Throughout my travels in the writing world, I have found that many people think they can edit another writer’s work easily. They imagine they can look it over but once and give it back to them super-polished and ready for publication somewhere.
Unfortunately, copy editing is never that easy. If ever you are in a position to lend your work to a copy editor who thinks they can simply give it a quick gaze, take your copy back and move on. Choose someone else. Send it to me.
It takes time–some quicker than others–to successfully edit copy, especially digital copy (I find). Maybe I am old school, but having an actual paper in your hand, red pen in the other, staring down a several, thousand-word document makes me far more confident than gazing at a computer screen. By having a decent understanding of language, reading aloud, knowing your audience, and revising your editing skills should improve quickly.
Study the English Language
Now, not everyone is a master of the English language. Even the most tenured editors misspell a word or use a collective noun wrongly. However, if you wish to amp up your editing skills, and equally as important–if you want people to trust your editing–than you should know enough about the English language to, let’s say, edit an essay or business copy from your supervisor with relative ease.
To do this you should have a dictionary by your side at all times. These days editors rarely use actual physical dictionaries. You can find quite many of them online. Even by Googling the word, you will get numerous synonyms and definitions of the word.
However, copy editing is much more than choosing a different word to tell the story or to get a point across. You have to know how to craft that sentence to rid out the fluff and keep only the words that are there to make sense. Too many times, writers like to hear themselves speak (in their own minds) and they ramble when they should have gotten to their point a few dozens of words prior. That’s okay. We all have been there.
But as the copy editor, you need to quickly identify which words are filler and which are vital. Knowing what to look for is key. If you are in the copy editor position than you must have a decent working knowledge of grammar and syntax to some degree. Knowing subject-verb agreement and run-on sentences are a few things that you could typically face. Also, peruse the dictionary and thesaurus for the fun of it. You would be surprised at how many new words you would learn.
Something else you might enjoy is taking a class at your local community college. The classes there are normally far cheaper than universities and they deliver the same education. Another option could be to find classes online. Or just learn from the various grammar websites out there. However, whichever option you decide to choose, I suggest you write notes down as you are learning. You would be silly to think you can learn anything just by hearing it once or twice. Most people are not audible learners (I’m certainly not). Most are visual and tactile (hand on) learners.
Read Copy Aloud
If you are like me and millions of others who use Microsoft Word to write your copy, then I suggest you take advantage of the Read Aloud section in the review tab across your banner. This little technique is an absolute Godsend for any proofreader or copy editor. I have edited countless amounts of copy and fiction manuscripts this way. I rarely, if ever, edit without using this.
Too many times have we began to edit and found ourselves drifting away in our private thoughts only to return our attention to the copy and see that we have skimmed too much and have to start over. This happens way too much and is a total waste of time. Once you have finished writing or you are sent copy to edit, open the Read Aloud and listen to the computer man or woman read it to you. I absolutely guarantee you will find just as many errors as you would with a spell check–probably more–in double the time.
Direct the Copy to the Audience
Copy editing is in various forms of the media (newspapers and digital platforms) and business firms (insurance underwriters and technical writers) and many more professions. Note: a copy editor judges a piece of work from a somewhat unjudgemental perspective. What I mean is, it most likely will not be a copy editor who critiques a fiction manuscript. Although, there are exceptions. If a literary agency or publishing house operates as such, then their version of a copy editor likely will be responsible for line developing, plot, and character arcs.
Most times, a copy editor will be involved in reviews of non-fiction. Because of this, the audience becomes an even more paramount part of the copy-editing experience. Why? Because there is no area for fault. Fiction is so broad, it could likely incorporate readers who might have started out not enjoying the book but begin to devour it by the fifth chapter.
A typical audience of a copy editor will desire his or her copy straightforward. No fluff and right to the point. Therefore, a copy editor must be aware to remove sentences that bring with it elements you might see in fiction prose. I have seen many articles begin with irrelevant paragraphs of the weather or descriptions of settings. Filler such as this must see the trash can.
Re-read Copy
Something I like to do when I write an article is break everything down by bullet points.
After you are confident that what you have makes sense and you think people will read it with ease, break it down by topic in either a numbered or bulleted list. Go to each sentence and make a bullet point until the entire piece of copy is bulleted. This might give you a jarring feeling, but it is for the better and easily fixable if you mess up (just hit the undo button).
Next, you should use the READ ALOUD option again or read it yourself–but do it aloud. When you see and hear each sentence as singular you will reflect in the copy in a different way. It could allow you to see misplaced sentences and sometimes that even entire paragraphs were wrong. A sentence you had written for the conclusion might make more sense at the beginning.
In the End
If you take my advice, editing copy shouldn’t be that difficult. As long as you know the topic and have a good working knowledge of grammar, you will be in good shape. For serious copy editors and journalists who wish to hone their skills, you can review the Poynter website.
I earned my copy editing certificate there myself and it has been invaluable to me. Check out some of my other articles on the subject. And be sure to check out my service page if you are in need of any editing for your work.
~M