COPY EDITING AND STYLISTIC EDITING

Copy editors grease the mechanics of writing.

Error-free text is easy and pleasurable to read. Polished writing clearly conveys the author's message and style to readers and leaves a favourable impression on customers, shareholders, colleagues, and book lovers. Clean and clear text puts you a mark above the competition.

These days, copy editing and stylistic editing are generally done simultaneously. While copy editors are meant to clean up technical errors, this often extends past the technicalities of language and into a line-by-line style edit where they fine tune the writing.

Here's what copy editing and stylistic editing may entail:

• Correcting grammar, punctuation, spelling (Canadian, American, or British), and capitalization
• Ensuring proper word usage, consistent number forms, and text treatment
• Maintaining or creating a consistent house style
• Checking the internal consistency of facts and data
• Fixing inconsistencies in style, awkward phrasing, and unclear writing
• Ensuring continuity
• Eliminating jargon
• Eliminating bias
• “Canadianizing” materials (checking spelling and usage, cultural references, and measurements)
• Tagging files for layout
• Preparing prelims (including copyright page info)