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Editing

From Wikipedia, in a visual modern way
Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Editor (disambiguation) and Edit (disambiguation).
For information on editing Wikipedia, see Help:Editing.

"Quarters of the news editor", one of a group of four photos in the 1900 brochure Seattle and the Orient, which was collectively captioned "The Seattle Daily Times—Editorial Department".
"Quarters of the news editor", one of a group of four photos in the 1900 brochure Seattle and the Orient, which was collectively captioned "The Seattle Daily Times—Editorial Department".

Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organisation, and many other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate and complete piece of work.[1]

The editing process often begins with the author's idea for the work itself, continuing as a collaboration between the author and the editor as the work is created. Editing can involve creative skills, human relations and a precise set of methods.[2][3]

Editors work on producing an issue of Bild, West Berlin, 1977. Previous front pages are affixed to the wall behind them.
Editors work on producing an issue of Bild, West Berlin, 1977. Previous front pages are affixed to the wall behind them.

There are various editorial positions in publishing. Typically, one finds editorial assistants reporting to the senior-level editorial staff and directors who report to senior executive editors. Senior executive editors are responsible for developing a product for its final release. The smaller the publication, the more these roles overlap.

The top editor at many publications may be known as the chief editor, executive editor, or simply the editor. A frequent and highly regarded contributor to a magazine may acquire the title of editor-at-large or contributing editor. Mid-level newspaper editors often manage or help to manage sections, such as business, sports and features. In U.S. newspapers, the level below the top editor is usually the managing editor.

In the book publishing industry, editors may organize anthologies and other compilations, produce definitive editions of a classic author's works (scholarly editor), and organize and manage contributions to a multi-author book (symposium editor or volume editor). Obtaining manuscripts or recruiting authors is the role of an acquisitions editor or a commissioning editor in a publishing house.[4] Finding marketable ideas and presenting them to appropriate authors are the responsibilities of a sponsoring editor.

Copy editors correct spelling, grammar and align writings to house style. Changes to the publishing industry since the 1980s have resulted in nearly all copy editing of book manuscripts being outsourced to freelance copy editors.[4]

At newspapers and wire services, press or copy editors write headlines and work on more substantive issues, such as ensuring accuracy, fairness, and taste. In some positions, they design pages and select news stories for inclusion. At U.K. and Australian newspapers, the term is sub-editor. They may choose the layout of the publication and communicate with the printer. These editors may have the title of layout or design editor or (more so in the past) makeup editor.

Page 1 Editor Jack Breibart in the San Francisco Chronicle newsroom, 1994.
Page 1 Editor Jack Breibart in the San Francisco Chronicle newsroom, 1994.

Discover more about Editing related topics

Image editing

Image editing

Image editing encompasses the processes of altering images, whether they are digital photographs, traditional photo-chemical photographs, or illustrations. Traditional analog image editing is known as photo retouching, using tools such as an airbrush to modify photographs or editing illustrations with any traditional art medium. Graphic software programs, which can be broadly grouped into vector graphics editors, raster graphics editors, and 3D modelers, are the primary tools with which a user may manipulate, enhance, and transform images. Many image editing programs are also used to render or create computer art from scratch. The term “image editing” usually refers only to the editing of 2D images, not 3D ones.

Audio engineer

Audio engineer

An audio engineer helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, and reinforcement of sound. Audio engineers work on the "technical aspect of recording—the placing of microphones, pre-amp knobs, the setting of levels. The physical recording of any project is done by an engineer... the nuts and bolts."

Film editing

Film editing

Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film which increasingly involves the use of digital technology.

Magazine

Magazine

A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination of the three.

Contributing editor

Contributing editor

A contributing editor is a newspaper, magazine or online job title that varies in its responsibilities. Often, but not always, a contributing editor is a "high-end" freelancer, consultant, or expert who has proven ability and has readership draw. This contributing editor regularly contributes articles to the publication but does not always edit articles. Here the title "editor" implies a certain level of prestige rather than a more traditional editing role. In other instances, however, a contributing editor may oversee projects or specific aspects of a publication and have more regular editing duties. At smaller magazines, the title can imply a staff member with regular writing responsibility and some editorial duties. Magazines, websites, books, sources, and journals use contributing editors.

Managing editor

Managing editor

A managing editor (ME) is a senior member of a publication's management team. Typically, the managing editor reports directly to the editor-in-chief and oversees all aspects of the publication.

Anthology

Anthology

In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors.

Commissioning editor

Commissioning editor

In book publishing, a commissioning editor is essentially a buyer. It is the job of the commissioning editor to advise the publishing house on which books to publish. Usually the actual decision of whether to contract a book is taken by a senior manager rather than the editor. Some magazines also employ commissioning editors.

Copy editing

Copy editing

Copy editing is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that a text is free of grammatical and factual errors. The Chicago Manual of Style states that manuscript editing encompasses "simple mechanical corrections through sentence-level interventions to substantial remedial work on literary style and clarity, disorganized passages, baggy prose, muddled tables and figures, and the like ". In the context of print publication, copy editing is done before typesetting and again before proofreading. Outside traditional book and journal publishing, the term copy editing is used more broadly, and is sometimes referred to as proofreading, or the term copy editing sometimes includes additional tasks.

Grammar

Grammar

In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraints, a field that includes domains such as phonology, morphology, and syntax, often complemented by phonetics, semantics, and pragmatics. There are currently two different approaches to the study of grammar: traditional grammar and theoretical grammar.

Newspaper

Newspaper

A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.

News design

News design

News design is the process of arranging material on a newspaper page, according to editorial and graphical guidelines and goals. Main editorial goals include the ordering of news stories by order of importance, while graphical considerations include readability and balanced, unobtrusive incorporation of advertising.

Scholarly books and journals

Within the publishing environment, editors of scholarly books are of three main types, each with particular responsibilities:

  • Acquisitions editor (or commissioning editor in Britain), who contracts with the author to produce the copy
  • Project editor or production editor, who sees the copy through its stages from manuscript to bound book and usually assumes most of the budget and schedule responsibilities
  • Copy editor or manuscript editor, who prepares the copy for conversion into printed form.

In the case of multi-author edited volumes, before the manuscript is delivered to the publisher it has undergone substantive and linguistic editing by the volume's editor, who works independently of the publisher.

As for scholarly journals, where spontaneous submissions are more common than commissioned works, the position of journal editor or editor-in-chief replaces the acquisitions editor of the book publishing environment, while the roles of production editor and copy editor remain. However, another editor is sometimes involved in the creation of scholarly research articles. Called the authors' editor, this editor works with authors to get a manuscript fit for purpose before it is submitted to a scholarly journal for publication.

The primary difference between copy editing scholarly books and journals and other sorts of copy editing lies in applying the standards of the publisher to the copy. Most scholarly publishers have a preferred style that usually specifies a particular dictionary and style manual—for example, The Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Style Manual or the APA Publication Manual in the U.S., or the New Hart's Rules in the U.K.

Discover more about Scholarly books and journals related topics

Edited volume

Edited volume

An edited volume or edited collection is a collection of scholarly or scientific chapters written by different authors. The chapters in an edited volume are original works.

Editor-in-chief

Editor-in-chief

An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.

The Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style

The Chicago Manual of Style is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its 17 editions have prescribed writing and citation styles widely used in publishing. It is "one of the most widely used and respected style guides in the United States". The guide specifically focuses on American English and deals with aspects of editorial practice, including grammar and usage, as well as document preparation and formatting. It is available in print as a hardcover book, and by subscription as a searchable website as The Chicago Manual of Style Online. The online version provides some free resources, primarily aimed at teachers, students, and libraries.

APA style

APA style

APA style is a writing style and format for academic documents such as scholarly journal articles and books. It is commonly used for citing sources within the field of behavioral and social sciences, including sociology, education, health sciences, criminal justice, and anthropology, as well as psychology. It is described in the style guide of the American Psychological Association (APA), which is titled the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. The guidelines were developed to aid reading comprehension in the social and behavioral sciences, for clarity of communication, and for "word choice that best reduces bias in language". APA style is widely used, either entirely or with modifications, by hundreds of other scientific journals, in many textbooks, and in academia. The current edition is its seventh revision.

Editing in the 21st Century

Editing dates back to when language was first written and looked over. It's evolved so much over time, especially since the emergence of new media and their languages; it's taken the steps towards multimodality.[5] Hardcopies and print are no longer the main editing ground because of new content such as film and audio which require different kinds of edits.

Technical editing more commonly takes place on applications and websites on devices. For one to be an editor, one must also be familiarized with online platforms such as Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft office, Google Docs, etc. Beyond print, the significance and intentions behind editing have changed due to the continuous updating of technology which, as a result, changes the grounds and values of editing.[6] For instance, text is often shortened and simplified online because quick answers are preferred by this generation and the advancement in social issues made it possible to offer easy access to tons of information.[7]

Technical editing

See also: Technical writing and Technical communication

Technical editing involves reviewing text written on a technical topic, identifying usage errors and ensuring adherence to a style guide. It aims to improve the clarity of the text or message from the author to the reader. Technical editing is actually the umbrella term for all the different kinds of edits that might occur.[8]

Technical editing may include the correction of grammatical mistakes, misspellings, mistyping, incorrect punctuation, inconsistencies in usage, poorly structured sentences, wrong scientific terms, wrong units and dimensions, inconsistency in significant figures, technical ambivalence, technical disambiguation, statements conflicting with general scientific knowledge, correction of synopsis, content, index, headings and subheadings, correcting data and chart presentation in a research paper or report, and correcting errors in citations.

From basics to more critical changes, these adjustments to the text can be categorized by the different terms within technical editing. There are policy edits, integrity edits, screening edits, copy clarification edits, format edits and mechanical style edits, language edits, etc.[9]

The two most common and broad are substantive editing and copy editing. Substantive editing is developmental because it guides the drafting process by providing essential building blocks to work off of. They work closely with the author to help supply ideas. Copy editing happens later in the drafting process and focuses on changing the text so that it's consistent throughout in terms of accuracy, style, flow, and so on. This is usually the preferred editing for the surface-level cleaning up of work.[10]

Large companies dedicate experienced writers to the technical editing function. Organizations that cannot afford dedicated editors typically have experienced writers peer-edit text produced by less experienced colleagues.

It helps if the technical editor is familiar with the subject being edited. The "technical" knowledge that an editor gains over time while working on a particular product or technology does give the editor an edge over another who has just started editing content related to that product or technology.

General essential skills include attention to detail, patience, persistence, the ability to sustain focus while working through lengthy pieces of text on complex topics, tact in dealing with writers, and excellent communication skills. Additionally, one does not need an English major to partake but language aptitude certainly helps.[11]

Editing services

"Paid editing" redirects here. For paid editing on Wikipedia, see Paid editing on Wikipedia.

Editing is a growing field of work in the service industry. There is little career training offered for editors.[12] Paid editing services may be provided by specialized editing firms or by self-employed (freelance) editors.

Editing firms may employ a team of in-house editors, rely on a network of individual contractors or both.[13] Such firms are able to handle editing in a wide range of topics and genres, depending on the skills of individual editors. The services provided by these editors may be varied and can include proofreading, copy editing, online editing, developmental editing, editing for search engine optimization, etc.

Self-employed editors work directly for clients (e.g., authors, publishers) or offer their services through editing firms, or both. They may specialize in a type of editing (e.g., copy editing) and in a particular subject area. Those who work directly for authors and develop professional relationships with them are called authors' editors. There is hope for self-employed editors because all editing differs based on tradition, experience, education, personal style, values, etc.[14]

Discover more about Editing services related topics

Freelancer

Freelancer

Freelance, freelancer, or freelance worker, are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance workers are sometimes represented by a company or a temporary agency that resells freelance labor to clients; others work independently or use professional associations or websites to get work.

Proofreading

Proofreading

Proofreading is an iterative process of comparing galley proofs against the original manuscripts or graphic artworks to identify transcription errors in the typesetting process. In the past, proofreaders would place corrections or proofreading marks along the margins. In modern publishing, material is generally provided in electronic form, traditional typesetting is no longer used and thus this kind of transcription no longer occurs. Consequently the part played by pure proofreaders in the process has almost vanished: the role has been absorbed into copy editing to such an extent that their names have become interchangeable. Modern copy-editors may check layout alongside their traditional checks on grammar, punctuation and readability.

Copy editing

Copy editing

Copy editing is the process of revising written material (copy) to improve readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that a text is free of grammatical and factual errors. The Chicago Manual of Style states that manuscript editing encompasses "simple mechanical corrections through sentence-level interventions to substantial remedial work on literary style and clarity, disorganized passages, baggy prose, muddled tables and figures, and the like ". In the context of print publication, copy editing is done before typesetting and again before proofreading. Outside traditional book and journal publishing, the term copy editing is used more broadly, and is sometimes referred to as proofreading, or the term copy editing sometimes includes additional tasks.

Developmental editing

Developmental editing

Developmental editing is a form of writing support that comes into play before or during the production of a publishable manuscript, in both fiction and non-fiction writing. As explained by Scott Norton in his book Developmental editing: a handbook for freelancers, authors, and publishers, developmental editing involves "significant structuring or restructuring of a manuscript's discourse". Developmental editors are a type of language professional.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the quality and quantity of website traffic to a website or a web page from search engines. SEO targets unpaid traffic rather than direct traffic or paid traffic. Unpaid traffic may originate from different kinds of searches, including image search, video search, academic search, news search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.

Author editing

Author editing

An authors' editor is a language professional who works "with authors to make draft texts fit for purpose". They edit manuscripts that have been drafted by the author but have not yet been submitted to a publisher for publication. This type of editing is called author editing, to distinguish it from other types of editing done for publishers on documents already accepted for publication: an authors' editor works "with an author rather than for a publisher". A term sometimes used synonymously with authors' editor is "manuscript editor" which, however, is less precise as it also refers to editors employed by scholarly journals to edit manuscripts after acceptance.

Editing Your Own Work

There are many different ways one can think to edit and revise a paper; it all depends on your opinion. Whether it be your own work or a friend's, in a chapter titled "Editing" from The Craft of Professional Writing by Micheal S. Malone claims that there is a series of basic steps to follow when attempting to edit to put them in the right mindset to do so:[15]

  • Edit as you write and ask questions about them.
  • Leave your work alone, take a break, and come back to it later with refreshed eyes.
  • Read over target section several times before making a suggestion.
  • Break up long paragraphs and sentences to better transcribe thoughts.

Source: "Editing", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, March 22nd), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Editing.

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Further Reading

Writer

The Chicago Manual of Style

Textual criticism

Academic publishing

Academic journal

APA style

Scientific literature

ICMJE recommendations
See also
Further reading
  • Overholser, Geneva (December 1998). "Editor Inc". American Journalism Review.
  • Stephen, Leslie (1898). "The Evolution of Editors". Studies of a Biographer. Vol. 1. London: Duckworth and Co. pp. 37–73.
  • Morrison, Blake (6 August 2005) "Black day for the blue pencil"[16]
  • Ó Brógáin, Séamas (2015). A Dictionary of Editing. Vol. 1. Dublin: Claritas.
  • Greenberg, Susan L. (2015) Editors talk about editing: insights for readers, writers and publishers, New York: Peter Lang
  • Munro, Craig (2021) Literary Lion Tamers: book editors who made publishing history, Brunswick, Victoria: Scribe Publications ISBN 9781925713220
References
  1. ^ Mamishev, Alexander, Williams, Sean, Technical Writing for Teams: The STREAM Tools Handbook, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, John Wiley & Sons. Inc., Hoboken, 2009, p. 128.
  2. ^ "Encarta Dictionary definition of "editing"". Archived from the original on 22 October 2009.
  3. ^ "Encarta Dictionary definition of "editor"". Archived from the original on 6 February 2009.
  4. ^ a b Poland, Louise, The business, Craft and Profession of the Book Editor, in Carter, David, Galligan, Anne, (eds.), Making books: contemporary Australian publishing, Queensland University Press, 2007, p. 100.
  5. ^ Buehler, Mary Fran (1981). "Defining Terms in Technical Editing: The Levels of Edit as a Model". Technical Communication. 28 (4): 10–15 – via JSTOR.
  6. ^ Buehler, Mary Fran (1981). "Defining Terms in Technical Editing: The Levels of Edit as a Model". Technical Communication. 28 (4): 10–15 – via JSTOR.
  7. ^ Hayhoe, George F (2007). "The Future of Technical Writing and Editing". Technical Communication. 54 (3): 281–282 – via JSTOR.
  8. ^ Buehler, Mary Fran (1981). "Defining Terms in Technical Editing: The Levels of Edit as a Model". Technical Communication. 28 (4): 10–15 – via JSTOR.
  9. ^ Buehler, Mary Fran (1981). "Defining Terms in Technical Editing: The Levels of Edit as a Model". Technical Communication. 28 (4): 10–15 – via JSTOR.
  10. ^ Nobles, Heidi (2019). "I will not edit your paper (Will I?): Tutoring and/or editing in the writing center [Tutors' column]" (PDF). A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. 43 (5–6): 21–24.
  11. ^ Putnam, Constance E. (1985). "Myths about Editing". Technical Communication. 32 (2): 17–20 – via JSTOR.
  12. ^ Malone, Micheal S. (2018). "Editing" The Craft of Professional Writing: A Guide for Amateur and Professional Writers. Anthem Press. pp. 283–292. ISBN 978-1-78308-830-0.
  13. ^ Appiah, Bernard (2009). "Science editing at an Indian firm: perspectives of two US visitors" (PDF). Science Editing. 32 (4): 118–119. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013.
  14. ^ Putnam, Constance E. (1985). "Myths about Editing". Technical Communication. 32 (2): 17–20 – via JSTOR.
  15. ^ Malone, Micheal S. (2018). "Editing" The Craft of Professional Writing: A Guide for Amateur and Professional Writers. Anthem Press. pp. 283–292. ISBN 978-1-78308-830-0.
  16. ^ Morrison, Blake (6 August 2005). "Black day for the blue pencil". The Observer. Archived from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
External links
  • The dictionary definition of editing at Wiktionary
  • Media related to Editing at Wikimedia Commons
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