Party of Five

Source:  Cafe Press Copy editing (also written as copy-editing or copy editing, and sometimes abbreviated to CE) is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of the text. Unlike general editing, copy editing often does not involve changing the substance of the text. Copy refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, or publication. Copy editing is done before proofreading, which is the last step in the editorial cycle. In the United States and Canada, an editor who does this work is called a copy editor, and an organization's highest-ranking copy editor, or the supervising editor of a group of copy editors, may be known as the copy chief, copy desk chief, or news editor. In book publishing in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world that follow UK nomenclature, the term copy editor is used, but in newspaper and magazine publishing, the term is sub-editor (or the un-hyphenated subeditor), commonly shortened to sub....

Source:  Indiamart In substantive editing (also known as developmental editing and comprehensive editing), the editor considers a document’s concept and intended use, content, organization, design, and style. The purpose is to make the document functional for its readers, not just to make it correct and consistent. Substantive editing is almost entirely analysis-based, whether at the document level or at the paragraph, sentence, or word level. Decisions require judgment, not just the application of rules, and therefore should be negotiable with the writer. Contrast this work with copyediting, most of which is rules-based and concerned with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics of style and the internal consistency of facts and presentation. Both types of edit are essential; they just focus on different issues. (See also my article on classifying editorial tasks.) A substantive edit deals with the overall structure of the publication: ~Does it all fit t...

Image source: Cafe Press. It’s a mouse pad. Very suitable gift for editors. Don’t you think? The “five Cs” summarize the copy editor’s job: Make the copy clear, correct, concise, complete, and consistent. Copy editors should make it say what it means, and mean what it says. Typically, copy editing involves correcting spelling, punctuation, grammar, terminology, jargon, and semantics, and ensuring that the text adheres to the publisher’s style. They may shorten the text, to improve it or to fit length limits. This is particularly so in periodical publishing, where copy must be cut to fit the layout, and the text changed to ensure there are no ‘short lines.’Often, copy editors are also responsible for adding any “display copy,” such as headlines, standardized headers and footers, and photo captions. And although proofreading is a distinct task from copy editing, frequently it is one performed by copy editors. Copy editors are expected to ensure that the text flows, that it is...