Copy-editing & Proof-reading

Copy-editing

Copy-editing is the main type of editing novelists will encounter. It is the final editing process their writing undergoes once developmental editing is concluded. (There is another element called line-editing. It looks closely at your use of language and your writing style, its clarity and expressiveness, and your choice of words. It’s now more or less amalgamated with copy-editing, although it sometimes overlaps with developmental editing.)

Sensitivity readers are increasingly employed by publishers and an author might find their editor recommends one. The reader might read the novel during the developmental editing stage or later, depending on the publisher. If you’re publishing independently, it’s sensible to have it done prior to the copy-edit, in case significant changes are called for.

Sometimes people confuse copy-editing with proofreading (see below) and think copy-editing is only about spelling or punctuation or grammar. It is indeed about all those things, but much more; it’s about how you use words best to convey your story. For instance, a copy-editor will be looking out for:

• Repetition of words or phrases (except if deliberate, for effect);
• Use of adverbs instead of strong, evocative verbs;
• Use of a bland or everyday expression instead of a more creative term;
• Adherence to the same syntax pattern rather than varying sentence construction;
• Overlong sentences when you want to increase pace;
• Incorrect facts, anachronisms, and continuity errors;
• Use of different tenses (except where it’s varied deliberately to good effect);
• Confusion of viewpoint and the dreaded head-hopping, where points of view switch from one character to another within one scene;
• Inconsistency in use of the subjunctive;
• Inconsistency in general; including the formatting of dates, times and numbers.

Just as with developmental editors, copy-editors vary in their approach: some make visible changes wherever they see a need (using Word’s Track Changes or similar); others use comments to ask the writer to make revisions. But most copy-editors will employ both of these methods, meaning that inconsistencies and errors are weeded out while, for more significant revisions, the author has options to choose from or suggestions to inspire their own ideas. The best copy-editors strike a perfect balance between amending prose so that it is ‘correct’ and allowing the author’s own voice and style to shine through.

After this, consistency is their most important aim. This makes for ease of reading. Discrepancies or inconsistent styling, even if they’re not consciously noticed by the reader, tend to affect the reading experience and make it uncomfortable, reducing the book’s credibility. If the inconsistencies are spotted, then just as with typos, the reader is pulled right out of the story. So for example, copy-editors would look at whether the ending for irregular verbs in the past tense consistently either ‘-ed’ or ‘-t’ (e.g. learned or learnt, spoiled or spoilt)? Is the serial or Oxford comma (which comes before and after the last object in a list) used throughout – or not? Is while used consistently (recommended) rather than whilst? Are vocative commas used throughout as they should be? (These are the commas that should always be used in direct address before a character’s name, or before any word that’s used instead of a name such as dear or sir or Your Majesty. The classic example that explains why we need them is: ‘Let’s eat, Grandma.’ Remove the vocative comma and the meaning is entirely changed!) If italics are used for thoughts without speech tags in one chapter, is this applied throughout the book? Are inverted commas used unnecessarily? Are capital initials used erroneously for generic nouns instead of only for proper names?

To achieve this consistency, copy-editors should all have a style guide (either provided by the publisher, setting out its ‘house style’, or their own if they are working for an independent author) and should create a style sheet for each individual manuscript they work on. This style sheet not only enables them to keep track of decisions made and to implement them consistently but, importantly, it acts as a blueprint for the author for revisions to this novel and the next, as well as being crucial for the proofreader at the next stage in the editing process.

Proofreading

Proofreading is there as a safety net to pick up inconsistencies and errors – but only when the pages are ‘set’ or laid out ready for publication, in whatever form. If you have a traditional contract, you might not even be involved in this stage. If you’re publishing independently, proofreading is the last process your novel should undergo. But it’s not really editing – it’s double-checking that no errors remain or have crept in as the text has been changed, for example from a Word document to a pdf or epub. It can be disconcerting how many errors, which should have been picked up in copy-editing, scream for attention once the text is in a different format and laid out in its final form, with chapter headings, pagination, indentation, justification and so on. (NB: when you’re self-editing, printing the work out or reformatting it in a different font and type size can be a very big help in reading the work with fresh eyes.) Creating and applying these layout rules consistently are sometimes the copy-editor's remit but otherwise will be implemented and always checked again at proofing stage. This is where mistakes, such as Chapter Eight appearing twice, should be picked up! In advance of this, and to make the proofreader’s work easier, authors might find it helpful to get to grips with the styles facility in Word which helps when preparing novels and non-fiction alike.