Tag: Copy Editing

Besides some verb tense errors and other errors that Word spell check should have caught, my copy editor caught:

• A misspelled character name that was wrong in the book, but correct in my book notes
• An incorrect title for a character, which was also correct in my book notes
• A “right arm” that should be been “left arm,” which created a continuity problem
• A couple of “lays” that should have been “lies”; and a “laying” that should have been a “lying”
• A “right” that should have been “rite”
• A “mulling” that should have been “milling”
• A few instances of “his” that should have been “her,” and vice-versa
• Was missing am/pm on a reference to time
• Was unnecessarily putting commas after interrupted dialogue (i.e., “But I—,” he stammers. >> “But I—” he stammers.)
• Sounds like click-clack and clip-clopping that weren’t italicized
• Some internal dialogue wasn’t italicized
• Inconsistent styling of internal dialogue quotes

My copy editor also flagged a couple of things he wasn’t sure about, which allowed me to clarify those in the text to avoid confusion.

What I didn’t change

My copy editor recommended adding spaces on either side of the many, many em-dashes in my novel, but I kept them without. I also didn’t spell out numbers that were 10 or more, or numbers that have units of measurements with them.

Those recommendations are based on The Chicago Manual of Style. As a former journalist, I guess I’ve spent too long following AP Style, which always favors more compact communication. I’m willing to roll the dice on bucking Chicago Style and see what happens down the line.

Spell Check: Microsoft Word vs. Google Docs

I’ve known for a while that Microsoft Word’s Spell & Grammar check isn’t good, especially compared to Google Docs’, which is excellent. However, some of the simple typos and grammar errors that my copy editor found really laid bare how awful Word is at understanding basic grammar. I may need to make a switch for my future novels.

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After nearly 6 months of revisions while working with my developmental editor, I’ve now handed my novel off to my copy editor, Jon, 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 copy editor 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 copy editing back a month. Thankfully, I recognized the need early enough that my copy editor 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. 

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