Dear Carol:
I am sometimes asked to mentor corporate communicators new to the field. I find this relatively easy and fun, until it comes to copyediting. I have been asked to edit pieces seriously off the mark: no point, no alignment with corporate objectives, rambling, no logic flow, redundant, no call to action. I am stumped on how to provide big-picture and detailed feedback that is both useful and motivating. I simply don’t know how to begin. . . . I’m paralyzed. I think part of my dilemma is that my own writing skills are instinctive. I have never been a writing instructor. Do you have advice for me? I want to be a caring, helpful mentor.
Heidi
Dear Heidi:
You are obviously already caring, but you don’t yet feel competent criticizing the writing of colleagues. To organize your thoughts, create a list of writing issues like the ones you mentioned: vague objectives, lack of logic, rambling, repetition, and any others that you have identified so far. Give a copy to the writer up front and explain that these are areas that sometimes trouble corporate writers and that you’ll be looking at her work with those issues in mind. Do that, and keep notes. The checklist will help you organize your editing and your feedback. In your critique, if the writer has done well in some areas, you’ll be able to mention it. Any writer with initiative will begin to examine her own work for the kinds of trouble you point out.
Second, to gain more confidence as a writing coach it might help to take a class in negotiation or writing or copyediting and make a point of observing the teacher. And take a look at Amy Einsohn’s The Copyeditor’s Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications (especially the sections on editorial triage and querying). You’ll enjoy it and learn something useful.
Carol
Dear Carol,
Where are all the good copy editors hiding? A colleague recently asked me where she could find someone to edit her dissertation, and I didn’t have a clue where to point her. Another acquaintance is hoping to expand her editorial staff, but has had trouble finding good candidates. Are there professional societies or clearinghouses or the like out there? Or perhaps someone to lead a safari to hunt down the rare and elusive style expert? Your wisdom on the matter would be appreciated!
Valerie
Dear Valerie,
Professional freelancers get most of their business by word of mouth, so it makes sense to ask around. Your grad student colleague should ask new PhDs or faculty at her university for recommendations, and your hiring manager friend can ask current employees to spread the word that she’s looking—almost every good editor knows another good editor. Finally, the Editorial Freelancers Association website features a directory of freelance writers, editors, proofreaders, and indexers. Members write their own listings, so it is up to the hirer to check recommendations and judge whether qualifications and experience are apt.
Carol
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Readers: Write to me at my Questions and Suggestions page!
To the first letter-writer, I would add that it might help to audit a *good* course in composition or professional writing. This will give the LW the terminology and tools to diagnose problems in a text without having to resort to phrases like "vague". I was a good writer but became a much better writer after I took a course in writing pedagogy and taught writing to others -- because that experience opened my eyes to what, exactly, was making a paragraph look "vague" or "disorganized". I would also recommend any books by Joseph Williams (can you tell I'm a Chicago alum?).
To the second LW I would say, yes, there are lots of good freelance copyeditors out there! (I am one, of course.) There's the EFA list, and also the list on the Copyediting-L listserv.
Posted by: Katie Skeen | 05/04/2011 at 08:15 AM
Thanks, Katie--I hope more readers will make suggestions along these lines.
Posted by: Carol Saller | 05/04/2011 at 08:30 AM
I'm so glad that Valerie asked you that question, as it has been my to-do list for a month. Related to that question, where are the best places to post open positions for freelance copyeditors/proofreaders?
Posted by: Susana Kelly | 05/04/2011 at 08:34 AM
Susana, for big online job postings, try Media Bistro, Copyediting (the newsletter), Journalism Jobs, Monster, CareerBuilder, IMDiversity. Even Craigslist. Search online using keywords to find places to post closer to home.
Posted by: Carol Saller | 05/04/2011 at 08:56 AM
Valerie can find links to many more editors' associations (both in the United States and in other nations) and their directories here:
http://www.kokedit.com/library_CE6.shtml
Susana can also find good places, through the links on that page, to the web sites of editorial associations that will post job listings.
Posted by: KOKEdit | 05/04/2011 at 10:18 AM
Katharine is right! Her site has googobs of excellent resources for editors and hirers.
Posted by: Carol Saller | 05/04/2011 at 10:44 AM
I'm liking your word "googobs," Carol. I'm off to go use it in a sentence somewhere.
Posted by: KOKEdit | 05/04/2011 at 12:51 PM
As usual, Carol, you have provided sound advice in a way that many, many veteran editors have been unable to articulate.
The “coaching” you describe in response to Heidi’s query is a lot like what the Editors’ Association of Canada calls “substantive and stylistic editing.” (Defined at http://www.editors.ca/hire/definitions.html.)
Suggesting that Valerie ask for referrals is excellent advice. I have seen editors advertise on their own websites, on Kijiji, in magazines, and even on a roadside sandwich-board. (I took a picture of that last example, so I could prove it.) There are a few certification systems with limited spread that would serve to somewhat assure writers that they are getting a skilled editor. (EAC http://editors.ca has a gruelling, multi-layered certification process that should somewhat assure clients, for example.) In the end, as in all things, /caveat emptor/.
I loved /The Copy Editor’s Handbook/ (and /The Subversive Copy Editor/) when I was studying for the EAC certification exams. The 16th edition of /CMOS/ recommends a book that Heidi might also find helpful: /Developmental Editing/, by Scott Norton. Some development tasks are beyond the scope of the coaching Heidi is trying to do, but there is much overlap.
Heidi, good for you for coaching. Writing and editing continue to be more of an art than a science, and like other trades (and professions) once courses are complete, these skills are best learned from a mentor.
PS Katharine’s website lists a ridiculous amount of well-curated resources.
Posted by: SciEditor | 05/07/2011 at 08:03 AM