Your Guide to the Guide: Part 3 Copy Editing

I offer copy editing and highlighted proofreading services. Copy-editing is the process of taking the raw material (the ‘copy’ of a novel or a web page) and making it ready for publication as a book, article, website, broadcast or whatever.

A copy editor ensures that whatever appears in public is accurate, easy to follow, fit for purpose and free from error, inconsistency, omission or repetition. By picking up embarrassing mistakes, ambiguities and anomalies, the copy editor alerts the client to possible legal problems and analyses the document structure for the typesetter/designer.

It’s all about effective communication: you have something to say, and don’t want that message spoiled or diluted by mechanical errors. Is the copy is complete? (Some clients I have had have missed a chapter or se