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HIRE A COPY EDITOR by Dan Poynter
The copy
edit is clean up work. Once the manuscript is complete you become more concerned with punctuation, grammar and style. Now is the time to make your information more readable.
There is no such thing as a publishable first draft. —William Targ, bookseller, collector, editor and
publisher.
There is nothing wrong with unpolished writing, but there is no excuse for not having it cleaned up by an editor. Hire a wordsmith, a grammarian, a picky English pro. Look for them in the Yellow Pages under "writing". Ask for them in places where people work with words: check
writing clubs, local colleges and ask at photocopy shops (or see the sidebar in this article). Interview several editors and get referrals from satisfied customers.
The editor returned the manuscript and the pages were filled with red marks. Attached was an apologetic note saying, “I
am sorry for the mess but I thought you would want to know about the errors.” The author called the editor and thanked her. “I would much rather that you find the mistakes now than have my readers find them later.”
When you publish a book, it's the world's book. The world
edits it. —Philip Roth, New York Times Book Review.
I trust my editors. To save time, I send the file attached to email rather than the manuscript on paper. That way I do not have to enter the corrections to the manuscript. The editor edits and corrects at the same time.
Each
book presents a different challenge. Some require punctuation corrections while others demand a rewrite. According to Brenner Information Group, editors average sixty-one hours of work per book. Yes, editing is a rewording activity.
Editing and Proofreading
Quinn’s Word For
Word, Robin Quinn, 10573 West Pico Blvd. #345, Los Angeles, CA 90064. Tel: (310) 838-7098; quinnrobin@aol.com.
Media + (Media Plus), Judith Kessler, 828 Westbourne Drive, West Hollywood, CA 90069. Tel: 310-360-6393; Fax: 310-360-0093; jude001@earthlink.net.
Your book is a member of
your family. You want the very best for it. Give it a checkup and dress it well so you can be a proud parent.
Dan Poynter does not want you to die with a book still inside you. You have the ingredients and he has your recipe. Dan has written more than 100 books since 1969 including
Writing Nonfiction and The Self- Publishing Manual. For more help on book writing, see http://ParaPub.com. © 2003
RECOMMENDED RESOURCES
1) Line by Line: How to Edit Your Own Writing by Claire Kehrwald Cook
2)
The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications by Amy Einsohn
3)
Copyediting: A Practical Guide by Karen Judd
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