Copyediting Questions?
Published by Deanna Hoak January 22nd, 2006 in blogI know that a lot of you come here for the copyediting posts, and I’m sure you’re probably growing tired of me blathering on about my kiddos all the time. :-) Truthfully, though, it doesn’t seem to me as though there’s all that much to say about copyediting: Although every project is unique, I can’t go into the particulars of each project because my job, essentially, is to catch mistakes, and going into much detail about specific mistakes that authors make would just be unprofessional.
However, maybe I’m just too immersed in the job to see what people might find interesting. (I’ve been surprised at the popularity of the copyediting posts I’ve made.) So what would you like to know? Give me your ideas and questions. I probably won’t come up with any more copyediting posts until February, but I should be able to do something then.
19 Responses to “Copyediting Questions?”
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I'm a freelance copyeditor specializing in fantasy and science fiction. SF/F novels I have copyedited have been finalists for (and have sometimes won) the Hugo, Nebula, Arthur C. Clarke, Golden Spur, John W. Campbell Memorial, Quill, Locus, Philip K. Dick, British Science Fiction, British Fantasy, and World Fantasy awards. In 2007 I was short-listed for a World Fantasy Award for my copyediting.
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I have a question! I’m a copyeditor too, so my question is a bit different: how did you break into fantasy publishing? (I used to work for a technical magazine, and now I’m working in business to business.) I’m also interested in how you made a successful transition to freelance editing. I’ve been copyediting for four years now, and I’m starting to think about going back to school and getting a master’s in publishing. At the very least, I should probably move to New York, where the publishers are. Can you recommend a good school (e.g. NYU, Emerson)?
Basically, I’m just curious about your career path because I’d like to take a similar road. :-) If you’d prefer to answer by email, I’m at jenosopher at hotmail dot com. Thanks!
I dunno, I vote for the kiddo posts. ;) Your copyediting stuff is great, but I like everything else as much, too. Just for one set of cents. ;)
That’s very lovely to hear. Thank you. :-)
I would love to hear about the mistakes you find most frequently (not attributing them to specific authors.) I’m also curious aboit what authors can do to make your job easier. Thanks for all the posts you’ve done so far!
Ditto that, and I don’t mind kiddo posts in the slightest. I make a fair number of my own, too.
(And I’d like to be able to squint at my own work…)
I read a thing a while back about “crutch words” — things that authors just, well, think of their characters doing all the time, and overuse. Do you see a lot of that?
I’ll ditto that ditto.
How was it working with China Miéville?
From reading his books I know he has a certain style to his writing. Did this really cause any problems during the editing process or did it allow you to skim over what would originally had been problems for other authors?
If you’d prefer to answer jenosopher’s questions by e-mail, could you CC me on that? I think you know already, but I’m a freelance proofreader. In the eight years I’ve been freelancing, I’ve only ever had one client though. The person who hired me made many offers to give me referrals (and I know she was sincere), but when I first started freelancing, it was in addition to a 40+ hour a week job so I never took her up on those offers. Now that I’m trying to make freelancing my full-time job, unfortunately that person doesn’t have the same kind of contacts that she used to, so I can’t rely on referrals.
I’m the anonymous post - LJ has taken to signing me out at random…
Mindy Klasky
You’re a copyeditor?! *gasp*
Hee-hee.
I friended you because you were a linguistics geek, the copyediting part was an added bonus for me. :D
-=Jeff=-
Oh, I don’t know, Deanna. You certainly don’t owe anyone anything, and just the fact that you’ve offered as much as you have has me firmly in your debt. I got myself a copy of WORDS INTO TYPE upon your recommendation, which is an absolutely amazing book and worth the price of admission. Anything more you might offer in the future can only serve to bolster my professional development that much further, for which I thank you endlessly and extend offers of beers and small talk at the next convention I see you.
Besides, I have babies of my own. I know how central they are to my life, and your posts about your own are endearing. So there.
I came here for the copywriting, but I stayed for you! That’s one of the lovliest aspects of LJ: the insights in a person’s life.
Your kids, your cooking, you in general, all good.
As for copywriting, I guess I’m curious as to your involvement in continuity and what it is you turn back to the author.
BTW: the lovely cranberry dish lasted until Christmas and was incredibly good by then. All the tastes mellowed together until it was more like dessert than the usual turkey addition.
This is less of a question and more of a thank you. :)
Reading your copyediting posts made it clear to me how much work goes into a novel between author and shelf, by people like yourself. That realisation has made me push that bit further in my own writing, not just because I owe it to myself, but because I also owe it to those others who will (hopefully!) go on to work on it. The writer is just the first link in the chain. :)
I suppose I didn’t realise quite how true that was until I found your blog.
So, that’s one perspective on the popularity of the copyediting posts for you! Also, it’s great to have such a human insight into what can seem a very harsh industry - and I think the ‘kiddo’ posts only add to that human feel your blog has. :-)
Sorry for the late reply … anything and everything about copyediting interests me. As a writer, I’m always looking for ways to improve my work, so any sort of insight that will help tighten me up a bit is great.
And I don’t mind hearing about the kids either :)
I just thought of another specific question:
What books or courses of study would you recommend for a wannabe copyeditor? Or for that matter, for an author who wants to make her copyeditor’s job easier.
Deanna, I so enjoy all aspects of your entries - please don’t change a thing!
I am very interested in any advice you could give me as to becoming a copyeditor. Although I’ve wanted to become a fantasy author for many years, I find that I actually much more enjoy critiquing and editing the manuscripts of the members of my writing group. I am also one of those readers who will spend a great deal of time backtracking in a published novel to verify facts and check details. I’ve worked as a paralegal for the better part of 17 years and am almost daily proofing and editing legal briefs for my attorney but am becoming more and more interested in fiction copyediting as a freelancer.
Thanks for any words of wisdom!
Hi - I just stumbled across your LJ, which has been incredibly helpful as I am yet another proto-freelance-copyeditor. My first job out of college (1987) was as the assistant to the Managing Editor at Crown, but it’s a little too late to draw on that for possible referrals, alas… I’m interested in the questions from and above: resources for honing skills and advice on getting those first jobs.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your copyediting thoughts and experiences!
You’re welcome. I haven’t done such a post yet only because there are no easy answers–it’s tough to break into. I still mean to give a shot at giving some advice on it sometime, though.
hi, im 15 and i’m taking a class to get me ready for jobs and stuff. and since i like to read and write my teacher told me that i should consider copyediting. how much do editors get paid. i really think that copyediting would be a fun job.