LESSON 1

INTRODUCTION TO EDITING

Lesson Aim
To gain an understanding of the role and scope of editing.

THE ROLE AND SCOPE OF EDITING

Very few people can immediately write a lucid and well-expressed piece of work. In most cases, the final
draft is smoothed and polished so that others can readily understand the writer’s message. It is the
editor’s role to improve the quality of the writing, whether their own or someone else’s work.

The scope of editing ranges from self editing, where the writer examines their writing and improves it as
best they can, to professional editing, where an expert is employed by a publishing company to improve
the quality of a piece of writing prior to publication.

There are many other facets of commercial publishing that require the skills of professional editors. These
include commissioning publications; reviewing manuscripts; overseeing manuscripts through the
production process; liaising with writers, publishers, printers and agents; writing blurbs, captions and press
releases; and researching and organising pictures. In smaller organisations the editor may also be
responsible for the design and publication of documents, newsletters, reports, magazines and books using
desktop publishing software and equipment.

Editing involves several stages, which will be examined in detail during this course. In summary, they are:
1. Reviewing the manuscript
2. Structural (substantive) editing
3. Copy editing
4. Proof reading
5. Checking proofs.

WHAT DOES AN EDITOR DO?

Every editing job is different in some respect from others, and different editors may be responsible for
different tasks. In general, editors do any or all of the following (or may delegate some tasks to others):

*Correct language errors, such as poor grammar, incorrect spelling and punctuation, and ambiguities.

*Identify technical inaccuracies (eg. in a non-fiction book.)

*Improve conciseness and clarity, if and where this is of significance.

*Identify potential legal problems, such as plagiarism, ethical or moral problems, copyright infringements,
defamation risks.

*Check for uniformity and appropriateness of content and style, and make or recommend adjustments if
necessary.

*Determine whether the content of a manuscript should be deleted or replaced (usually with approval from
both the author and publisher).

*Determine whether additional content is required within a manuscript (usually with approval from both the
author and publisher).

*Determine the order in which the manuscript is to be published.

*Liaise with all other persons involved in the production of the publication.
*Check and clear copyright material to be used in the publication (for instance, anything which is not the
original work of the author should be properly referenced and used only in accordance with the law in any
jurisdiction relevant to the publication).

*Prepare preliminary pages and cover, and mark up any end matter, usually in collaboration with the
author.

*Prepare instructions for others involved in production, such as the designer, illustrator, typesetter and
printer. (This may involve marking up the manuscript, preparing a series of ‘briefs’ and, in some cases,
contract or tender documents.)

*Select illustrations, including photographs, tables and drawings from material submitted by the author.

*Identify and source additional illustrations if required (from the author or elsewhere).

*Write marketing material if required (often in collaboration with the author and/or the marketing staff).

*Monitor (and sometimes control) production schedules.

*Check proofs at each stage of production.

*Maintain a record of corrections after production for use in any reprints or new edition.

TOOLS FOR EDITING

A computer with an up-to-date word processing program is vital for anyone considering a career as an
editor. These days almost all publications are produced electronically and, even though you will probably
receive a printed copy of the manuscript, most of the editing process is done on screen.

You will also need a compatible printer – preferably a laser printer if you are self publishing or regularly
edit long manuscripts – and a modem connected to the Internet.

It may be advantageous for freelance editors to have a quality desktop publishing program such as
QuarkXPress or Adobe PageMaker or FrameMaker. These programs are used by publishers and printers
to produce end-quality work, and some smaller publishers prefer to employ editors who can competently
use these programs.

Essential stationery includes post-it notes, a calculator, correction fluid, magic tape, highlighter pens,
pencils, and blue and red biros.

Useful Reference Books

A comprehensive dictionary
A thesaurus
Writer’s/style manuals/handbooks.
EDITING SKILLS

A competent editor has the following skills:

• Good computer skills
• Excellent communication skills – both verbal and written
• Good organisational skills
• The ability to meet deadlines
• A logical mind
• An eye for detail
• An understanding of the print production processes.

What Makes a Good Editor

The best editors are able to work according to the requirements of a job, changing the intensity and detail
of their editing according to each different situation they are faced with.

Editors should be impartial, objective and unhindered by prejudices.

Good editors are not pedantic. They are pragmatic.

Above all, a good editor is one who can improve communication with the readers.

Danger Signs!
Editors can fall into behavioural patterns which simply do not enhance the quality of their work. The
following should be watched for and avoided:

*Adhering to certain rules irrespective of whether or not they improve communication

For example, changing the word ‘till’ to ‘until’ throughout a document even though it really does not
improve communication.

*Not matching the effort put into editing with the work being edited
It serves little purpose spending excessive time editing a piece of writing destined for a publication
operating on a tight budget. It may be reasonable to edit fine points for an English grammar text book or a
novel by a best-selling author but the additional effort and time may not be appropriate for a local sporting
club newsletter.

*Pondering for a long time over a change that could be made in seconds
While some changes might require careful consideration, others are not so significant, and an editor can
waste precious time deciding whether or not to make the change or deciding what kind of change to
make. If the results either way are not significant, it is best to make a decision quickly rather than seek
perfection.

*Continually cross-checking for consistency of minor points

If the editor cannot remember what came before, and the point is of no serious technical consequence, it
is unlikely many of the readers will notice or worry about it. Consider whether it is really worth spending a
lot of time and expense to achieve perfect consistency when a negligible number of readers (if any) will
even notice that effort.

*Changing voice in order to achieve consistency

It is not very important to change voice (eg. passive to active voice or vice versa) to achieve consistency.
More important reasons for changing voice are to reduce word count, improve clarity, or make a piece of
writing more concise.

*Concentrating on unused space rather than used space in a layout

There is no reason to increase the number of words or lengths of sentences or paragraphs to avoid blank
areas on a page (eg. at a chapter’s end). Blank space can provide visual relief and variety. Every word
should contribute value to the document.
*Checking page proofs repeatedly
Some editors don’t recognise their own limitations. Making multiple checks of a manuscript will still not
bring a fresh perspective to the task, and errors can still be overlooked. It is best to ask someone else to
assist with checking.

*Failing to delegate
Editors who think no one else can do tasks as well as they can may fail to incorporate and balance the
contributions made by others involved in the publishing process – the writers, illustrators, publishers, and
layout artists. Others can bring other skills and perspectives to a task, resulting in a better overall product.

DO NOT OVER EDIT!

Some publications warrant a great deal more editing than others. Some publications
simply do not have a budget that can justify any more than basic editing.

THE PUBLISHING TEAM

Some publishing businesses are small with multi-skilled staff. Most medium to large publishing
businesses, however, will employ a team of people, each with a well-defined role. Following are some of
the people an editor may need to work with in a publishing business:

*The Publisher is concerned with planning and management of the publishing business. The publisher is
often, but not always, the boss or CEO. The publisher’s particular concerns are to commission new work,
negotiate the acquisition of existing work (eg. out- of-print titles that have been released from another
publisher), assess and decide on the future of existing titles, and develop new areas of work. The
publisher also needs to deal with unsolicited submissions, and with agents of authors. The publisher
should maintain contact with authors (though the extent of such contact varies between publishers). The
publisher needs to liaise with other sections of a publishing business in order to do their job properly: the
editor, the marketing department, etc.

*The Business Manager may be responsible for the day-to-day management of either part or all of a
publishing business. Some large publishers employ a team of business managers, putting each one in
charge of a different group of publications (eg. a business manager for non-fiction and another for fiction,
one for women’s magazines and another for business magazines).

*The Production Manager or production assistant is responsible for coordinating and overseeing each of
the physical stages in the production of a publication. A small publishing business may assign this task to
an editor, or the publisher. A large business may employ several production managers.

*The Designer has the task of taking instructions from the editor and producing the final layout.

*Marketing Staff have the task of selling a publication. The editor should explain to these people the
concept of the publication . The editor and author will have developed the book with a particular market in
mind, and those thoughts must be conveyed to the marketing staff.
THE PRODUCTION PROCESS – An Overview

The following is a summary of the production process in commercial publishing:

Manuscript – this may be an unsolicited manuscript sent ‘on spec’ to a publishing house, or a manuscript
sent by a literary agent, or a book or publication commissioned by the publisher

Editing – a copy editor edits and marks up the manuscript

Design – a designer commissions illustrations, designs the text, sizes and places the illustrations, and
designs the cover

Typesetting – a typesetter or desktop publisher sets the text and non-text material according to the editor’s
and designer’s mark-up

Galley Proofs – the typesetter provides galley proofs (proofs of the typeset text before they are divided into
pages); the editor, author and proof reader check the galleys for errors

Page Proofs – the corrected galleys are pasted up into pages by the designer, or laid out using desktop
publishing software

Index – the author or indexer prepares the index from the final page proofs

Dyelines – the printer films the pages and sends a set of dyelines to the editor and designer for checking

Colour Proofs – the designer checks and corrects the colour separations

Advance Copies – these are provided for publicity and review purposes; the editor checks for any
significant printing errors.

The Production Schedule

Once a publication goes to an editor, a production schedule may be drawn up. This can be a simple or
complex document, and may be done in a variety of ways. It should be ordered to allow control of a
systematic progression through a series of stages, commencing with initial editing and culminating in the
completion of the publication, as in the example below.
Table: Sample production schedule

Stage of Production Date Actual Notes

Scheduled Date
Editing
Delivery of MS to editor
Editor to author
Return from author to editor
Editor to designer
Production
Tenders sought
Budget finalised
Design
Sample setting requested
Sample setting approved
Illustrator appointed
MS to layout artist
Developing the Cover
Develop concepts
Select concept
Rough sample
Approved
Proof
Colour separation
Developing the Index
Proofs to author
Index to editor
Index to designer/typesetter
Illustrations
Received from author
Additional illustrations
commissioned
All illustrations with editor
Illustrations & captions to
designer
Proofs
Galleys
to editor
to author
to designer
Final Pages
to editor
to author
to designer
Printer
Artwork to printer/typesetter
Galleys to publisher
Dyelines to publisher
Completion
Delivery of printed publication
Launch meeting
Distribute advance copies
Launch
 SELF ASSESSMENT
Perform the self assessment test titled ' test 1.1’
If you answer incorrectly, review the notes and try the test again.

SET TASK

Every editor needs good resource files – files that list details of useful references and contacts. Start
compiling your resource file now. Your resource file might include details of reference books, magazine
and book publishers, professional writing and editing societies, and web pages.

You can store the information in a computer file. We suggest one file per resource (person, book,
organisation, or other resource item you have located). For example, files with information on publishers
should be filed under "P" for publisher, with each publisher arranged in alphabetical order. Each file should
include the publisher’s name, address, phone, the type of material they publish, some examples of
publications, names of any contact persons, and any other information of interest.

ASSIGNMENT
Download and do the assignment called ‘Lesson 1 Assignment’.