Copy editing for a better ‘Amercia’
February 23, 2013 § Leave a comment
Here’s an old (you know, if you consider 2012 old) but awesome article on why we need copy editors. It was written by Merrill Perlman, former editor for The New York Times and now-president of the American Copy Editors Society Education Fund. She makes a great case for editors—and best of all, mentions research conducted by Fred Vultee at Wayne State University, research I had to chance to learn about from Vultee himself last year. Perlman’s conclusion is spot-on:
A copy editor’s work is largely invisible, until she misses something, in which case she takes the blame. But most important is that a copy editor stands in for the reader, gingerly reshaping, clarifying and correcting things before the reader can see them and post an excoriating comment.
Read on for more wisdom from a copy editing queen.
What It’s Really Like To Be A Copy Editor | The Awl
December 15, 2012 § Leave a comment
This is wonderful. Copy editors (copyeditors?), you’ll be able to relate.
I never necessarily aspired to be a copy editor. I enjoyed the experience-seriously, your job is to sit and read articles-but when my day-camp counselor asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, I did not tell her that I hoped one day to correct who-whom mix-ups or determine whether “faucetry” was a real, dictionary-approved word. I told her I wanted to be a princess.
Copyediting for (keen-eyed) dummies
December 13, 2012 § Leave a comment
So, you wanna be a copyeditor? Read my post! Take this course!
Catching up with a copyediting crusader
November 20, 2012 § Leave a comment
A few weeks ago, I had the chance to interview Fred Vultee, a journalism professor and American Copy Editors Society board member. He conducted a study examining readers’ perceptions of edited and unedited news articles. We talked about his research and what it means for the editing craft (spoiler alert: it isn’t going anywhere).
It was awesome to pick Fred’s brain about his research design and methodology (haven’t done that since Wooster), and really exciting to learn from someone helping prove that editors’ jobs really do make a difference.
Portions of my interview with Fred are up on the Dragonfly blog today—check it out.
Five things I learned at ACES
October 30, 2012 § Leave a comment
- Readers notice when web content isn’t written professionally, study shows. Guess that means we get to keep our jobs.
- When you put 50 editors in a room and ask them to agree on style, things don’t end well. I’ve never seen people more excited about commas (it was awesome).
- Copyeditors should care about SEO. And sometimes, word choice has ethical implications. During the 2008 Proposition 8 decision in California, the Los Angeles Times used the term “gay” marriage (rather than its more politically correct sibling, “same-sex”) to appear higher in Google search rankings.
- Editors don’t have to know everything. But they do have to know where problems hide (both grammatical and stylistic), and know where to look for solutions. I’m not sure whether to be relieved or intimidated by that.
- No swag bag is complete without a BET Networks pen/highlighter combo. Oh heck yes.
MARY GABLE 