Copy editing

Copy editing (also known as copyediting, copy-editing and manuscript editing) is the process of revising written material ("copy") to improve quality and readability, ensuring that a text is free of errors in grammar and style and that it is accurate. The Chicago Manual of Style states that manuscript editing encompasses "simple mechanical corrections (mechanical editing) through sentence-level interventions (linear editing) to substantial remedial work on literary style and clarity, disorganized passages, baggy prose, muddled tables and figures, and the like (substantive editing)". In the context of print publication, copy editing is done before typesetting and again before proofreading. Outside traditional book and journal publishing, the term "copy editing" is used more broadly and is sometimes referred to (inaccurately) as proofreading; the term sometimes encompasses additional tasks. In the United States and Canada, an editor who does this work is called a copy editor. An organization's highest-ranking copy editor, or the supervising editor of a group of copy editors, may be known as the "copy chief", "copy desk chief", or "news editor". In the United Kingdom, the term "copy editor" is sometimes seen but the term subeditor (commonly shortened to "sub") is used in newspaper and magazine publishing. In the context of the Internet, online copy refers to the textual content of web pages. Similar to print, online copy editing is the process of revising and preparing the raw or draft text of web pages for publication. Copy editing has three levels: light, medium, and heavy. Depending on the budget and scheduling of the publication, the publisher will let the copy editor know what level of editing to employ. The chosen type of editing will help the copy editor prioritize their efforts. Although copy editors are generally expected to make simple revisions to smooth awkward passages, they do not have a...