Copy Editing

Copy editing, also written as copy-editing or copyediting, is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy of text. Unlike general editing, copy editing often does not involve changing the substance of the text. Copy refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, or publication. Copy editing is done before proofreading, which is the last step in the editorial cycle.

In the United States and Canada, an editor who does this work is called a copy editor, and 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 book publishing in the United Kingdom and other parts of the world that follow UK nomenclature, the term copy editor is used, but in newspaper and magazine publishing, the term is sub-editor, commonly shortened to sub (to sub is the verb form). The senior sub-editor on a title is called the chief sub-editor. As the "sub" prefix suggests, copy editors typically have less authority than regular editors.

The alternate spellings copyedit and copy-edit are fairly common. Similarly, the term copy editor may also be spelled as one word or in hyphenated form. The hyphenated form is especially common in the UK. In the U.S. newspaper field, using two words is more common.

Proofreading

A proof copy is a version of a manuscript that has been typeset after copy editing. Proof typescripts often contain typographical errors introduced by mistyping (hence the word typo to refer to misplaced, missing or incorrect characters). Traditionally, a proofreader checks the typeset copy and marks any errors using standard proofreaders' marks showing what is to be corrected (such as those specified in style manuals, by house style, or, more broadly, by the international standard ISO 5776, or, for English, the British Standard BS-5261:2). This process may be known as a line edit. The proof is then returned to the typesetter for correction. Correction-cycle proofs will typically have one descriptive term, such as bounce, bump, or revise unique to the department or organization and used for clarity to the strict exclusion of any other. It is a common practice for all such corrections, no matter how slight, to be returned after typesetting to a proofreader to be checked and initialed, thus establishing the principle of consistent accuracy for proofreaders. This principle defines proofreading in general.

Proofreading is considered a specific skill that must be learned because it is in the nature of the mind to correct errors automatically. Someone not trained in proofreading may not see errors such as missing words or improper usage because their mind is showing them what it is trained to recognize as correct.

The term proofreading is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to copy editing. This is a separate activity, although there is some overlap between the two. Proofreading consists of reviewing any text, either hard copy on paper or electronic copy on a computer, and checking for typos and formatting errors. This may be done either against an original document or "blind" (without checking against any other source). Many modern proofreaders are also required to take on some light copy-editing duties, such as checking for grammar and consistency issues.