My sci-fi novel is now in the hands of my copyeditor
After nearly 6 months of revisions while working with my developmental editor, I’ve now handed my novel off to my copyeditor, which I also secured via Reedsy.
What they’re doing
The scope of work includes:
- Identifying and correcting any spelling, grammar, factual, and formatting errors
- Editing to ensure the consistency of the prose and the clarity of the narrative
Supplemental materials
To aid in this effort, I supplied them with:
- A character list
- A timeline of major events, including dates
- A glossary of 27 terms, including neologisms and other words and phrases that have a unique meaning in my book world
- A style guide that specifies the verb tense used throughout the novel, the fonts used, and the styling of internal dialogue, recalled dialogue, official titles, song and book titles, etc.
Scheduling
In an effort to give myself some extra motivation, and because editors schedule months in advance, I booked both my developmental editor and copyeditor at the same time. I kicked off work with my developmental editor in November of last year and got my manuscript back (with editorial letter, etc.) in mid December. And I assumed that I’d be able to turn around the edits by the beginning of March. I was wrong.
I had to push the start of copyediting back a month. Thankfully, I recognized the need early enough that my copyeditor was able to switch my scheduled block with another client. Even with the start date pushed back, I was rushing. I suspect there are some additional errors because of the speed of revisions. I guess we’ll see.
Related posts:
My sci-fi novel is now in the hands of a developmental editor
7 questions you should be able to answer before working with a developmental editor
What I got back from my developmental editor
To receive future posts for free or to become a Patron and support my dystopian sci-fi novel and get special thank-you goodies upon its publication…
