Archive for the ‘Editorial Services’ Category

The Need For Editorial Services

Sunday, August 29th, 2010

As much as writers despise clich?s and trying hard not to use one, an old adage on writing and writers had stayed this far: A good editor is a writer’s closest ally.

Today’s writers may have longed for the good old days every time they hear legendary stories about famous writers and their equally-famous editors. Those were the days, indeed.

However, the realities in the writing business have not changed much (writers need editors), only the circumstances. Today, there are editorial services.

Writing errors

For the ordinary reader, seeing and reading errors in a publication are distracting. It might be inconsistencies in content, style, format or even the standard use of English.

For a writer, those writing errors are mortal sins that are definitely unforgivable. Even publications that are published daily (and whose deadline schedules are mini-visions of hell) are expected to come out with a paper free of terrible grammar and cleaned of misplaced commas and missing periods at the very least.

But today’s editors in magazines and publishing houses simply do not have time anymore to deal with the nitty-gritty of a written piece. According to stories (sadly confirmed by almost all editors), discovery of even one single writing mistake on the first pages of the manuscript will send those sheaf of papers directly to the trash can.

Free-lance editors

In a perfect world, everyone wants to see and read a beautifully-written and carefully edited piece. The piece sparkles with the message its author wants to convey to the world. The editor is satisfied and wants it in her publication. End of myth.

You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about Editorial Services. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.

Today, the need for free-lance editors by writers is getting more and more urgent. Whatever the type of written piece, a professional editor can help businesses, organizations, and authors improve the quality of their written work.

From works of fiction, proposals, reports, articles and non-fiction books, the editor strives to produce the best possible manuscript worthy of publication. At the publishing end, editors know that a professionally-edited piece is a better read (or stress-free, at least) than a masterpiece full of literary gunk.

Services

Some editorial service groups have a full range of editing and writing services. They include such aspects as extensive manuscript reworking all the way to copy-editing sometimes.

A typical manuscript undergoes through a series of three editing stages: developmental editing, substantive editing and copy editing. Those manuscripts slated for publication may undergo production editing.

Editing

A typical manuscript passes through three editing stages: developmental editing, substantive and copy editing.

Developmental editors work with materials that are not yet in manuscript form. Work includes drafts, outlines, and notes. The writer would provide the content, the editor guides the form.

Manuscript editors deal with completed manuscripts assessing them for style, tone, structure, logic and accuracy. In an effort to eliminate weaknesses and enhance the strengths of the book, they might suggest reorganization of the written piece, eliminate wordiness, put in transitions and write summaries.

In a busy world such as today, writers will have to find their editors from these editorial services. Hopefully, they shall be able to polish those ordinary written pieces into literary diamonds.

Now might be a good time to write down the main points covered above. The act of putting it down on paper will help you remember what’s important about Editorial Services.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

Steps to Find the Right Editorial Services for Your Book

Friday, August 27th, 2010

So what is Editorial Services really all about? The following report includes some fascinating information about Editorial Services–info you can use, not just the old stuff they used to tell you.

Picking the best editor can make a big difference on whether your book will get published or not. You do not want your book to turn out as a trash, so you will invest in the editorial services of a professional and experienced editor. The following are step-by-step instructions on selecting the right person for the job.

1. Identify your needs.

The right editor for you depends on the kind of help you need. Determine whether you need extensive editing or simple proofreading of your work. Figure out also if you need comments on different aspects the story in your book such as the plot, characterization, and resolution. Perhaps you have a concept or outline for a story, have done research, and are looking for someone who can ghost write for you. Some authors prefer a read-through analysis of their manuscript. This kind of service involves the editor reading the material and giving general advice for improving the work. Then based on the editor’s suggestions, the writer will make his own corrections on his manuscript.

2. Research around.

Search an editorial service provider who can meet your expectations based on the needs you identified earlier. Read feedbacks and testimonials from clients about certain editing and proofreading services to give you a clue as to which company or editor to trust. Be sure that the editorial service provider has more than one editor so that when one is not available for the time being, you have another editor to talk to regarding your manuscript.

It is also important to choose an editor with an expertise that matches your genre. An editor may be an expert in romance stories, but not in horror or children’s stories. But if you write across genres, it would be best to choose an editorial service provider with editors that specialize in multiple story genres.

See how much you can learn about Editorial Services when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don’t miss out on the rest of this great information.

3. Request for a sample edit.

Many editing companies offer sample edit, which is free of charge. You can use this to test the efficiency and professionalism of the editing company you will be working with. For instance, if your sample edit is returned the day after, then you can trust that company to meet deadline and reply quickly to your queries.

4. Ask for the price and quote of the services.

How much are you going to be charged for the services you will avail? Will it be paid per hour or per word? You will pay only a small amount for services that involve less work such as proofreading and read-through analysis, while you will be charged more for full-edit services. Also, ask the company the price of their extra services such as conferences and written analysis of your manuscript.

5. Go for an editorial service provider that allows for flexibility.

Check if the editorial services can give you the option to accept or reject any change it has made on your work without the need to rewrite the whole thing. It is best to ask the editor to use the word tracking option of Microsoft Word so that it will be easier for you to approve and deny changes on your manuscript with just some mouse clicks.

It never hurts to be well-informed with the latest on Editorial Services. Compare what you’ve learned here to future articles so that you can stay alert to changes in the area of Editorial Services.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

Outsourced Editorial Services

Monday, August 23rd, 2010

This interesting article addresses some of the key issues regarding Editorial Services. A careful reading of this material could make a big difference in how you think about Editorial Services.

Publishers require basic and advanced editorial services. That is why they house most of the most competitive and reliable editors around. Editorial services are needed to safeguard and maintain overall quality of standards. However, costs are rising. The publishing industry recognizes this. That is why there are modern ways to reduce costs without the need to compromise editorial quality. Thus, outsourcing relationships between publishers and independent or freelance editors are at hand.

Most freelance editors could be classified as subject matter experts especially in the fields of medicine, science, law, accounting, finance, and others. Some of the most valued editorial services outsourced by most publishing firms are the following.

Abstracting ? Many publishers need editors who could also commit to write abstracts of manuscripts. Abstracts are necessary as they are the quick overview of the long copies. It would be impossible for any editor or writer to compose an abstract without first reading and understanding the entire manuscript. Abstracts are short usually just about several hundreds of words or a handful of paragraphs long, but the contents are comprehensive in nature.

Indexing ? Organizing information online and in privately held data repositories could be an enormous and tedious task. Publishers and content-rich organizations have high demand for indexing services. Most of them now find outsourcing this editorial service as less costly, more effective, and more practical. Indexers should be able to craft smart and rules-based indexing approaches to create multiple pathways to specific content. Indexing services are aimed to improve utility, access, and overall user experience.

Sometimes the most important aspects of a subject are not immediately obvious. Keep reading to get the complete picture.

Copy editing ? Copy editors should help publishing companies attain higher levels of overall editorial capabilities and become more efficient. Copyeditors should be considered as subject matter experts to appropriately, accurately, and satisfactorily edit journal manuscripts, research papers, and other materials in a very wide range or technical and scientific topics. Outsourced copyediting services include basic copyediting, checking of facts, and correction of grammatical errors. The copyeditors should also work closely with the author for further improvement of the original manuscript or material.

Content creation and possible enhancement ? Outsourced editors could offer graphic designing services to create tables, illustrations, and charts. The idea is to transform a static, text-based material or content into a more dynamic as well as visually compelling copy. The editor could learn graphic designing or he may have business relationships with professional graphic designers.

Data mining ? Outsourced editors should be appropriately trained in basic and advanced research techniques as well as technologies. The freelance editor should discover, normalize, interpret, integrate, and extract information that would help in the achievement of key research and publishing objectives. In this regard, it is important that the editor be categorized as a subject matter expert before the outsourcing business agreement is signed and implemented.

Writing and editing ? There is a need for basic editorial services like creating content, including reports, fact sheets, short articles, reviews, and blurbs that enable publishers to fill the pipeline with materials that would generate greater revenues and expand value proposition.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

How to Start Your Own Freelance Editorial Services Business

Sunday, August 22nd, 2010

The only way to keep up with the latest about Editorial Services is to constantly stay on the lookout for new information. If you read everything you find about Editorial Services, it won’t take long for you to become an influential authority.

Some people are a stickler for correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. In almost every situation, they spot an error and may even go wild at the sight of a poorly written ad copy or restaurant menu. And when reading newspapers, magazines, or books, they constantly think of ways to better express a thought or idea they have just read. Are you one of them? If so, then you may want to consider starting a career in freelance editorial services business.

In general, people who run such a business offer their clients with editing and proofreading services of manuscripts on a freelance basis. Freelancing means you get paid for every editing project that comes along. The tasks you are expected to do include revising or rewriting, and checking for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, word choice, sentence structure, and style inconsistencies. You will also need to edit the manuscript for clarity, and to be able to do that, you will have to make it concise by shortening sentences and paragraphs.

Fact-checking and ensuring accuracy can be also part of your job as a freelance editor. Among the materials that you will edit are essays, theses, dissertations, newsletters, resumes, books, brochures, reports, and advertising copies, among many others. If all these tasks sound exciting and seem rewarding to you, then it is a great idea to turn your talent into a money making venture.

It is recommended that you offer your editing and proofreading services online because more and more people are using the Internet everyday. If you target your prospective customers online, you have better chances of getting more people to avail of your services.

Those of you not familiar with the latest on Editorial Services now have at least a basic understanding. But there’s more to come.

Unlike in medicine, law, and other fields, you are not required to undergo any special training to offer professional editing and proofreading services. Your education is not as important as your skills, experience, and professionalism. But of course, having some forms of training could be an edge against your competitors. Your target clients are not very much interested in what school you graduated from; they are after what you have to offer and the quality of your work.

If you graduated with a degree in Communications, Journalism, English, or TESL (teaching English as a second language), then it will help boost your credibility. But if you are trained in other field but are interested in pursuing a freelance editing career, then it is advised that you enroll in and attend courses or trainings in editing and proofreading services. Writing and grammar workshops are also extremely helpful in enhancing your credentials.

Aside from grammar, one specific editing skill you must learn is how to use proofreading marks. Although it is not required to start your freelance editing business, it pays to be familiar with the marks and symbols used by editors and proofreaders. In doing so, you make yourself more professional in the eyes of your target clients.

Launching your freelance editorial services business is the best way to put your editing skills and interests into good use. Earn money while doing what you want and where you excel in by offering your editing and proofreading services online.

There’s no doubt that the topic of Editorial Services can be fascinating. If you still have unanswered questions about Editorial Services, you may find what you’re looking for in the next article.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

Advanced Freelance Editorial Services

Monday, August 16th, 2010

If you are a freelance editor, you may target providing basic editorial services like copyediting, line editing, and proofreading. There are clients who require more. That is because many manuscripts may require more work. For such kinds of editing work, authors, publishers, and other clients turn to the more experienced and well-seasoned editors who are very familiar about the industry and the entire genre. Advanced freelance editorial services are necessary to make copies more marketable and publishable.

If you are a seasoned editor, you may offer advanced freelance editorial services. Of course, you may charge higher rates for rendering the following important services.

Acquisitions editing

This kind of editorial service is usually required by publishing firms. The acquisitions editor should be well educated and trained to cope with the market or industry where he or she would be working. It is important for such a professional to constantly get updates about marketing news, data, and even printed works of competitors. This editor is also responsible for finding publishable materials that could be logically and obviously accepted and patronized in the market. Other responsibilities include reviewing submissions, signing new authors, and recommending several other editorial services in preparation for any publication.

Developmental editing

If you find yourself confused by what you’ve read to this point, don’t despair. Everything should be crystal clear by the time you finish.

In general, developmental editing involves evaluation of manuscripts for possible broader inconsistencies. This kind of editor is tasked to closely examine a copy’s content, level of detail, organization, style, and tone. The editing task includes deleting and flagging text that is found to be inaccurate or inappropriate. He should also identify gaps in the content and eventually fill up those gaps. Developmental editors should also move sentences as well as paragraphs in copies to improve overall organization and flow of ideas. There is also the task to rewrite portions of the content of a manuscript for consistency and then recommend other ways to improve readability and effectiveness.

Ghostwriting

Have you heard of a ghostwriter? Ghostwriting is one of the most popular advanced editorial services provided by freelance editors. The ghostwriter is tasked to write a copy on behalf of an author. He should use the author’s research or original draft to make an article for different purposes. In the end, all the rights to the written piece would be held exclusively by the author instead of the ghostwriter. This is more of a writing task (instead of editing) but it is usually considered as among the advanced freelance editorial services.

Fact checking

Of all the freelance editorial services rendered by independent editors, this one is the easiest. Fact checking does not require changing any part of a manuscript. It only involves verification of the accuracy of the manuscript’s content before it gets printed. Publishers consider this a very important service specifically for publishing periodicals and nonfictional books. In most cases, publishers consider fact checking as an entry-level service. However, fact checkers who work for large publishing firms are truly paid well. Even freelance fact checkers are compensated attractively. No wonder, many editors openly offer this service to their clients.

Is there really any information about Editorial Services that is nonessential? We all see things from different angles, so something relatively insignificant to one may be crucial to another.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

Editorial Services And The Art Of Editing

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

The literary scene (and the whole writing world, for that matter) is now into some exciting new times. Where writers had always been on their own, editors moved out from stuffy publishing houses and schools, and re-invented themselves and their work by offering free-lance editorial services.

These editorial service companies are already recognized as innovative alternatives in the literary world. For one, they are doing a great service to free-lance writers who want to polish their work before being presented to actual publishers.

Reviews on the work of these editorial services groups had been very positive at best. Their works were cited as excellent from top companies. Now, editors from book and magazine publishing companies are assured of better quality of publishable materials in terms of polish, absence of errors and professional qualities.

All these are results from good, old-fashioned excellent editing.

What is editing? Is it an art in itself, just like writing? What makes a good editor?

Editing

Writing schools have branded editing as spelling, capitalization, punctuation, sentence structure, grammar, subject/verb agreement, consistent verb tense, and word usage among others.

In addition, the methods of editing are self-editing, reading your own work backwards, reading the last sentence, then the second last sentence and so on, and asking questions like ?does this sentence makes sense?? and ?are there errors here that can be seen or heard??

Editing tips

You may not consider everything you just read to be crucial information about Editorial Services. But don’t be surprised if you find yourself recalling and using this very information in the next few days.

There are various tips from experienced editors regarding editing, most of which are the good old language lessons at school.

The most important of them is making sure every sentence has its two parts ? subject (who or what) and predicate (what’s happening). Some tips are reminders on the use of combining words ? and, but, or, yet, so, who, whom, which, that, whose, because, although, when, if, where, and others like using periods and not overusing commas and exclamation points.

It also advised to use the dictionary to check spellings and not the computer’s spell checker.

Cut, don’t add. Almost all of us are always too wordy. While there might be need to add some words in editing, removing words is better. Concise writing has more power.

Kill adverbs when you see them. Some are fine but most often they only pad a sentence that doesn’t need them.

The sentence ?He ran quickly? makes one wonder if running is not quick enough. The reader would know. ?He ran slowly? could pass muster. There is now a qualifier different from the usual nature of running.

Better writing

Writing teachers have always emphasized that there is no good writing, only good re-writing.

The problem is that good editing is not taught at all in schools. Or, if it is, they are tucked away into some other writing subjects and are simply skimmed over. This makes for an uneasy feeling when one remembers that editing is where the real work of writing is really at.

Good editing, like writing, is in itself an art. It takes years of practice to develop the editing talent. Today, there is a proliferation of these new artists in free lance editorial services companies. Finally, they are rediscovered.

Those who only know one or two facts about Editorial Services can be confused by misleading information. The best way to help those who are misled is to gently correct them with the truths you’re learning here.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

Editorial Services ? Frequently Asked Questions

Wednesday, August 11th, 2010

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of Editorial Services, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of Editorial Services.

Nowadays, specialty services that support certain industries and fields abound. It had been adopted now by the publishing industry. They are called editorial services and they are run by free lance writers and editors themselves.

For a fee (mostly modest, and some outrageous ones), these companies and groups (and single proprietorships) will edit, proofread, and polish your manuscripts into a more professional-looking, error-free work, and consequently more appealing to publishers.

New writers and other newcomers are somewhat wary as yet to this new setup in the publishing industry. The following are some selected questions and answers for reference.

The questions are mostly consolidated queries from those writers who are curious with the service and are still undecided to try. The answers are also consolidations of opinions from editors.

Do I need a book editor?

If you intend to submit your work to publishers, you should eliminate all possible reasons for rejection, short of their total dislike of your work. Manuscripts are rejected for the simplest of reasons ? a misplaced comma, confusing grammar, etc. You only have one chance to impress a publisher. A professional edit can help. In self-publishing, your book needs a professional polish from experienced editors.

What should I expect from a book editor?

The edit does not guarantee your chances of publication. The quality of your rewrite incorporating the editorial advice will help determine your level of success. You may have to perform a thorough rewrite, too, if instructed to do so.

How does one select a book editor?

Think about what you’ve read so far. Does it reinforce what you already know about Editorial Services? Or was there something completely new? What about the remaining paragraphs?

Get someone or a company of editors with concrete track records in publishing, or had worked within the industry. Check their credentials. Do not confuse editing with proofreading. Any decent English professor can proofread your manuscript just as good as any. They just are not qualified to address a manuscript through the eyes of the publishing industry.

How long does the entire book editing process take?

It depends on the length of the material. Articles, reports and the like take shorter turnaround time. Book manuscripts (with regular book lengths) would take around two to three weeks. In each case, editors will tell you the approximate time period of the editing just by knowing the length of your piece.

Are formats that important?

They are very important. Editors at publishing houses would not take a second glance at your manuscript if it does not look the way they expect it. Basic formatting reflects the exacting taste of the industry. Properly formatted manuscripts have enough space for editorial notations and are easier on their (harried) eyes.

Are there dishonest editors ? subcontracting jobs, exorbitant fees, sloppy work?

For your peace of mind and protection as well, verify a prospective editor’s credentials. Also check out Preditors and Editors, a site is devoted to warning everyone on dishonest people in the industry.

There still seems to be a problem with my manuscript that had already been edited. Do I invest in another edit?

If you feel that your manuscript still needs another run-through, go for it. We encountered manuscripts that had been previously edited that looked like they have never been touched at all, what with all the errors and flaws.

There are still so many issues regarding editing and your manuscript and those pertaining to the editorial services groups shouting their wares on the Net. If you are a writer, it is best to get acquainted with this trend in the publishing scene.

Now you can be a confident expert on Editorial Services. OK, maybe not an expert. But you should have something to bring to the table next time you join a discussion on Editorial Services.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

Why are Editorial Services Important?

Friday, August 6th, 2010

You cannot just publish your written work without having it pass through the eyes of an editor. Even if you are a seasoned writer, there will always be factual lapses and grammatical errors that will be present in your copy. These writing flaws can be counterproductive: you want more readers for your work but you cannot get your message across because of lack of clarity and accuracy. This is where editorial services come into play. These services can help you polish a wide variety of materials such as newsletters, brochures, magazines, annual reports, training materials, press releases, policy statements, among others.

An editorial service serves as the quality control of any written material. Its main function is to check and correct any grammar and spelling error, clarify vague statements, and ensure consistency of style and format. An editor who provides such service can also be a consultant, giving suggestions or advice on every aspect of writing and publishing.

So far, we’ve uncovered some interesting facts about Editorial Services. You may decide that the following information is even more interesting.

You can trust the editor to help you improve the quality of your work and make it more readable. An editor, in essence, is a wordsmith. You can expect your written material to be of excellent quality, if not flawless, with the help of an editor.
A number of reasons explain why using an editorial service is extremely important. First, an editorial service can help you make your message clear. If you have something to say but you think it is not expressed clearly in your work, your effort to communicate will be futile. This is all the more challenging if you work with a group to complete your writing project. What an editor does is to help you iron out confusions, collate your message, and craft it in the way that many readers will be able to understand.

Aside from making readers confused, a written work laden with too many grammar and typographical errors also turns them off. Erroneous copies can be a blow to your credibility as an author. Of course, you don’t want to look bad and be laughed at just because of the simple mistakes in your work. So it pays to hire an editor to spot the errors for you and make the necessary changes without altering the meaning of your message. The editor can make awkward sentences smoother and long-winding ones more concise and to the point. Make sure that the editor you hire has a keen eye for details.

An editorial service is also important in minimizing your publishing and other expenses. Beyond the editorial and proofreading work, the editor can guide you in the final phase of producing your written material. The editor may coordinate with the designers, layout artists, Web developers, or printers to make sure that the copies are completed on time and within the budget. In addition, editorial services can help you avoid expenses incurred because of errors in information and overlong documents that cost much to print. That way, you get to save more money that could have been wasted because of unnecessary expenses.

Take time to consider the points presented above. What you learn may help you overcome your hesitation to take action.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

What You Should Know about Editorial Services

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

Editorial services have become in demand these days, thanks to the popularity of the Internet. If you browse the Web, you can find numerous editing firms and freelance editors competing for the attention of potential clients. Aware of the importance of having your written work checked by a professional, you scour the Internet for a reputable editor that can help turn your manuscript from plain to great. But with the many choices available, you will find it a bit tricky to choose the editor that can meet your needs.

Before you begin your hunt for the right editor, you must first know the distinction between copyediting and proofreading. Confusion and misunderstanding often arise between editing firms and clients because the latter often say they need proofreading service when in fact they meant copyediting.
Proofreading is a basic check of a document or manuscript before it goes to publication. The job entails comparing the original and edited versions of a document to make sure that the necessary corrections have been made. A proofreader also changes the grammatical and typographical errors that have been missed out in the copyediting stage. The consistency of fonts, layout, and pagination is also checked in the proofreading phase.

Copyediting, on the other hand, is a broader and more complicated type of editorial service. The job includes proofreading along with other tasks. It involves a more thorough review of a document to spot errors in terms of style, grammar, reference citations, word choice, and textual structure. A copyeditor does the following: give advice to improve grammar and make writing more coherent and logical, fact checking, making text more compelling, making sentences more concise, make style and formatting consistent, among many others.

Knowledge can give you a real advantage. To make sure you’re fully informed about Editorial Services, keep reading.

When you talk to a potential editor, you and the other party must agree to the services that you need to make your writing project effective and of excellent quality.

Now, your next concern is to determine the qualities you must look for in an editor and the services he offers. Keep in mind that a good editor must deliver quality work that is right on target. That means an editor should have a sharp eye for any mistake in terms of typos, grammar errors, and misspellings. A competent editor must be also knowledgeable of how to make a text flow logically and smoothly from start to finish.

The price is also an important factor to consider when choosing an editing firm or a freelance editor. Of course, the rates that your chosen editor charges must fit your budget. If you cannot afford it, then look for others. To lower your expenses, you may also choose only the services that you really need.
You must have a good working relationship with the editor because you will spend a considerable time working with that person and using his editorial services. If there are lots of conflicts between you and the editor, you are less likely to finish your writing project on time. Worse, the quality of your work may suffer.

Now you can be a confident expert on Editorial Services. OK, maybe not an expert. But you should have something to bring to the table next time you join a discussion on Editorial Services.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO

Editorial Services And Copy Editing

Sunday, July 25th, 2010

With the explosion of communications in every facet of life in the planet, the need for writers and the demand for the written word had grown exponentially. The growth of the writing profession and the number of writing practitioners have, in turn, spawned more people who work in tandem with writers ? the editorial services sector.

Editorial services as an adjunct to the writing business is a relatively new sector. (Or, it could be they are highly visible now because of the demand.) In the past, it was only the people of the academia and those in the publishing industry who are the most active practitioners in this support sector of the literary world.

Because of the size of the many industries they are now servicing, their own industry have become highly specialized, too. Now, there are many sub-groups (and personnel) to what were once offices and positions traditionally manned by only one person or two.

Foremost among these people are those who have their noses, so to speak, closest to whatever manuscript they are working on for the moment ? the copy editor.

Copy editing

Copy editing (copy-editing in Britain) is the process where the copy editor makes formatting changes and other improvements to the text. In publishing, this is the man who performs the actual task of editing the copy (text) of a written work (manuscript).

Basically, copy editing involves correcting spelling and punctuation, and making right those grammatical and semantic errors. They also check for factual or plot inconsistencies (for stories) or too much use of passive voice. The copy editor makes sure the text flows well, makes sense, fair and accurate and will cause no legal problems.

The copy editor may abridge text (called ?cutting? or trimming), thus reducing the length of the piece or to improve the material. In the old days, they sometimes re-write parts to make the piece coherent.

If your Editorial Services facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don’t let important Editorial Services information slip by you.

Skills and training

Foremost of the copy editor’s skills would be an excellent command of the language. They must also have a broad general knowledge to spot factual errors, and excellent critical thinking skills to recognize inconsistencies.

They must have some very good skills in people handling, too, especially with writers who are mostly very sensitive, high-strung, or short-tempered.

Copy editors are usually college-degree holders, often in journalism, English or communications. Nowadays, copy editing is taught as a college journalism course under some other names.

Job evolution

In the past, a copy editor reads a written text and, using a colored editing pencil, edits the work and marks it with a handwritten proofreader’s marks. Nowadays, the text is on the screen and corrections are directly made to the text, using XML or some similar coding system.

With the advance in technology (and desktop publishing), many copy editors now also perform design and layout work. It was only a few years ago that these were once the exclusive province of production crews of publications.

Today, the skills needed for the job are shifting and evolving. With the addition of other technical knowledge which are sometimes considered just as important as the writing skills, copy-editing is heading into more interesting areas.

Copy-editing is only one of the many specialty jobs within the many editorial services companies now sprouting all over the world. Other surprises are expected to come in the editorial services field.

About the Author
By Anders Eriksson, feel free to visit his new GVO affiliate site: GVO


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