LJ Idol, Wheel of Chaos 1: “Quality”

[roina_arwen]

For the past year and a half, in my spare time I have been employed by a small-but-mighty press as one of their copy editors. To date, I have edited about forty short stories (there are approximately ten stories per anthology) plus three juvenile boys adventure novels. This is work that I very much enjoy doing. My husband likes to say that I’ve been editing him for thirty years, and his writing for two.

He’s not wrong. To our credit, he has had over fifteen short stories published within that timeframe.

Copy editing is something I was born to do. Like it or not, I’m the sort that tends to notice every stinkin’ typo in every email I receive. I’m nice enough not to point them out, of course, but they do make me cringe a little. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I often type too fast and make errors of my own, but I do try to at least read what I’ve typed before hitting send, so I will catch most of my typos a majority of the time.

In addition to checking stories for the obvious spelling errors, typos, and grammar, I will also notice correctly spelled words that are, in point of fact, incorrect. One of the most memorable that I caught was for an anthology with a coffee theme. The author of the story meant to write that the character steepled his fingers. What he actually typed was that he steeped his fingers. Ouch!!

Another error that I found more recently in one of the novels was with a youthful spaceship captain who was speaking with one of his passengers. She inquired what sort of dangers he had to face in interstellar space. The author wrote something to the gist of “it was barely above zero out there.” Uh, no. Buzzz! What he should have said, and what I edited in, was that “it was barely above absolute zero out there.” That’s a HUGE difference, since absolute zero is -459.67 degrees Fahrenheit!

A good copy editor cares—or at least, should care—as much about correct spelling and proper punctuation as they do about making sure the author’s voice and story are clear. Mistakes affect the clarity of the work, as well as being a distraction to the reader, and that impacts the overall quality.

Don’t get me wrong—all the stories and novels that I’ve worked on have been quality works to start with, or they wouldn’t have been selected for publication. My job is to ensure that nothing distracts the reader from enjoying the highest quality possible. I hope I’ve succeeded.

Thanks for reading!

Comments

[krispykritter]

It's great that you are doing something that you enjoy! It's so nice to be back in touch. It's been way too long!

[roina_arwen]

Thank you! It’s good seeing an old friend, albeit with a new name!

[krispykritter]

Yeah. I thought it was time for a change! Smile.

[serpentinejacaranda]

I really enjoyed this pulling back of the curtain on the editorial process! It's always fascinating. Especially distinctions between line editing, misstated idioms, and the deeper, more resonant, and (dare I say?) human elements that automated editorial processes still have trouble identifying.

[roina_arwen]

Thank you! Those automated elements are worth what you pay for them, in my opinion!

[used_songs]

Ah! The English teacher in me loves this.

[roina_arwen]

Awesome, thank you! I have a BA in English, but that’s as far as I went!

[marjorica]

Love it!

I am the grammar maven who still makes embarrassing linguistic mistakes as I trundle through the world. I need someone like you to sit on my shoulder or operate the shock collar…. Something!

Then I have the brass-necked audacity to cringe at the gaffes of others.

[roina_arwen]

lol! It can be fun cringing at the gaffes, as long as they don’t see you cringe. Thanks!

[mollywheezy]

I have a BA in English, too. :) I love your "steeped" rather than "steepled" example, lol.

[kizzy]

LOL, when I read that I automatically thought of someone intentionally soaking their fingers in a steaming cup of coffee! ACK!

[roina_arwen]

YES! Which might have worked for a tea anthology… Ha!

[roina_arwen]

It’s definitely one of the memorable mistakes! Thanks!

[kizzy]

Reminds me back in the universe when I taught -- I was a big stickler for correcting, but eventually came to realize that having the students just getting their thoughts down without worrying about syntax or such was much more important. They could worry about their own copy editors when it came to the final draft :)

[roina_arwen]

Yes, definitely! With students it’s all about creativity, although spelling is important. The other niceties can come later.

[adoptedwriter]

That's a cool job!

[roina_arwen]

Thank you!

[bleodswean]

Perfect response to the prompt, ro! It's good to hear that you're using your skills to help others polish theirs! Very satisfying!

[roina_arwen]

Thanks! It can be very satisfying.

[simplyn2deep]

Your passion for precision shines through, and it’s clear you bring both skill and heart to every piece you edit. I especially love how you balance technical accuracy with a deep respect for the author’s voice; it’s what makes a truly great copy editor. And yes, “steeped his fingers” made me wince and laugh all at once. Thank you for sharing that gem!

[roina_arwen]

Aww, thank you for the lovely comment!

[fausts_dream]

I also have an English degree unfortunately the editing gene apparently skipped my generation in my very literate family.

After reading this I'm more than a little embarrassed that you read my entries every week.

Perfect response to the prompt, perfectly well done this is an entry of quality.

[roina_arwen]

Honestly, everyone makes an occasional error, but unless we are in the finals, and I absolutely have to make a choice between (usually 3) amazing entries, it’s really only then that my editorial hat comes on in Idol.

FWIW, I don’t recall noticing any errors at all in your entry this week. 🙂

[hafnia]

A good copy editor makes a world of difference, and you certainly sound like a good one :D Great take on the prompt!

[roina_arwen]

Thank you so much!

[erulissedances]

A good copy editor can make a huge difference in the quality of the published product. I've had good ones, and not so good ones. The differences, when I look back on those works of mine, have been major. Thank goodness there are people like you who can zoom into the details and save the rest of us from embarrassment.

- Erulisse (one L)

[roina_arwen]

I love the little details! I’m not sure if I’d be as good as a structural editor, but copy & line editing is my jam. 😊

[muchtooarrogant]

"My husband likes to say that I’ve been editing him for thirty years, and his writing for two."

LOL You and my wife as well. She was reading my entry this morning and said, "I only noticed one thing." Reads a sentence. "That should be 'our' not 'are'.

Uh, oops! Maybe when the poll's over with I'll fix it. She didn't spy anything else, so hopefully you won't either. (grin)

Honestly, it feels like copy editing is a bit of a dying talent. I've started noticing more mistakes, even in published works. Maybe the publishing industry's margins are thinner, and they don't want to pay for copy editing, but sheesh, it really is distracting sometimes.

Dan

[roina_arwen]

I think many writers rely too much on the spellcheck features or AI programs to do the work for them. They will catch many errors, but not all. Thanks!

[halfshellvenus]

Copy-editing is the kind of job I could do as well, though beta-work exhausts me! That's because I not only see the mistakes, but I also tend to edit with the larger context in mind (e.g., trying to make the writer's work more like them or more like what they're trying to get at). I can't really turn it off, so even when the writer doesn't need it, it's still happening. :(

I liked that you mentioned wrong words, because people tend to forget about those. And auto-correct does not help! I still remember a widespread email from a work colleague that ended in, "Sorry for the incontinence." !!!

[roina_arwen]

Oh wow, I LOL’d at the incontinence faux pas! I think I’m better at the copy editing and line editing than I would be at structural editing.

FWIW, the juvenile book that I copy edited which released this weekend is already at number one in new releases! Even though I only had a small hand in it, it makes me happy!

[halfshellvenus]

Awesome! :D

[legalpad819]

I had no idea you were doing this- how cool!!

[roina_arwen]

Thank you! I enjoy the work!

[murielle]

That makes you the perfect editor. A dream editor.

Great entry! :-)

[roina_arwen]

Aww, thank you!