Last month, I attended an Editors’ Association of Canada meeting in Saskatoon for a training session on the ‘Fundamentals of Communicating Numerical Information”.

Melissa Spore, an instructional designer at the University of Saskatchewan and co-author of Presenting Numbers, Tables and Charts (Oxford University Press, 2003), was a delightful presenter and gave me a lot to think about.

The presentation covered the core concepts within her book and generated several “Well, duh, why didn’t I think of that before?” moments for me. Many of the rules proposed by Bigwood and Spore are glaringly obvious when you stop and think about them, but unfortunately it is all too easy to ignore the obvious. Isn’t it funny how frequently we discount KISS (that’s Keep It Simple Silly!) principles especially in our writing?

Looking back at project I have authored and edited over the years, I am ashamed to say that I too have broken some rules. But I’ll do better now, I promise.

If you have a chance, I would highly recommend adding Bigwood and Spore’s book to your reference bookshelf or requesting it for your library! (ISBN 0-19-860722-9) I’ve added some links to more information and places to purchase the book below:

Bigwood and Spore’s website: Plain Figures
Presenting Numbers, Tables and Charts at Amazon.ca

In my previous post on self-editing, I touched on the fact I have learned many new things from the Editor’s Association of Canada. One of the things I have learned is much like any area of specialty, unique jargon can be confusing to non-specialists.

I have learned copy editing is very different from structural or stylistic editing and is not to be confused with proofreading. What!?!

Copy Editing = Editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation and other mechanics of style; checking for consistency of mechanics and internal consistency of facts.

Structural Editing = Clarifying and/or reorganizing a manuscript for content and structure.

Stylistic Editing = Clarifying meaning, eliminating jargon, smoothing language and other non-mechanical line-by-line editing.

Proofreading = Reading proofs of edited manuscript.

My greatest challenge when reviewing manuscripts is to limit myself to only a few of these tasks as required by the client. My nature is to try to “fix everything”, which is why my internal definition pools these tasks together. Most of my writing tasks include all of these activities, so learning how to break these tasks out into discrete steps and focus on one facet of editing individually will be an interesting challenge indeed.

~Definitions adapted from Schedule A of the Standard Freelance Editorial Agreement published by the Editors’ Association of Canada. The original document is available at http://www.editors.ca/hire/sfea/index.html

I recently joined the Editor’s Association of Canada (June 2008) for networking and professional development and I have learned some things I didn’t know before. I am not the most anal retentive, obsessive compulsive, control freak on the planet. (My husband still doesn’t believe this is true.) I have my moments, but apparently editors, by my observation, are among the most detail oriented people I have ever met. Some are obsessed with grammar, punctuation and semantics to a degree that is frightening.

(I am already giggling with perverse glee in anticipation of my editor’s reaction to the punctuation in this post.) You may be thinking, dear Reader: “Hold the phone! This editor uses an editor?” And my response is yes – if you want (near) perfection you cannot self-edit.

I suppose this is not technically accurate; you can self-edit if you are aware of your writing weaknesses and actively look for and compensate for them. The greatest issue is the author’s brain is programmed to “see” words missing from the manuscript, even when they aren’t there. Surely everyone has seen the email where every word is scrambled (the first and last letters are accurate), but you can still read the paragraph?

Hence, the second set of eyes.

Why would someone hire an editor? According to the Editor’s Association of Canada, “an editor can help make your message clear, correct, attractive and appropriate to your market.” That sure sounds nice, but what does it really mean?

When I coach clients through the writing process, I try to help them learn about the requirements (style, layout and content) of their writing project.  Often, tight timelines make it impossible for writers to focus on all of the details when they are working hard to include as much content as possible. My role as a coach and editor is to ensure they address the requirements and deliver a polished piece of writing that (hopefully) achieves its intended purpose.

Does the use of an editor = success, i.e., funded grant applications and business plans or accepted manuscripts? I wish I could say it does (just think of what that would mean for my business), but content is the most important part of any document. The contribution of an editor is to help the author make the document easy to read, understand and recall.

“Good writing will not save bad ideas, but bad writing can kill good ones.” – Jacob Kraicer

Here is the caveat-not all editors are the same: some specialize in science and technical writing (like me) and others edit literary works. (There are other specializations too.) Importantly, picking an editor with experience working in your genre will save you time teaching them how to edit in your required style.

I frequently get asked to explain the difference between copyright, copy editing, copy writing and ghostwriting.

Copyright is the exclusive right authors and artists have to prevent others from copying their work. To further confuse things, copyright has two parts: moral and economic copyright. The economic part of copyright can be sold or transferred to others; however the author retains what is called moral copyright, which means that no one, not even the new owner of the copyright, can distort or modify the work in a way that is prejudicial to the author’s honor or reputation.  You cannot sell moral rights, but you can waive them.  For more information on copyright visit the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s Guide to Copyright.

Copy editing involves reviewing a draft manuscript for errors in spelling, punctuation and grammar. It also includes correcting any inconsistencies in typesetting as well as ensuring that text flows well and is not repetitious. In instances where multiple authors are involved, copy editing will remove variances in writing to present a consistent style.

Copy writing (also known as ghostwriting) is where a manuscript is prepared based on the ideas and information provided by the client according to the required style (i.e., journal article, grant application, business plan).

When manuscripts are commissioned for copy or ghostwriting, the copyright in all customized content is transferred to the client.  Harms & Company Consulting retains the right to reuse authored materials and templates that are of a generic or reusable nature and do not include the client’s proprietary information.