1) Copyediting is a “skill,” that can be “taught.” Not something one is born to. Not a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder. A “skill.” Perhaps; I’ve been doing it so long that it’s hard to see it that way. Mostly the skill is figuring out which mistakes the editors do not want called to their attention. Or, in my current circumstances, which elements of their style sheets they will decide to change arbitrarily, so that one is expected to apologize for enforcing a style preference that same editor expressed one week before. More useful than pencils and magnifying glasses is the essential copyediting tool: a fucking crystal ball.
2) “Learning” to copyedit can lead to a “lucrative” career. Uh-huh. By “lucrative,” they mean $25 an hour, which happens to be the rate that the University of California Press pays to all its freelancers. Some of these poor souls put in 10-12-hour days and are able to gross above $35K a year. Now that is lucrative.
People pay money for this? Sounds like paying to take a vow of poverty, to me.
I’ve been doing this since I was in college. Doing variations on it, in fact, since I was in junior high school (yes: it was my job to proofread the school newspaper). So that’s about thirty years.
I ace every copyediting test I take–or, rather, I get four out of five: that fifth point is the one they subtract for my either editing too heavily or not editing heavily enough. (“You overreached a little.” Or: “You barely read this thing!”)
When I am given the spelling tests, I’m often presented with a choice between two spellings—each of which is correct! (i.e., “judgement” or “judgment.” I happen to prefer the former, but the latter sees plenty of use.) So I am forced to note in the margin that Webster’s prefers one, but some style sheets dictate the other.
At no point have I recommended that anyone else take copyediting up as a career choice. At no point do I expect to do so.
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{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Why do you hate hardworking Copyediting Services Professionals? 😉
I just don’t want to see the young ‘uns follow me off the cliff . . . 🙂
Getting people over the cliff works better if you give ’em a little shove.