Synopsis

Copy editor is there, proofreading is usually there, edit and editing are easy to find...but not copyediting. In fact, many dictionaries will present the term copy editor as two words rather than one. Most copyeditors would take exception. A copyeditor does not edit copy, a copyeditor copyedits copy. Of the many definitions of copyediting, the author's favorite is a response from a friend, "... I see my job as making my work invisible."

Copyediting fits into any publishing process at the point before the work reaches its final form, whatever that may be, print or electronic. There are probably millions of pages out there in some form of publication that have not been copyedited, and for the most part they can be read and understood. But in traditional forms of publication -- magazines, newspapers, and books (and increasingly in electronic publications) -- there are standards that must be met to ensure that, at the least, some minimum level of good, understandable communication takes place. To achieve that level, a copyeditor must call on all the areas of knowledge he or she has ever accumulated and go beyond (but not ignore) the standard rules of grammar, punctuation, and spelling. At the heart of this process is sometimes just knowing when to ask the simple question, the right question, the one that will expand, enrich, clarify, or develop the author's vision and allow the author to succeed. And, copyediting is at its best when it is invisible in helping authors to use their craft.

The work of copyediting is explored fully by Karen Judd, extending this edition into some of the regions of electronic publishing. The many disciplines used and the tasks of copyediting are explained and developed with examples. It will take you beyond the simple style book, or the rules you learned about capitalization, and teach you the heart of the work of copyediting. All of it is here in one of the most widely respected books in the field -- from proofreading marks to bibliographic research -- you can learn it here.