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Copy editing is the process of an editor making formatting changes and other improvements to text. Copy, in this case a noun, refers to material (such as handwritten or typewritten pages) to be set (as in typesetting) for printing. A person who performs the task of copy editing is called a copy editor.
Although copy editing is concerned with house style, there is no universal form for the term itself. In magazine and book publishing, it is often written as one word. The newspaper industry writes the expression as two words or hyphenates it, and the hyphenated form (copy-editing) is probably the one most commonly used in Britain. The term copy editor is similarly spelled as one word, two words, or hyphenated.
In British newspaper and magazine publishing (though not in book publishing), the job is generally called sub-editing .
Overview
Copy editing typically entails correcting spelling and punctuation mistakes; correcting grammatical and semantic errors; ensuring that the typescript adheres to the publisher's house style; and adding standardized headers, footers, headlines and so on. These are all elements that must be addressed before the typesetter can prepare a final proof copy.
The copy editor is expected to ensure the text flows well, that it makes sense and is fair and accurate, and that it will cause no legal problem for the publisher. Newspaper copy editors are sometimes responsible for choosing which wire copy the newspaper will use, and for re-writing it according to the house style.
In many cases, the copy editor will be the only person other than the author to read an entire text before publication. Newspaper editors will often regard their copy editors as the newspaper's last line of defense.
A copy editor may also abridge text, which is also called "cutting" or "trimming". This means to reduce the length of a novel or article, either to fit it within broadcast or publishing limits, or to improve the material. This may involve simply cutting out parts of the text, but sometimes it is necessary to rewrite uncut parts to account for missing details or plot. Some abridged texts are only slightly shorter, whereas others may be reduced dramatically, particularly when a literary classic is abridged for the children's market.
Changes in the profession Traditionally, a copy editor would read a printed or written text, such as a manuscript, marking it with handwritten proofreader's marks for correction. Nowadays, the text is almost always read on a computer display in WYSIWYG form and the corrections are made directly to the text. Increasingly, a copy editor marks up the text using XML or a similar coding scheme, and is involved in preparing text for online publication, not just for printing.
The spread of desktop publishing means that many copy editors do design and layout work that was once left to production crews for printed publications. As a result, the skills needed for the job are shifting, with technical knowledge sometimes considered as important as writing ability, particularly within journalism as compared with book publishing.
Traits, skills and training Besides an excellent command of the language, copy editors should have broad general knowledge to be able to spot factual errors; good critical-thinking skills so they recognize inconsistencies; diplomatic skills to help them deal with writers; and a thick skin for when diplomacy fails. They also need to be able to set priorities so they can balance striving for perfection with working on deadline.
Many copy editors have a college degree, often in journalism or communications. Copy editing is often taught as a college journalism course, although the name of the course varies. News design and pagination are often taught in such classes.
In the United States, The Dow Jones Newspaper Fund sponsors internships which include two weeks of training. Also, midcareer training for newspaper copy editors and news editors (who supervise news copy desks) is offered at the American Press Institute, the Poynter Institute, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and conferences of the American Copy Editors Society.
Most U.S. newspapers and many other publishers give candidates for copy-editing jobs a test or a try-out. These vary widely, and often include general items such as acronyms, current events, simple mathematics and punctuation, and skills such as Associated Press style, headline writing, infographics editing, and journalism ethics.
See also
Reference "The Art of Editing," by Floyd K. Baskette, Jack Z. Scissors, and Brian S. Brooks
External links General - Advice on freelance proofreading and copy-editing (UK) (http://www.copyediting.co.uk)
- Copy Editor newsletter (http://www.copyeditor.com/copy/copy.asp) (USA)
- proofreader's marks (http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~opa/pubs/ed_style_guide/proofread.html)
- Proofreading practice (http://www.pgdp.net) at Project Gutenberg Distributed Proofreaders
Newspaper copy editing in the USA | 
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