Copy Editing

Copy editing is a most leading and time-consuming task. It
requires the editor's close concentration to a document's every
detail, a acceptable knowledge of what to look for and of the
style to be followed, and the capability to make quick,
logical, and defensible decisions in correcting for grammar,
punctuation, terminology, sentence structure, clarity,
conciseness, tone and voice, inconsistencies, and
typographical errors.

To begin with, editors are completely well-known with
and comfortable applying the universally acceptable editorial
and typographic marks and symbols-as described in the
Chicago hand-operated of Style and summarized under proofreader's
marks in Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary-that are
commonly understood by compositors working in English.

The editorial function comprises two processes:
mechanical editing and substantive editing. Mechanical
editing involves a close reading, with an eye on consistency
of capitalization, spelling, and hyphenation; trade of
verbs and subjects; scores of other matters of syntax;
punctuation; beginning and ending quotation marks and
parentheses; whole of ellipsis points; numbers given either
as figures or as words; and hundreds of other, similar
details of grammatical and typographic style.

In increasing to regularizing those details of style,
the copy editor is predicted to catch infelicities of
expression that mar an author's prose and impede
communication. Such matters include but are by no means
limited to dangling participles, misplaced modifiers, mixed
metaphors, unclear antecedents, unintentional redundancies,
faulty attempts at parallel construction, mistaken junction,
overuse of an author's pet word or phrase, unintentional
repetition of words, race or gender or geographic bias, and
hyphenating in the predicate, unless, of course, the
hyphenated term is an entry in the dictionary and therefore
permanently hyphenated. Job seekers especially need to
attend to such details in their
executive résumé.

The second, non mechanical, process--substantive
editing--involves rewriting, reorganizing, or suggesting
more-effective ways to gift material.

o Experienced editors recognize, and do not tamper with, an author's unusual figures of speech or idiomatic usage.

o They withhold the author's voice with a view toward the right reproduction of the author's manuscript.

o They silently strict inconsistencies, misusages, and misspellings solely for the purpose of clarifying
the unclear.

o They know when to make an editorial change or naturally advise it.

o They know when to delete a repetition or merely point it out to the author or to job seekers on their administrative résumés.

o They respect an author's right to expect conscientious, enthralling editorial help.

o They never make queries that sound stupid, naive, or pedantic or that seem to reflect upon an author's
scholarly capability or powers of interpretation.

o And they handle untold and unsung other matters of style and usage.

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