Improving Your Copyediting Skills

By Author: Nishtha Shukla Anand
Total Articles: 66
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Copyediting is a tough job. The sentences should be well knit, there should be no grammatical or syntactical errors, and the flow should be good. To ensure that the content in a write up speaks well and volumes is left to the copyeditor. Of course, it’s a thankless job. Despite this drawback some copyeditors have managed to earn a name for this very thing. How do they do that?

Keep the reader in mind

It is important to consider the reader. Maintain this approach as you being the task of copyediting and you will find a marked improvement in the final output because you know what the reader wants and incorporate a tone and style that has exactly the effect you want to have on them.

This will also help you ensure that the requisite facts have been incorporated in case the writer has skipped them. This is also a great way to maintain a balance in the write up.

When to do what

Avoid making changes the first time round. Read and understand the content first. This will save you a lot of time. Reading the content first will enable you to understand the thought process that the writer has put into ...
... the content. Once you realize the essence of the write-up, it is easier to incorporate necessary changes and give a better flow to the article without doing too much to it.

Adhere to the rulebook

Primarily, the rulebook is the same whether you are writing yourself or copyediting another’s copy. Your role as a copyeditor implies that you need to check on the basics—to cut out the fluff, make it readable, and to ensure no typos. Ensure that all sentences are relevant and redraft sentences with a key focus on the quality of the content.

Maintain all important points in bullets and adequate use of sub headings make a lot of difference to the quality of the write up. This makes it easy for the reader to understand the article.

As a copyeditor, your job is essentially to work on the weak links and ensure that the information highlights adequately the crux of the matter.

Original copy

The copyeditor has to ensure that the write up is original and nothing has been blindly copied from the sea of information available online. For a good editor, it is fairly easy to tell when the writer has put in a genuine effort and where he has gone ahead to copy mindlessly. This is also important to ensure that you are free from legal hassles that might arise out of copyright issues. Convey this thought with impunity to writers.

Remember the basics

While you begin on any assignment, it is imperative to remember the basic rules. The write-up has to be informative with adequate representation of facts, especially if it deals with a technical subject. It is important to offer creative suggestions to the writer to help them develop the vision to come up with a better read every time.

The copyeditor needs to ensure good flow and good language. All important points should be highlighted and suitably supported by facts!