience. I will work with you, the author, to find the best way to present material to make it coherent to your reader.
I believe that copyediting is a collaborative effort and use Microsoft Word’s Track Changes so that you may review and approve (or reject) any changes I propose.
Beyond the blue pen
Musings from a copy editor’s desk.
