Copyediting Question

[Will Lavender]

I've got a brambly question about copyediting.

So (and I'll try not to make this too convoluted) last night the copy editor sent me a hard copy of my book. It was marked up with pencil in the old-fashioned way; looked like a high schooler's Trapper Keeper. Aside from that, I've been working on making some more major changes.

My editor tells me not to send an electronic version. She wants me to put those other changes (see note below) into the copyedited version, or else tell the copyeditor to "see attached."

Now, some of these changes can simply be written into the margins, but some are five or six lines long. So:

What should I attach to the hard copy if I'm dealing with an unwritable change? The printed page that shows my correction? And should I just put that page on the back of the document?

Most confusing question ever on AW?

[Will Lavender]

Clarification:

When I say "other changes" in the post above, I'm talking about the more major stuff I'm working on and not the copyeditor's suggestions. All of the copyeditor's stuff I can do on the page, in pencil. The major stuff, as I said, is much more dense.

Thanks in advance for helping me with this.

[rugcat]

Paper clip a sheet of paper with the new text on the original sheet (Label, P.173, and clip it to 173. Indicate on the original page where the insert is supposed to go.

It's been a while, so I might be mistaken, but at AW there are always plenty of people willing to correct any bad advice.

[pconsidine]

Based on how things go around here ("here" being where I work), I'd type it up on a separate sheet of paper and label it something like "Patch Copy A." Then mark the section of the original manuscript that will be replaced with the new copy and make a note that says "Insert Patch A" or whatever you've labeled the new pages of copy.

It seems to work for us.

[ORION]

My editor gave me specific instructions for each instance. All the lines are numerically marked. She said attach a sheet marked with the line numbers to be inserted and place behind that page. When I had more than just a few corrections I made the changes electronically and printed it out and placed it with the original copy marked page.
BTW
You need to make the changes on your electronic copy also. The author is responsible for having a correct electronic copy at all times.
I also had a phone conversation with the assistant so that the complex changes were clear
Hope this helps.

[James D. Macdonald]

Type the new material on a separate sheet of paper. Label it A. Put the letter A in a circle in the margin next to where it's to be inserted.

For the next one, on a separate sheet, label it B and put the letter B in a circle next to where it's to go.

And so on.

Key each one to the page it's supposed to go on.

[Kristin Landon]

All of this works, but FWIW, what my copyediting clients do with long inserts is to add a page after the one with the change and label it "174a" if the change is on 174. Then someone (usually I do this) writes a note in the margin at the right spot on 174: "Insert from page 174a." If there's more than one insert on the same page, I do circled A and B and so on, but frankly if I were the author, I would reprint the whole page at that point.

I wouldn't use paperclips; someone has to go through and strip them out so the ms. can be copied or scanned. The important thing is for all the pages to be numbered in an obvious sequence.

(I never did update my Word file after the copyedit; I made a photocopy of the ms. before I returned it, and keep it in a safe place.)

[Will Lavender]

Thanks for the help, everyone.

I'm going to try and finish the copyedit this weekend, so this has been tremendously helpful. My daughter is going to be born sometime next week (so sayeth the soothsayer, my wife), so I need to get this out of the way before this strange human being comes into our lives.

[Kristin Landon]

Wow! Congratulations, Will!

I won't tell you the old cliché about how your lives will never be the same—but they won't. :D

[Will Lavender]

Wow! Congratulations, Will!

I won't tell you the old cliché about how your lives will never be the same—but they won't. :D

Thanks so much.

And we have a three-year-old son, so we've already been turned upside-down, as it were, once before.

:flag:

[Kristin Landon]

Ah, then you are well aware. :D

I have to say that the years when my (three) kids were tiny were better for writing than the soccer-game years or the teen drive-me-everywhere years. It's all wonderful, but I did no marketing for about seven years there.

(I apologize if this is more off-topic than we're supposed to get.)

[pconsidine]

And we have a three-year-old son, so we've already been turned upside-down, as it were, once before. So does that mean that, as long as you have an even number of kids, everything is right side up?

[Jamesaritchie]

I'm not sure there is a wrong way to do this, as long as teh editor can easily understand where the changes fit. Most of my editors have me use a separate page, but rather than A, B, C, or marking in the margins for these sheets, I label each page according to where it goes. "Chapter 3, page 38, line 7," for example.

I usually don't have to make these changes in the electronic version. The editor does this, and sends me a copy.

[Will Lavender]

I'm not sure there is a wrong way to do this, as long as teh editor can easily understand where the changes fit. Most of my editors have me use a separate page, but rather than A, B, C, or marking in the margins for these sheets, I label each page according to where it goes. "Chapter 3, page 38, line 7," for example.

I usually don't have to make these changes in the electronic version. The editor does this, and sends me a copy.

Well, these are bigger changes than an editor would normally make. They're basically entire chunks of dialogue, or removal of certain details, etc.

My editor has offerred to make some minor changes before, but I didn't grant her permission to do it. I personally don't want anybody changing my words. I will change anything, really, if she gives me a good reason as to why it needs to be changed, but I'm uncomfortable with someone getting in there and turning stuff around.

(Unless we're up against a deadline or something like that. Which we're not. Yet.)

[Gillhoughly]

What Uncle Jim said.

If a page is really thick with changes that I disagree with, but have my own alternatives to fix things, I print a new version on a new page--that is on different color paper. (I usually use a pale buff and mark it with a Post It note on the edge.)

I make it very clear it is replacing page (whatever). I usually draw a long slash or X over the whole page with a big arrow pointing to the right and the replacement page.

If the replacement page runs long I write Page #22A, page #22B in the upper right corner.

Post It notes in a different color from those used by the copy editor are good. If she used yellow, you use blue throughout.

Understand that if you AGREE with the CE changes, you don't have to do anything!

You can check those changes so they know you are okay with them.

If the CE used blue pencil, you use red, and a high-lite marker is good, too.

If you want things to stay the same as you originally wrote, just write "STET" in the problem spot and put a line through the CE fixes.

Sometimes I rewrite a paragraph, and if it is the same length as the original, I print it out, then cut and tape it to the original page. It will be on the buff paper, the page will have a Post It on the edge.

Your MS will look ugly, but now that doesn't matter. Neatness counts when you first submit, now you are toiling in the trenches--which is great!

One way to make your editor and copy editor REAL HAPPY is to learn to copy edit yourself. At some point you might want to acquire a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style.

It won't fix typos, but that's how beta readers can help.

The less work for the editor, the more work they will want from you!