10 Things Your Copy Editor Wants You to Know

Copy editing your own work? Looking to work with a copy editor? Here's what to know.

At Conquer Books, we specialize in developmental and line editing, essentially the structure and voice of a book. But we’re great admirers of the copy edit and if you aren’t yet, you will be soon.

Copy editors work on a manuscript or short story to ensure it is readable and polished. To do that, they fix grammar and punctuation, flag necessary fixes for clarity and continuity, and provide a last stop for any other pesky mistakes. They are your #1 line of defense against scathing online book reviews listing the typos on pages 24, 32, and 91.

Working with a copy editor is an essential stepping stone on the way to a publishable manuscript which is why we want to share with you 5 important things to know about working with a copy editor, plus the top 5 copy edit fixes you can proactively implement in your WIP today.

1. There’s a style sheet in your future.

   An experienced copy editor will submit two things to you: the copy edited manuscript with tracked changes and a style sheet. A style sheet is essentially a rule book that lays out the plan for the manuscript—What style guide did the editor use (ie. Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition)? Is the Oxford comma at play? What is the exact spelling of each character name? What gets italicized?

2. Like with any editor, expect to pay.

   Copy editing is a specialized skill set and reviewing a 100,000 word manuscript takes time. The Editorial Freelancers Association puts fiction copy editing at about $0.025/word. Editors charge based on experience, timeline, and difficulty of project, so an independent author may pay anywhere between $2-3K for a copy edit on a book. If a publishing company bought your book, they will cover copy editing expenses.

3. They need your manuscript on time.

   No matter whether you contracted with a copy editor on your own or if it’s happening in-house at a publishing company, you need to submit your manuscript on time. Most editors have a tight schedule of project work and a late submission can impact other writers. Build a cushion in your project timeline to ensure you’re fully ready when you need to be.

4. You can always ask follow up questions.

   If you have a question about why a specific change was suggested, your copy editor will welcome the discussion. They want your project to be a success and won’t feel challenged if asked to provide more information within the scope of the project.

5. There will still be proofreading.

   Copy editing isn’t the end of the process. It’s natural for a few last typos to slip past one set of eyes. That’s why proofreading by the author and a second professional is essential to ensure everything is in place.

We hope you’re feeling more prepared to work with a copy editor, but if you’re far away from that point, or hoping to do some copy editing on your own project, here’s the five things we’ve learned from our copy editor friends that are essential for every writer to know.