There are many types of editing and as many types of editors. A simple Google search for "book editing services" will turn up several hits from many different types of companies. Some are large corporations with a full-time staff of editors on hand; others are small independent editors who have either started their own company or work on a freelance basis. You will want to do your homework before hiring an editor to suit your needs.
Types and Levels of Editing
Editing services range from basic editing (often called copyediting or line editing) to more detailed structural or substantive editing. The type of service you chose should be based on the amount of work you believe is needed to get your manuscript into good shape.
1. Basic copyediting. The editor reads through your manuscript, checking for the most basic elements of English grammar and construction of the English language. This typically includes: word usage, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics of writing style. A good copyeditor will check for consistency in use of mechanics of the English language and the author's writing style.
2. Stylistic editing. The editor will clarify meaning, eliminate jargon, and polish language. These tasks are considered non-mechanical aspects of editing and are more subjective than basic copyediting.
3. Substantive editing. Sometimes including rewriting sentences, paragraphs, and sections, the substantive editor specializes in clarifying or reorganizing a manuscript for content and structure. The substantive editor pays special attention to the content within a manuscript, determining how best to present information that, for the most part, is already written.
Editing Rates
Rates for editing services will vary from editor to editor. Copyediting services, being the most basic service, are typically the least expensive; substantive and rewriting rates run the highest. Most editors base their rates on either a word count or on an hourly fee. For example, a typical manuscript in 12-point type, double-spaced, with one-inch margins will have about 300 words per page. Editors who have hourly rates base their fee on how many pages they can read in one hour, multiplied by the number of pages in the manuscript. This can help you compare rates between editors who use different rate calcualtions.
How to Choose an Editor
There are several factors that come into play when choosing an editor. It is important that you do as much research as you can on anyone offering editing services. Here are some tips to help you in your search:
1. Make sure your potential editor is a book editor. There are many types of editing and many styles of editing. Newspapers, magazines, academic/scholarly works, and books adhere to different editing styles. For book editors at traditional publishing houses, most adhere to the rules in the Chicago Manual of Style, a style manual published by the University of Chicago Press. Be sure to ask your potential editor which style he/she uses for manuscript editing.
2. Ask for a list of titles. A professional book editor will have an extensive list of titles on which they have performed any of the editing services listed above. Most will not hesitate to provide such a list to a potential client.
3. Find an editor who specializes in your genre of writing. Chances are an editor who has experience in your genre will be a better fit for your project. The ideal candidate is someone who has experience with the subject matter of your manuscript, the writing style you employ, and the target audience for whom you are writing. In addition to requesting a titles list, a description of the works (i.e., their genres/target audiences) will assist you greatly in finding the right editor for your work.
4. Ask to see a sample of the editor's work. You can do this by requesting that the potential editor send a sample of something he/she has already edited or by sending him/her a portion of your manuscript for a sample edit. Take notice of what he/she adds to your manuscript (correction of spelling, grammar, word usage, comments, etc.). This is also a great way to get feedback about your manuscript. If, for example, you are convinced that you only need a basic copyedit and a potential editor suggests a more detailed service, you can take that into consideration during your search.
5. Ask about turnaround times. Just as rates between editors and editing services vary, so will the time it takes to edit your manuscript. Substantive editing will take longer than a line edit. Each editor, if they are working on a freelance or contract basis, will set his/her own schedule and may be juggling several projects at a time. Ask the potential editor how long it would take to perform a specific service (copyediting, stylistic, or substantive) given the word or page count of your mansucript.
6. Copyright infringement: ask for a written agreement. A written agreement is a legally binding document that outlines the terms and conditions of your project. You should not agree to work with an editor who does not furnish an agreement of some sort. Ask to look over the agreements of several editors before making a decision. Make sure the agreement of the editor you choose has a provision stating that you are the copyright owner, that you have hired Mr. or Ms. Editor to perform specific tasks, and that he/she is fully aware that any other use of the manuscript is unlawful.
Working with an Editor: Reviewing Your Edited Manuscript
Once you have chosen an editor with whom you will work, it is important that you understand the typical procedures of book editing. The editor will be reading your mansucript and making changes visible so that you can see what has been corrected. Since most editors work in Microsoft Word, the author should have a basic knowledge of the Track Changes application in that program.
1. Under the "Review" Tab in MS Word, you will find several options that will assist you in reviewing your manuscript. A few of them are shown here.
The editor will have the "Track Changes" tab highlighted, signifying that everything the editor has added, deleted, or adjusted has been tracked in the document. Below the Review Tab selection, you can see an edited manuscript, with some portions highlighted in pink. Some words and phrases have been deleted (you can see the word "but" with a red line through it in Line 3 of the sample manuscript shown).
2. In addtion, your manuscript will have a new column added on the righthand side if you have "Final Showing Markup" selected in the Review Pane.
Accepting/Rejecting Changes
Since the next stage in the publishing process is to prepare your mansucript for a typesetter or book layout specialist (See Part III: Choosing and Working with a Designer), you will want to go through the manuscript and either accept or reject all the changes in the document. The book layout specialist will typically not do this for you.
There are two way to do this: (1) You can read through the entire document and then "Accept All Changes" or (2) you can go through each entry and accept/reject as needed.
4. To accept or reject each specific entry, start at the beginning of your manuscript and hit either the "Accept" button or "Reject" arrow beneath the button. Then you will have the option to move to the next correction.
Once you have gone through the entire document, and either accepted or rejected all entries, you should revert the manuscript back to "Final" Mode and save it (See Step 2).
1 comments:
Very helpful, Thomas! The only thing I tell authors I copyedit for in a *slightly* different way is that they might want to only worry about rejecting changes one by one as they read through the edited manuscript, and then hit "Accept All Changes" to accept the remaining (non-rejected) changes. To me, it just seems a little more efficient. No right or wrong -- just a suggestion.
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