EDITING

STAGES OF EDITING

DEFINITION

Carefully reviewing material before it is published, suggesting or making changes to correct or improve it

GOALS

Ensure the material is consistent and correct

Its content, language, style, and design suit its purpose

The text meets the needs of its audience

FOUR STAGES

1. SUBSTANTIVE/STRUCTURAL

2. STYLISTIC

3. COPY

4. PROOFREADING

SUBSTANTIVE editing = Structural editing 

- focuses on content, organization and presentation of the text

-title to end

-revising, reordering, cutting, or expanding material

-defines the writer’s goals

-identifies their readers

- shapes the manuscript

-determines whether permissions are necessary for third-party material

-recasting material better presented in another form, or revising for another medium

STYLISTIC

-clarifies meaning, ensures coherence and flow, refine language

-eliminate jargon, clichés, euphemisms

- adjust the length and structure of sentences and paragraphs

- establish and maintain tone, mood, style, and level of formality

COPY

-editing to ensure correctness, accuracy, consistency, and completeness

- grammar, spelling, punctuation, usage

- continuity of mechanics and facts

-edits tables, figures, and lists

- developing a style sheet

- fact-checking

- marking levels of headings

- placement of art

- Canadianizing, converting measurements  

- indexes

- listing permissions

- front matter, back matter, cover copy

- check web links

PROOFREADING

- final format review (checking a work AFTER editing)

- check adherence to design, deviations from style sheet, consistency and accuracy of cross-references, captions, web pages, hyperlinks, metadata

 - copy fitting, page numbers

PROFESSIONAL EDITORIAL STANDARDS

ESTIMATING TIME (page =250 words)

Light Copy Edit 6-8 pages per hour

Stylistic/Heavy Copy Edit 3-4 pages per hour

Substantive edit 1-3 pages per hour

STYLE SHEET DEVELOPMENT

4 components: 

General Style - treatment of numbers, abbreviations, punctuation, typography (use of italics and other font attributes), usage, and, of course a general word list

Characters - physical descriptions, life status, negative attributes, relative descriptions

Places - real or fiction

Timeline - plot your characters, lists details

https://opentextbc.ca/selfpublishguide/chapter/style-sheet/

https://www.louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog/whats-a-style-sheet-and-how-do-i-create-one-help-for-indie-authors

https://www.thebluegarret.com/blog/what-is-a-style-sheet

https://www.friesenpress.com/blog/2021/5/6/style-sheet-template-book-writing

https://americaneditor.wordpress.com/2015/01/19/thinking-fiction-the-style-sheets-part-i-general-style/

CREDIT: Editors Canada website

I need to learn how to be one!