Copyediting

You want your readers completely absorbed in your story. Don’t let the little stuff trip them up! Whether it’s a misspelled word or a character whose eyes change colors from one page to the next (with no scientific or magical interference, mind you!), it’s the details that can kick your reader out of your fictional world and remind them that it’s indeed just a book. And who wants that?

What exactly is copyediting?

It’s a word-by-word, syllable-by-syllable, forget-the-forest-let’s-focus-on-the-trees edit of your manuscript, meant to catch all the minute errors and slip-ups that you’d prefer your readers not notice. This service is perfect after you’ve taken care of all the big changes (think character arcs, overall structure, plot, etc.) and have already combed through for errors yourself.

Here’s what I’ll be looking at:

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• Punctuation. Are all the quotation marks facing the right way? Are there commas in all the places you need them? Does each sentence end with punctuation?

• Spelling, Typos, and Homonyms. Are all the words used in their correct contexts, and are they spelled properly? Did you write principal where you meant principle?

• Syntax. Are the sentences written in a way that conveys your meaning clearly? Do all the modifiers modify the right words/phrases? Are all the sentences complete?

• Grammar. Is the overall tense consistent? Do the verbs agree with their subjects? Do the pronouns match their nouns?

• Consistency. Is the main character named Jemma in chapter one but Gemma in chapter eight? Is the serial (aka Oxford) comma used in some places but not others?

• Conciseness. Are there any words or sentences that are repeated or redundant? Are there any places that are wordy enough to be distracting?

• Clarity. Will the audience understand the vocabulary and sentence structure? Are there any words or sentences that are confusing?

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What's included in a copyedit?