When I discuss with authors editing, there is always confusion between these two important but separate aspects to editing. In a nut shell, copy editing looks at the whole copy and line editing searches line-by-line for errors.
Copy Editing:
This editor look at the whole story. Does your plot line flow evenly? Do your characters make sense and are they completely fleshed out? Does the story end well? Does it engage the reader from the beginning? These are the subjects a good copy editor will address. Basically, this editor looks at the big picture.
Line Editing:
This editor reads the story for spelling errors, grammatical errors and structural errors. This editor's job is to make sure words are spelled correctly, the correct word is used (examp. since vs sense), the correct punctuation is used, there are no run on sentences, there are no redundancies, and the topic stays the same in each paragraph and the paragraph before and the paragraph after cohere. The line editor looks at the individual pieces that put together the big picture the copy editor reviews.
These jobs sometimes over lap since a copy editor definitely can catch spelling errors and such but you want the copy editor focusing on the flow instead of tripping over little errors. The line editor can give you suggestions on the story line but you really need him to be focused in on making every line perfect.
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4 comments:
Too funny. The first line needs line editing. This:
"Copy Editing: This editor look at the whole story. "
should read:
"Copy Editing: This editor looks at the whole story. "
Even funnier: "nut shell" is one word, not two.
The entire piece, from the opening subordinate clause, reads like a parody of a hapless Eastern European emigré who's just jumped ship c. 1910. (Honestly, "When I discuss with authors editing"…?)
Never mind the spelling. That's kids' stuff.
When verbs are grotesquely separated from their subjects or objects, or modifiers from the noun or verb they're describing, it's generally a sign the writer has only a nodding acquaintance with the English language.
Why should such a person be offering advice on how to edit English prose?
This is what mail-order blogging, commissioned by SEO scanning machines, has done to journalism and publishing.
And of course, both these definitions are wildly inaccurate, as well.
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