structural editing Archives - The Editors' Weekly

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Rosemary Shipton

The Editor’s Letter

July 14, 2020 by Rosemary Shipton | 5 Comments on The Editor’s Letter

The editor’s letter — the first substantive communication you have with a client — is the most important task in any editorial project. It provides the opportunity to give your assessment, raise questions and establish a relationship. If this exchange is successful, the myriad other tasks should follow seamlessly. In this scenario, you’ve been hired […]

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Checklists: Sharing Knowledge

November 5, 2019 by Aaron Dalton | 5 Comments on Checklists: Sharing Knowledge

I’ve spent most of my career in-house. Currently I work with dozens of individual authors from all across the organization on a diverse array of document types. Though our editorial team works as a pool, a certain degree of specialization is unavoidable. We need to be able to record and share institutional knowledge amongst ourselves […]

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Aaron Dalton editing checklist editing software exclusion dictionary freelance editors in-house editor knowledge sharing line editing new editor non-editor proofreading structural editing style sheets technical writing

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Letter to Non-Editors

October 22, 2019 by Berna Ozunal | 5 Comments on Letter to Non-Editors

This post is part of a series of case studies by and for in-house editors. The focus of this series is on the personal experiences and various roles of in-house editors. A post will appear on the Editors’ Weekly every other month. If you’re interested in writing a post for this series, please email the Member Services Committee. After […]

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Berna Ozunal copy editing copy editor core editorial skills editing for non-editors editor role Editors Canada editors for hire hiring editors in-house editors proofreader proofreading structural editing stylistic editing value of an editor

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Professional Editorial Standards: What Does an Editor Do Today?

January 29, 2019 by Tilman Lewis | Leave a Comment

Editors Canada’s Professional Editorial Standards (PES) describe the responsibilities of an editor. The scope of PES is broad; this series explores how the standards apply to a variety of editing contexts. I’ve always found the granularity of PES daunting; I’m more inclined to “find the voice and let it sing.” But comparing the 2016 revision […]

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copy editing editing editing standards Professional Editorial Standards proofreading Standards at Work structural editing technology Tilman Lewis

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Rosemary Shipton

Shorten It!

August 23, 2016 by Rosemary Shipton | 13 Comments on Shorten It!

“Every word is gold,” my author said, “but I suppose you’ll have to shorten it.” Indeed I will: this book manuscript totals 180,000 words, and the trade publisher wants a 40 percent cut. That will be tough. Editors often need to reduce text. Newspapers, magazines, brochures, textbooks and reference materials have strict word limits. It […]

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Rosemary Shipton

Should Editors Be Able to Write?

April 28, 2015 by Rosemary Shipton | 15 Comments on Should Editors Be Able to Write?

We editors talk at length about different kinds of editing and who does what, and we generally assume that we’re working on a text written by someone else. Together with the author, we massage the content, the structure and the presentation into the best possible shape for its intended readers. But should we also be […]

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Rosemary Shipton

Twelve-Step Editing

November 4, 2014 by Rosemary Shipton | 23 Comments on Twelve-Step Editing

One project, one editor — that’s the norm in Canada today. Only a few large trade publishers and a small number of government departments still divide editing between structural/stylistic editors and copy editors, while the rapidly dwindling group of educational publishers distinguish between developmental editing and copy editing. Almost all the other publishers, institutions and […]

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copy editing editing editing checklist editing steps editor's role editorial skills structural editing stylistic editing substantive editing working relationship