Know What You Want, Part 4

Tasks of Copyediting

My purposes in writing this series are to assist you in editing your own work and to help you understand the tasks of editing. Armed with this knowledge you can invest your hard-earned dollars wisely as you prepare your manuscript for submission to an agent or publisher. So let’s dive in to the realities of copyediting. What does a copyeditor do and not do?

The editor’s tasks include:
--Mechanics—spelling, punctuation and such
--Language—grammar
--Correlation of parts—verifying accuracy and placement of footnotes, tables, and more
--Content—inconsistencies, discrepancies
--Permissions

The editor’s tasks don’t include:
--Proofreading
--Rewriting
--Reorganizing your manuscript
--Formatting your manuscript 

In the coming weeks, we’ll unpack all these tasks, exam them, and learn how you can help yourself each item we take out of the suitcase. See you next week!