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Editing - The Art and Skill of Perfecting Text

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When Writing is Edited, It Is Polished, Refined, and Made Better!

 

Editing involves more than just checking for "typos" or misspellings or grammatical gaffes.  Editing can improve organization, clarity, meaning, and purpose to your writing.


Editing can ensure that your document is cohesive--that it is consistent throughout and thus "hangs together".


There are some editors who are also excellent and prolific writers. But there are also editors who hate to write (but when they do, they can generally write well).

MS-Word Document Edited and Commented on With "Track Changes" Mode Turned On

What's Your Favorite Editing Guide? Vote for It Here! 

The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn

The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn

The Copyeditor's Handbook is a lively, practical m more...0 points

Copyediting: A Practical Guide by Karen Judd

Copyediting: A Practical Guide by Karen Judd

Filled with sound, practical advice, this book is more...0 points

The Fine Art of Copyediting by Elsie Myers Stainton

The Fine Art of Copyediting by Elsie Myers Stainton

"This second edition documents the updates th more...0 points

"This second edition documents the updates that have occurred in publishing procedures and editing techniques... the information that Stainton provides can be useful to any editor as well as to any writer." -- Technical Communication

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McGraw-Hill's Proofreading Handbook by Laura Killen Anderson

McGraw-Hill's Proofreading Handbook by Laura Killen Anderson

Expert advice to perfect your proofreading skills

more...0 points

Expert advice to perfect your proofreading skills

McGraw-Hill's Proofreading Handbook helps ensure that your documents are letter-perfect, every time. Veteran editor and proofreader Laura Anderson arms you with all the tools of the proofreader's trade and walks you step-by-step through the entire proofreading process.

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The McGraw-Hill Desk Reference for Editors, Writers, and Proofreaders(with CD-ROM) by K. D. Sullivan, Merilee Eggleston

The McGraw-Hill Desk Reference for Editors, Writers, and Proofreaders(with CD-ROM) by K. D. Sullivan, Merilee Eggleston

Packed with customizable editing tools--this pract more...0 points

Packed with customizable editing tools--this practical, up-to-date reference includes the latest on writing and editing online

The McGraw-Hill Desk Reference for Editors, Writers, and Proofreaders is an indispensable resource for writers, editors, proofreaders, and virtually everyone responsible for crafting clear, polished writing. Ideal for professionals and novices alike, it guides you through the entire proofreading and editing process and features a CD-ROM with more than 25 interactive tool...

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Words into Type (3rd Edition) by Marjorie E. Skillin, Robert Malcolm Gay

Words into Type (3rd Edition) by Marjorie E. Skillin, Robert Malcolm Gay

This is the definitive text for questions of manus more...0 points

Garner's Modern American Usage by Bryan A. Garner

Garner's Modern American Usage by Bryan A. Garner

The first edition of Garner's Modern American Usag more...0 points

Copyediting & Proofreading For Dummies (For Dummies (Language & Literature)) by Suzanne Gilad

Copyediting & Proofreading For Dummies (For Dummies (Language & Literature)) by Suzanne Gilad

Turn your knack for language into a lucrative care more...0 points

Must-know techniques and resources for maximizing your accuracy and speed

Interested in becoming a copyeditor or proofreader? Want to know more about what each job entails? This friendly guide helps you position yourself for success. Polish your skills, build a winning résumé and land the job you've always wanted. Books, magazines, Web sites, corporate documents - find out how to improve any type of publication and make yourself indispensabl...

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There are Many Types of Editing--and Proofreading and Copyediting are Two of Them 

Proofreading--This type of editing goes through your document line by line and checks for typos, misplaced punctuation, small errors in word usage, and other problems.
Copyediting--This type of editing is more comprehensive and not only checks your document line by line for typos, misplaced punctuation, usage errors, and misspellings, but also checks for inconsistencies within and throughout the text, wordiness, dead-wood, lapses in logic, organizational problems, and other problems.
Developmental Editing--This is perhaps the most comprehensive of the editing types. It involves interaction with the author of the work and perhaps also with the intended publisher of the work in a consultative mode. A lot of dialog will take place as the editor discusses the organization, logic, and format of the writing--in addition to catching typos, misspellings, usage problems, and inconsistencies in the manuscript.

Editing by the Bay--eBay, That Is! 

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The Metrics of Editing.... Yes, Editing Takes Time... and Goes Through Pages! 

Editing takes time... and the more pages that need editing, the more time it will take. Depending on what kind of editing you require, different time periods must be scheduled for the effort (in other words, you can't reasonably expect a 300-page manual edited overnight--although it might be possible, you might miss the "quality").


Proofreading--this can range from about 10 pages per hour for "easy reading" to 4 pages per hour for technical, scientific, medical, or other highly specialized and complicated topic.
Copyediting--this can range from about 6 pages per hour for "easy reading" to about 2 pages per hour for the highly specialized and complicated topics.
Developmental editing--this can range from about 4 pages per hour for "easy reading" to about a page per hour for the highly specialized and complicated topics.


These ranges are based on standardized pages consisting of double-line-spaced, 12-point font (Times-Roman or Courier), with at least 1" margins on all sides, on standard photocopy or bond white paper. Using these metrics, an average page contains about 250 words (specifically if Courier font, double-line-spaced, 1" margins, and white-bond paper is used).

Editing--Making Your Point with All Sorts of Goodies! 

Printer Printing Press Gifts Sticker (Bumper)

For members of the printing industry in general and the newspaper industry in particular.

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Editor Sticker (Bumper)

Despite what you may think, editors aren't just putting red all over your work to humble you. They are doing it for your own good, just ask them!

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Editing? How Is It Done? How Does It Work? 

There are certain required skills for anyone wanting to be an editor:

--A good understanding of the grammar and usage of the target language. This being said, the editor of a target language should be a native speaker of that language. This is the only way that the editor will be able to discern the subtle nuances and idiomatic expressions that are common in the target language.

--Good eye for patterns and logic. By seeing patterns and the logic flow, you can recognize when the pattern changes or the logic takes a side-track from the main point of the writing. This may be a warning sign--and must be discussed with the writer to see what the intention is.

--Know what kind of grammar you subscribe to. Are you a "Prescriptive" grammarian (follow the rules no matter how awkward or strange it sounds to your ear) or a "Descriptive" grammarian (commit to the rules described by observations and study on how the language works as used by the mainstream speakers of the target language).

--You better like reading. Lots of it. Lots of different topics. Lots of writing styles. Lots of personalities.

Book Editing Is Work, But It's Also Fun! (For Those of Us Who Like to Read! 

You Want Your Own Editorial? Write It (and Edit It, of Course) Here! 

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EditorDave

About EditorDave

Living on Guam is what now "defines" me.  It was such a dramatic difference in my life and outlook on things that there's no way I'd be the same if I had remained in New Mexico or any of the rest of the U.S. Mainland.   One of the classes I took at the University of Guam was "Scientific and Technical Writing and Editing"... I did not realize at the time that this class would be setting the foundation for the rest of my working life.  I found that I *love* words and fooling around with making them work as best as possible.  I also took classes in formal linguistics at the University of Guam--and took classes in Japanese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese. These classes helped me to become comfortable with working with translations of technical material into English from other languages.  I can help folks with making their words work for the particular audience they are writing for.

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