Recently, award-winning journalist and author Holly Robinson gave a shout-out to copy editors in an article for the online version of The Huffington Post. (Remember the lesson on italics from my last post? Robinson’s article was featured on the “Books” page.)
Robinson’s praise focuses on the errors in consistency that copy editors identify and clean up. For instance, Robinson’s copy editor queries her about a fictional character:
She’s fifty-nine here and fifty-eight on page 102. Which one?
Inconsistencies like this one are really annoying for readers, no doubt about it. And Robinson’s appreciation of the detail work that copy editors do is, in turn, appreciated by me.
But sigh. Copy editors do so much more than clean up inconsistencies in facts.
From staying abreast of current events (markets, governments, trends, people) to drawing on a lifetime of education (math, economics, history, politics—you name it) to knowing how language is evolving and used in certain locales, copy editors are highly educated and trained pros whose work is noticed only when something goes wrong.
So sure, be thankful for the copy editor who takes the time to clean up your inconsistencies. But do realize just how big a copy editing job can be. We copy editors work to ensure the following:
- correctness in grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage
- consistency in abbreviations, the treatment of numerals, capitalization, distinctive type, the use of other languages, and yes, facts too
- consistency of text in tables, lists, captions, running heads and feet, and so on
- correct application of an appropriate mechanical style
- identification of errors in facts, stats, math equations (if there are calculations, I’m doing every one of ’em)
- identification of missing elements
- identification of bias, libel, obscenity, invasion of privacy, copyright infringement
- preparation of citations or acquisition of permissions
- clear communication between all parties involved: the publisher or client, authors, and other stakeholders
- clear communication for the target audience (and knowing how to serve a target audience can be a specialty itself)
And if a project is highly specialized, the copy editor better be too!