Writer Nick Bellardes has published a picture of his copyedited manuscript for a book coming out later this year.
What's in RED is the work of the copyeditor.
Now go look.
I've railed about the dying dinosaurs of print and other such things, but I will never, ever say anything bad about copyeditors (though I almost did).
A copyeditor will turn the kind of stream-of-madness dreck I write here into something sensible (well, OK, my stream-of-madness fiction -- this stuff is really beyond help!).
Every writer needs a copyeditor. Amateurs don't see the need.
As I was finishing this post, Nick tweeted me: "I hope you say that's the blood of the saints on those pages ..."
Yes. Copyeditors are saints! Aptly put.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
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4 comments:
Your words are far better than any of mine on the topic. You're right, it's the copy-editor who seems to transform amateurs into professionals...
Having had four books undergo the copyediting process, I know just how much they put into it. It's astounding how they can remember something on page 10 and why it doesn't match page 311! I mean, I did the frikkin *writing* and I didn't catch that.
Aw, bless your heart! Found your post via Twitter, and you just made this copy editor's day. (In Web11, the noun is "copy editor" and the transitive verb is "copyedit," though house style may override that.) None of us can edit our own work. Heck, even copy editors need copy editors!
>>>(In Web11, the noun is "copy editor" and the transitive verb is "copyedit," though house style may override that.)
You'll have a great future of employment with people who are *serious* about writing.
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