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| The Good the Bad and the Ugly: Three Types of Editing |
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| Written by Nigel Fogden | ||
 Q. How many copy editors does it take to screw in a light bulb? A. Is "light bulb" one word or two? Editors have a hand in nearly every piece of writing that makes it to print--and they do a lot more than catch spelling mistakes. If your job involves writing then you need to know what editors do. Broadly speaking, there are three different types of editing--each with a specific purpose. Substantive Editing Substantive editing is the most time consuming and difficult type of editing. This is where editors roll up their sleeves and start changing not just the spelling and grammar of your work, but also rewriting and rearranging the content. They do this to improve readability and clarity. It's easy for writers to loose perspective on their work; editors are able to step back from your writing and see problems you might miss--but that your readers wouldn't. Copyediting This is the dangling modifiers, gerunds and past participles--copyediting is what most people think of as editing; correcting spelling and grammar mistakes. But copyediting doesn't stop there, it also includes making sure that your document has the correct format and meets the specifications of the publication it's going to appear in. Nobody's writing is perfect--but a good copyeditor can help you get close. Proofreading Finally, you've made all of the substantive and copy changes that your editor suggested. You're ready to print, right? Not so fast! Proofreading is the final check of your work that catches that glaring error that everyone else missed. When editors proofread they make sure that all of their corrections have been made and that the layout, table of contents and all of the other details necessary for a professional piece of writing are ready to go. In reality, these three jobs sometimes overlap, and it's very common for the same editor to do all of them. The lone writer is a romantic image, but the truth is that producing good writing, ready for print, is a team effort. Knowing what your editor does and how they can help you is one of the keys to a successful writing career.
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