A Beginner's Guide To Copyediting | Part One

As part of an upcoming series on different areas of publishing, I want to start out with an essential part of the publishing industry. Copyediting is a wide-ranging and often overlooked job. In an effort to cover all parts of it, I'll do this in multiple sections.

This post, I will talk about what jobs copyediting could include, style guides, and freelancing.

Copyediting happens toward the end of the publishing process, when the manuscript or article has been developmentally edited and is about to be sent off to final pass pages. In a large publishing house, they'll likely have in-house copyeditors who work steadily and regularly on incoming manuscripts.

In a smaller publishing house or a magazine that's running on a quick operation schedule, copyediting could blend with developmental editing, and it is often commissioned by freelancers. There are a number of networks out there to find a freelance copyeditor. Some of those are typical job networking sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, Glassdoor, etc. However, there are also services such as the Editorial Freelancers Association in which you can pitch yourself to employers looking for a freelance copyeditor.

These are important for the practical aspect of finding work as a copyeditor. So, what exactly is copyediting?

A strange part of the job is that there aren't always clear boundaries as to what a copyeditor's job is or isn't. Generally, a copyeditor is responsible for line-by-line edits that correct grammar, clarity, and vocabulary as it relates to the audience.

Correcting grammar is fairly straight forward: correcting comma splices, verb agreements, dangling modifiers, etc. If you're commissioned to do a light copyedit on grammar in a few hours, you might only be checking things like if there are commas between two independent clauses. But every house and magazine has a respective style guide. 

There are standardized style guides such as AP or Chicago which lay out all kinds of rules. When to spell out numbers, how to style addresses, the correct spelling of certain words, hyphenation guides, etc. However, most publishing houses will send a style guide upon hiring you that will declare something along the lines of: "This house uses AP style except in the case of: numbers (spell out up to 100), title abbreviations, and month abbreviations."

Following that, will be a list of words that the publishing house wants formatted a certain way should they show up in the text that you're editing.

While doing a copyedit, these are all things that you must be mindful of. Due to their specification by the publishing house, they're also things that you must be pertinent not to miss. When copyediting, I like to have the text and style guide up side by side to ensure I don't miss a thing.

For any copyeditor to be efficient and successful, it is imperative that they at least have a working knowledge of the AP Stylebook and Chicago Manual of Style. At the very least, most houses base their guides off of one of these two, and while you're of course welcome (and encouraged) to refer to them while editing, the more you know off the top of your head, the quicker you can work.

With all of that being said, more times than most, the job of a copyeditor does not end at grammar and following a style guide.

The specifics of what is being requested of you will almost always be asked upon your hiring, however if a copyeditor proves their attentiveness in doing a little bit more than what is asked of them, that could earn a recommendation or a re-hire from an employer.

So, what could that entail? Copyediting can include fact checking, ensuring the page numbers match up with the table of contents, clearing that addresses and phone numbers are listed right, checking the math within a graph if there is tabular matter, correcting the titles or numbers of references that occur in the text, and enforcing consistency in voice.

All of these things could be a part of your job if you are hired as a copyeditor. Evidently, you likely won't be spending hours working through the math of an excel chart unless you are working for a finance company, or editing copy whose topic is numeric-heavy, but this is always something to be aware of when going into a job. If that really isn't your thing, ensure beforehand that it won't be entailed, because oftentimes that is expected of copyeditors to have as a skill under their belt.

While some of those things may feel like they fall out of line with the job, correcting page numbers even if it isn't asked of you, could be what earns you a good reputation and referrals among the community. This is essential, particularly if you are planning on entering this business as a freelancer. To be a freelancer is to be your own employer in many ways, and a proper investment in yourself and your skill is to lay groundwork for longevity. Going above and beyond and being extra careful will do that.

And I'm sure all this talk of grammar and style guides feels very cut and dry, but at the end of the day, it is also important to remember that all of this must be delivered to the author in ways that are kind and helpful, rather than seen as slashing down their work.

More on that in the next part, which will touch on copyediting marks, queries, and how to practically apply all of these things. That post will be out on Saturday, April 4, 2020. Keep an eye out for it!

The Power of Words

As someone who spends a lot of their time immersed in the world of words, sometimes I lose a grip on why I love it so much. It's not that I lose hope in words, or that I fall out of love with language, it's that I become so blind to what I'm doing and so exhausted from constant work, that sometimes I forget about the spark that ignites in me whenever I read or write.

Now, from being in this community for a long time, I know that's not particularly uncommon. And frankly, we all need breaks from things we do a lot, even if we love them. Hence reading slumps, writer's block, etc. But sometimes, after long months of being uninspired, in rare moments when the cosmos seem to bleed together and brew the perfect moment, you're reminded just of why words are so powerful.

For me this happened a few weeks ago. It was a grey day, the first chill of autumn creeping into the air. I'd been slowly chugging my way through "Big Magic" by Elizabeth Gilbert, and on this day I was possessed by an inexplicable desire to devour it. So I sat down in a free hour I had and sped through the ending of the book. Upon finishing it, my eyes were wide, my heart was pounding, and every thought of mine was refocused back to writing.

It had been a long time since I'd been so inspired. Her writing is beautiful, of course, and her metaphors are masterful, but she also has that magic that she writes about. Her words carry with them a preternatural ability to move you, to get you out of your worries and fears and onto the computer to get writing, or acting, or whatever it is you love and want to pursue.

As she urged the reader, "So please calm down now and get back to work, okay? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes," I felt electric, like I'd been struck with the brilliance and the magic of the world upon which us writers and readers operate.

But I couldn't sit and stew on this moment. I couldn't revel in the energy that coursed through me, or jump on the train of adrenaline that was making my fingers itch to write. I'd bought tickets to see Porsha Olayiwola perform "Black and Ugly As Ever," and it was time for me to leave.

So, still radiating the creativity that Gilbert had instilled, I hopped on the train and shot over to see Olayiwola's performance. And needless to say, it was incredible. As she whisked us through her life, her experiences, and the flaws in our culture, I felt that energy in me heightening. It didn't fizzle, or drain out as sometimes happens when you let it sit. Instead, it grew, multiplying and spawning something I hadn't felt in a long time.

As Olayiwola stood before a crammed club and bellowed, "I'm so black I'm not alive, just not buried yet" and "Every time I twirled my afro out, I knew I was some kind of rebellion," I felt the energy in the room crackling.

My world was flowing and ebbing, the fibers of my brain coming undone and forging themselves anew. See, it is rare moments like that where the power of words becomes so apparent, so intense that it overwhelms you, that it seems to beat in every breath in the sweaty room, seems to twine with the stars and sing in the streets. It is not every day that you feel so intensely, so powerfully about how much words mean and the command they hold. Experiences like those are fleeting, blessings in a way. And I couldn't be more grateful.

You see, I was in a slump, dawdling in an unmotivated state. I hadn't written in weeks, I was barely getting through novels. I felt like I was drowning in work, and the world was starting to look more and more bland.

But words are more powerful than that. They are sometimes wretched and cruel, but they are powerful. And when you need them most, they sweep through and remind you just why you love them so much.

So if you are in the position I was in just a few weeks ago—feeling uninspired, not good enough, lost, or dazed—then let this be my beckon to you. Re-immerse yourself in the world of words. Don't give up, don't lose yourself now.

Keep chipping away at that novel you're reading, write a little bit every day, even if you have to gut the words out of yourself. Because I promise, you'll get your moment as well. You won't be uninspired forever.

As long as you keep trying, inspiration will strike again, and you'll remember awe-inspiring power of words for whatever reason it was.

And once they do, you'll be unstoppable.

Naming Your Character

Whether we realize it or not, names in literature are incredibly important.

In real life, our names aren't our choices, and they are often arbitrary choices, or a name that meant a lot to your parents, but very rarely do they have meaning beyond that.

For the most part, this is false in literature. Sure, tons of names of characters were taken from baby name lists, but often times names give glimpses into a character, or has a deep meaning to the character in question. There are times when you'll really want to sweat your name. I'm going to talk about how to find that name with a huge meaning, or figuring out the name that foreshadows a bit plot event, but also how to find the less important names, or names that are just names.

If you want your name to be intertwined with the story, or show things about the character, then you'll have to get creative.

There are plenty of examples of names where authors picked them because they directly reference an aspect of the character of the plot, or because the names feel like the character's personality trait. As an author, you have the wonderful ability to get to know your character before naming them if you so choose.

This is done very well in Carson McCullers's, The Heart Is a Lone Hunter. Here, there's the name Antonapoulos, which greatly reflects the character's finicky or persnickety nature. Then, you also have Singer, a name which really nicely shows simplicity, and a more tranquil nature. These names were chosen because they feel like and show the characters.

So try a couple names out. See which one feels best, because a lot of times for authors the name has to feel right for the character as they're writing it. 

If a character is very complex, or intelligent, name them accordingly; picking something like Solange or Cassiopeia will reflect this complex component, and it a hell of a lot more interesting to read than Sam or Joe.

Another technique you could use is a find a word that means something that your character does. This is best exemplified by Salinger's, The Catcher in the Rye. Now, this isn't my favorite book in the world, I can tell you that much, but one thing that Salinger does brilliantly is name our main character Holden. Holden, with the word "hold" directly in it, is so perfect because the entire story what Holden is doing is holding (get it?) onto things—the past, people, concepts, innocence. This name shows us how this character will act.

Another example of this is in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. J.K. Rowling, like everything else about this series, picked her names quite appropriately. This is the novel where Dolores Umbridge is introduced. While the word isn't spelled correctly—a choice you as an author can make—umbrage means an offense or an annoyance, which perfectly foreshadows just how her character will be.

On the topic of J.K. Rowling, she also named the antagonist of the series Voldemort. While not meaningful on first glance, any of you who speak French will know this name actually tells us just what Voldemort's goal is; in just one name, J.K. Rowling foreshadowed his goal and the majority of the plot in the later half of the series. Voldemort, broken into the words "vol de mort" translates to "flight of death." This showed his desire, as well as indicated everything we later learned about Horcruxes.

So if you want your name to mean something directly, put a significant descriptor of the character in the name, or change the spelling of a word, or turn an expression from a different language into a name—these will all increase the meaning of a name and give readers a connection to the character they wouldn't have otherwise had.

The last thing I wanted to talk about isn't as common in literature, but it's still an option if you're creating a character. You can have character's go nameless. If overused, this device becomes tiring and almost pretentious, but if used sparingly, you can create a great atmosphere of ambiguity and mystery, or it can separate the reader from the characters, which is sometimes a really interesting reading experience.

Now, if you have a couple irrelevant characters who waltz into a few scenes but aren't there to stay, or play an impactful role., you can always use babynames.com. That site, or sites like it will give you a wealth of names to choose, but I wouldn't recommend doing that for your main character.

A name can be all you use to characterize someone, so assign them carefully.

Chekhov's Gun

This post deals more with the technicalities of writing, and I would consider it to describe a strategy for analyzing descriptions in the story, and truly looking at whether or not you are being superfluous in description.

Chekhov's Gun is essentially the principle that the details and memorable elements to the story must be purposeful, or have a role later in the story. In his words, "Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there."

The reason I think this is worth talking about, and a genuinely good rule to follow is it enhances your story in that it is more engaging.

If every detail or element to the story ultimately has a purpose, your readers will forever be guessing at how everything will tie together, and it will cause them to scour the book's details and mentions for clues at what will happen next.

This is huge to keep people not just flipping from one page to the next, but genuinely captured by the story.

In practice, I think this is also a really fantastic way to cut down your word count in editing should you find yourself with one that's too large. It will force you to weed out that which you don't need, and leave you a story that is tight and interactive, and would likely help to clean up some of the writing or even bits of the plot.

Now, this isn't to say you shouldn't describe anything unless every word in the description has a meaning later, but it is a good way to look at symbols or objects and what role they could play. Again, describing someone's features, or building the word is vital to the story, so you can't take it out solely on the principle it's not coming back as part of the plot, but it is a cool device to use with objects or concepts that you know will be part of your plot later in the novel.

Fear

I figured I'd start my first blog post on the topic that everyone of us experiences at some point in our lives—that I am experiencing right now as I craft my very first entry into a world of blogging that I know so little about.

But, what do I know about fear, you ask?

In truth, I know little more than the next guy about the neurology behind fear; what I know of the treacherous emotion is that which I have experienced. I'm an aspiring author—someone who has worked day after day, slaving away at perfecting my words on the page, chasing the ever-elusive art of writing.

In no way to do I claim to be an expert, or an old and wise soul, but it's something I grapple with daily, as everyone does.

And I think the more I struggle with it, the more I spend time wondering about the future, about writing, about my dreams and how possible they are, I've decided that it is one of the most debilitating emotions.

It tugs at the heart, eats at the mind and taints the soul. I've heard story after story from friends, family members, or someone with an online presence where pure penitence laces the words as they speak of something they let go due to fear.

The older I get, the more I have to make decisions about the future, the more this feeling seems to affect me, and it dawned on me the other day that the very reason I can't stop thinking about fear instilling loss is fear itself; I am afraid to let fear govern my life and my decisions.

It's ironic, I know, yet there I sat, basking in fear at the concept. So what did I do?

I used it.

Yes, fear is pesky, devitalizing, and prostrate. But at the same time, it can be the most useful tool of any, the very sustenance one needs to finish their project, or run that final stretch, for fear makes manics of us all.

Once you can take a step back from the emotion, really examine what you're afraid of, evaluate the pros and the cons, fear can be your greatest weapon.

I know it sounds far too pragmatic to be realistic. So here's what you should do: Take a few breaths. Maybe step away from whatever it is, be it a project, a job offer, a friend, the future. Try to stop thinking about it for a bit, give yourself some time, and then revisit it with a fresh lens. Maybe your fear will be gone, or maybe you'll be ready to confront it better.

This leads me to the next step: Confront the fear. Don't beat around the bush, don't pretend like you aren't afraid. Fear is human. Fear is good. Acknowledge it. Think about what might be causing it, then confront it. Walk yourself through it. Question if what the fear makes you think is rational, or if they are entirely contrived from that fear.

The moment that you acknowledge your fear is the moment you can begin to harnass it, and then use it.

What was once your what held back your pen is now the very ink that you write with. So fight the fear. Use it. Damn it to hell. No matter what, just don't put down that pen.