Targets in English
Whether at a publishing house or a news organization, professional publishing involves a systematic editing process that typically sends copy through three editing stages:
-
Substantive editing
-
Copyediting
-
Proofreading
Substantive Editing
The focus of substantive editing is the quality of the report, article, or text at hand. Here, substantial changes can—and if needed, should—be made. This is the last chance to make large changes.
In some cases, copy that needs too many large changes might be sent back to the writer for revisions, before a first read is carried out.
After a first read, the article may be returned to the writer to check that edits did not cause mistakes in information or other problems.
Copyediting
In the copyediting stage, the copy is cleaned up and prepared for publication, the editor making sure it adheres to general style and word usage rules specified by style guides.
Copyeditors check spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, special treatment of words, and other issues. The copyeditor might also recast sentences to clean up grammar issues.
Word usage is another focus here, especially in writing for formal purposes. Thoughtful analysis of word usage has been explored in books such as Miss Tistlebottom's Hobgoblins; Lapsing into a Comma; If You Catch an Adjective, Kill It; and Yes, I Could Care Less.*
In the copyediting stage, substantial changes are avoided so that new mistakes are not introduced. When larger edits are made, it is wise to re-check those sections or the entire document again. Material might also be returned to the substantive editor for further work.
Tools
-
Fully proficient with the Chicago Manual of Style and the AP Stylebook; experience also with APA.
-
Fully proficient with Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.
-
Experience with multiple content management systems
Proofreading
Proofreading is at once the easiest and the most difficult stage of editing. It seems like a task that requires little brain power, but maintaining the concentration needed to catch each and every embarrassing mispelling (e.g., the previous word is missing an S) is one that never ends.
For proofreading, editors use various methods and tricks depending on the materials. For instance, many editors prefer marking a printed copy for a more-thorough edit, even for copy created for online use.
For some materials, the proofreading stage should be a process in itself. For instance, in proofing a book, an editor might plan separate reads for folios, front and back matter, charts and captions, the index, etc.
Importantly, proofreading should include all materials involved in the project and on the page, including images, charts, diagrams captions, page numbers in indexes, etc.
Theory Versus Reality
All of the above is helpful if you're a news organization or a publishing house. Today, though, individuals, businesses, and organizations of all sorts are publishing or posting materials online, often without the same need for perfection.
But most people and organizations can benefit from emulating this stage-by-stage process on an ad hoc basis depending on the goals—and of course the budgets—involved.
Whether you're working with marketing materials, newsletters, blog posts, or America's next great novel, quality editing makes the product its best.
Notes:
* The books:
-
Bernstein, Theodore Menline. Miss Thistlebottom's hobgoblins: the careful writer's guide to the taboos, bugbears, and outmoded rules of English usage. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1971.
-
Walsh, Bill. Lapsing Into a Comma: A Curmudgeon's Guide to the Many Things That Can Go Wrong in Print--And How to Avoid Them. United States: McGraw-Hill Education, 2000.
-
Yagoda, Ben. When You Catch an Adjective, Kill it: The Parts of Speech for Better And/or Worse. United States: Broadway Books, 2007.
-
Walsh, Bill. Yes, I Could Care Less: How to Be a Language Snob Without Being a Jerk. United States: St. Martin's Publishing Group, 2013.