lishmcbride
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Lish, what so copy edits look like?
🕑 Added 2020-10-09 23:58:19 +0000 UTCSo, at one point I promised to show you a bit of what copy edits look like. They look a bit like this, though sometimes there are more notes. I sort of miss the days when you'd get the huge paper stack with notes, but I understand why they went digital. But basically a copy editor does the fiddly bits--this means they check my grammar, yes. (I especially like to use commas for things that you don't use commas for. Random commas!) They also check for repetitive word use as well as continuity issues and they fact check. A good copy editor is worth their weight in pirate treasure.
I will then go through their notes and adjust. Sometimes it's a quick fix, sometimes it's something that takes more thought, and sometimes I disagree and want to keep it as is--which is always my prerogative. (Which means I have to write STET on what I want to keep as is.) I've had amazing copy editors and honestly I rarely STET. (Except for one time when I had a copy editor that didn't share my sense of humor. That was a mess.) I'm grateful to all of mine that keep me from looking like a total mutton-head.
Sometimes I'm right, and I STET--like the time a copy editor tried to tell me that huckleberries can't be red. (They totally can in the PNW, by the way.) I will be honest, though, eighty percent of the time, I'm wrong. So wrong. Especially when it comes to commas. So I now have 340 pages of these to go through by the 20th. *throws confetti*
I love hitting this stage though because it means we're almost done!
-Lish
Comments
Nice! It's great that you are surrounded by so many people good at catching things. Thanks for the info!
I don't know who assigns the copy editors at a publishing house, and I'm not sure if they're in house (some of them must be) or freelance. I've never requested one specifically, but I'd happily work with my current copy editor again. She's made some really good catches and excellent corrections. It's made it much easier on me. I have worked with free lance copy editors before. Mel copy edits my stories on here out of the goodness of her heart and she's a copy editor. (I think she was just super tired of reading all of my typos and tense shifts. Thanks, Mel!) My friend Andy is also a copy editor and teaches it at a local college and has copy edited drafts for me before. She did a copy edit of Curses for me before we sent it out to publishers when we sold it.
I love this so much! And it's great that you've had so many good copyeditor experiences. (I'm a copyeditor and of the one-word ilk.) And commas are difficult, which is a very good reason to employ a copyeditor. Do you know if your are freelance, or work for your publisher? Do you get request a specific copyeditor?
