Editing: The Art of Asking the Right Questions (Part 2)

Maureen Shelley continues with Part 2 of "10 Simple Steps to becoming a successful published author" series, putting the spotlight on masterful editing.

An editor will proof read and undertake more substantive edits to a work. Proof reading involves checking for semantics, typographical errors and grammar.

Pic source: Tumblr.com

In searching for grammatical errors, an editor will consider a range of issues; and here are just some.

1.    Has the writer made the correct use of definitive articles?

2.    Has the writer avoided confusing modifiers?

3.    Are the subject and verb in agreement, in grammatical terms?

4.    Has the writer used appropriate punctuation within sentences?

5.    Does the sentence structure follow established principles? If not, is it appropriate for the work?

6.    Are there any spelling errors?

7.    What is the style for capitalisation and is it used consistently?

8.    Are the pro-noun (s) /noun (s) in agreement?

9.    Has the writer split their infinitives?

10. Are there squinting or limiting modifiers used?

11. Are there incomplete comparisons in the work?

12. Has the writer solved the great gerund mystery?

13. Are there redundant pairs?

14. Has the writer misused or confused 'like' and 'as'?

15. Has the writer taken the long way round to say something? That is, are there circumlocutions?

16. Has the correct punctuation been used, particularly in regard to question marks?

17. Has the writer confused self and personal pronoun use?

18. Is there pronoun and antecedent agreement?

19. Has the writer used double negatives?

20. Has the writer begun or ended sentences with a conjunctive?

21. Is there comparison of absolute adjectives?

22. Has the writer used unbalanced quantifiers or dangling modifiers?

23. In regard to semicolons; are they used correctly?

24. Is the verb form use appropriate?

25. Has the writer used prepositions at the beginning or end of sentences? If so, is that appropriate for the text?

26. Has the writer indulged in noun strings?

27. Do the verb tenses agree?

28. Has there been misuse of subordinate or subjunctive clauses?

29. Is there incorrect pronoun case agreement?

Apart from resolving these issues, an editor will also (if paid and directed to do so) check facts, gain permissions where appropriate, insert appropriate references (biblical, geographical and literary are just a few), index, mark citations, insert footnotes and endnotes and create a glossary.

In addition to all of this, a good editor will ensure that a work is readable and makes sense. That it has a consistent structure and sensible flow or a cohesive narrative.

A good editor is worth their weight in gold. (And they will check for cliches too!) Oh, and they will eliminate exclamation marks or 'screamers' as they are known.

June is Author's Month to celebrate the launch of Red Raven Books. Red Raven Books is the publishing and imprint arm of The Copy Collective. Find out how we can help you today.

Proofreading: What's it all about? (Part 1)

The Copy Collective's resident wordsmith Maureen Shelley begins her new blog series: "10 Simple Steps to becoming a successful published author."

Today she unpacks the curious concept of proof reading.

What is proof reading anyway?

Proof reading is when a manuscript or other written work is submitted for checking of semantics, grammar and typographical errors.

This can be done by a proof reader or editor or, if you can't afford a human, you can use online programs such as Grammarly . We use Grammarly to check for originality to ensure that work submitted for proofing or editing by us isn't plagiarised by the writer.

So what are you trying to say?

What programs such as Grammarly can't do for you is actually understand what you are trying to say when your subject and object aren't clear and then to suggest appropriate edits. 

If as a writer you can't even afford Grammarly, then you should at least use the spell checker in your word processing program.

Tips for top-class grammar when using Word:

• Set the language to your choice first - Australian English, UK English or US English - they will all give slightly different suggestions for spelling of words. Then do a "select all (Control A in Word on a PC) and then F7 for a spell check. Do this repeatedly - you will be amazed at how many errors you find.
• Turn on recommendations for grammar as well as spelling. It will come up with a few suggestions that you will need to ignore but should find most glaring errors.

June is Author's Month to celebrate the launch of Red Raven Books. Red Raven Books is the publishing and imprint arm of The Copy Collective. Find out how we can help you today.

How to ask the right questions to deal with dodgy copy briefs

The Copy Collective’s Mr Romance, Jim Butcher, delves into the world of dodgy briefs and hands out some helpful suggestions for navigating your way through.

 

Dealing with dodgy briefs (Pic source: Hoopla)

There’s nothing worse than those cold sweats from fretting over a brief to which you just can’t respond. You’ve spent way too long pondering the job but you still can’t get into the swing of it.

Behind the brief

This could be because the brief is inadequate. It happens frequently; so don’t be too surprised. And there are many reasons for it:

• Perhaps there was more than one person working on the brief. Too many cooks spoiling the broth and all that.
• For some, creating a watertight brief isn’t important and they just want it off their desks, so what you’ve received could just be a bit of a palm-off.
• This might be the person’s first brief, you never know.

Whatever the reason, don’t worry. As long as you’ve caught this early enough, there are things you can do. 

Asking the right questions 
As you read through your brief, which you should do thoroughly as soon as you can, make sure the following questions are answered. If they’re not, then ask the client:

• Audience - who are you writing for?
• Tone - does this need a conversational tone? Is it a report or an emotive piece?
• Purpose - is this going to be a letter asking for donations? A blog post? A promotion or sales pitch?
• Additional material - is there reference material that hasn’t been provided that may support the information that is attached? Make sure you ask for all relevant material.

If there is a lot of background information, it’s OK to ask for direction on to the specific focus of the piece. Sometimes a client will just give you everything, which is great. But trawling through a 900-page document for a 300-word piece isn’t going to work for you or the client. 

Getting the job done 

Ask your questions and plan to ask as many as you need to at once. By planning, you will save your client time on separate phone calls or emails. And if you’re still not clear, ask again.
Your client won’t mind fielding your questions. Deep down, most people know when they’ve written a brief that may be missing the mark. 

Tell us your tricks

So,what do you do if the brief you’ve received isn’t up to scratch? Comment away...

The Great Gatsby or just the not-so-great gabby

Thanks to Warner: The Great Gatsby poster

Our Paris-based fashionista Tina Antarakis, manages to get some time off from working for her own business, The Style Bar, and as a talented contributor for The Copy Collective.

I went to see the fabulously over-the-top The Great Gatsby recently.

Loved every elaborate minute of it. Totally fantastical, yet true to F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel - at least in its portrayal of a complicated era (extravagant living in the midst of Prohibition). And don’t get me started on the stunning sets and costumes.

The film also left me with an interesting insight into the use of words and language. It struck me each time Leonardo de Caprio, in his wonderfully intense portrayal of Jay Gatsby, utters the words “old sport”. (And if you haven’t seen the movie yet, he says it A LOT).

So what did I see? Well, when spending time in a foreign country as I currently do, you usually want to do your best to blend in with the locals. Part of this process is not only to improve your grasp of the language but to make it sound less textbook, more natural and ‘vernacular’.

To do this, you can start by peppering your speech with commonly used words and phrases. The idea being that you will sound more fluent, demonstrating to native speakers that you have a deeper knowledge of their lingo because you are conversing with them the way they actually speak on a daily basis.

But therein lies the danger, of which Gatsby was apparently acutely unaware.

For the more he bandied about his quaint old English term of endearment, the more he drew attention to the fact that it sounded like an affectation, something he had learnt rather than come by naturally; and it ended up doing him much more harm than good.

And so it is with a foreign language. There you are, standing around at a social gathering, quietly congratulating yourself because you are using argot, or slang - and that could mean the language of a country, a social class, or even an echelon, as in Gatsby’s case. But in reality, your attempts to fit in are only setting you apart.

So my advice? Be careful, and be aware. Take note of to whom you are speaking and the social context. It’s far better to speak slowly and correctly, using a few well-placed - but never vulgar - terms that show you haven’t just learnt in a classroom but at the same time didn’t pick things up on the street.

And be aware that the more familiar language you use, the more your comprehension and fluency will be expected to match. Should you fall short, you run the risk of sounding even more foreign than if you had just stuck with the basics and kept your ‘bah ouah’’s and ‘oh putain’’s to yourself.

If not, you could end up like poor old Gatsby: with a catch-phrase whose jarring presence in an otherwise smooth and seemingly well-bred exterior brought attention and ridicule in the worst possible way. In short: not great at all. 

Tina Antarakis © 2013 The Copy Collective