The Craft of Copyediting

Catalog description

Copy editors and proofreaders aid authors and writers—from ad copy to a nonfiction piece in The New Yorker to a literary novel and beyond—in the pursuit of clear, error-free, publishable text. The best editors have a deep knowledge of and appreciation for the value that the copyediting and proofreading processes bring to a manuscript. Whether you are editing an existing manuscript or creating/preparing new documents for publication in print or on the web, you need a strong grasp of grammar and punctuation as well as an understanding of fact-checking and research to determine the accuracy of the content at hand. Editors, agents, and future freelancers need to know how these functions fit into the editorial process in a print and/or digital environment. In this course, students will learn the different processes in editorial production, with an emphasis on books. This course will cover the mechanics, tools, and workflow of copyediting and proofreading, and explain how editorial and production processes incorporate these functions. We’ll learn the dos and don’ts of copyediting and proofreading both short- and long-form manuscripts, and the responsibilities that editors (no matter the outlet) have with regard to the understanding and review of copyediting and proofreading. We’ll also discuss the role and practice of fact-checking as it relates to copy editors and proofreaders and what steps editors can take to ensure an author’s manuscript has been properly verified. In addition, the coursework will emphasize the understanding, creation, and use of style sheets, and we’ll review and practice a number of classic grammar points. Students will develop basic copyediting and proofreading skills that will allow them to study these roles more thoughtfully in other courses or develop their skills further on the job.