May
18
Copy editing for the journalist blogger
May 18, 2009 |
By Sarah Rigg
I’ve been on both sides of the copy desk- both as a reporter who was bitter about the way a copy editor had hacked up my prose and as a copy editor who has had to justify why I trimmed a piece mercilessly for space consideration.
If you’ve spent any time in a traditional newsroom, you probably know that reporters have a love-hate relationship with the copy editing team. As a blogger, you may feel relieved that you don’t have to go through the traditional newsroom process and have your beautiful words picked apart by the copy desk. Certainly, having the final say on the shape of your piece is satisfying, but I would ask you to consider the importance of either recruiting a copy editor for your blog or learning to be your blog’s own copy editor.
Why do you need a copy editor?
A few copy editors live to nitpick or are frustrated writers who take out their annoyance by totally rearranging your prose. But, mainly the job of a copy editor is to make you, as a writer, look good. A good copy editor saves you from factual and grammatical mistakes and, as time allows, helps you tweak your copy to make it not merely good but great. If you have copy-editing experience, you have a head start over other bloggers in terms of making your blog posts punchy and fun to read. If you don’t have copy-editing experience, you may want to consider picking up some of those skills.
Recruiting a copy editor for your blog
If you have a bit of a following on your blog, you probably have a few readers who act as volunteer copy editors anyway, catching your mistakes for free and emailing you about them. Instead of feeling embarrassed or annoyed with them, harness their power! You can write to some of the least obnoxious and smartest of them and ask them if they’d be willing to look over posts before you publish, especially if you know you have weaknesses in spelling or grammar. It’s possible to be a stellar reporter who is a bad speller, and rather than beating yourself up about your weaknesses, it’s important to ask for help from those who have strengths in your weak areas.
Becoming your own copy editor
If you think you have a pretty good grasp of grammar and spelling, you may just want to act as your own copy editor. Some tools that will help you do this include:
a) A good grasp of AP style. As a blogger, you may want to bend or break some of the rules of AP style, but it’s better to break them in a knowledgeable way. Learning AP style will make your posts look more consistent from week to week and will help lend your blog legitimacy. You can either buy a copy of the AP Stylebook, or just check one out of the library and memorize some rules that you’ll be referencing frequently. If you need a refresher, the AP Stylebook’s online “Ask the Editor” resource may allow you to research your style question for free.
b) A good word processing tool. Right now, I am being lazy and am typing this post directly into the blog tool. However, before I post it, I will copy and paste it into a word processor and will run a grammar and spelling check. If you’re using a blogging tool that has a good grammar and spelling check, make sure you use it! It will not only catch homophones like “their/there” but will also help you catch passive constructions that make your writing seem limp or weak.
c) A “back burner” habit. You may be itching to get a post out right now because you’re feeling passionate about the topic or because you want to scoop your local rivals. But most pieces of writing can benefit from putting them on the metaphorical back burner after a first draft. This doesn’t have to take days- it can involve just taking a lunch break or a five-minute walk around the block. When you come back to that initial draft, you’re more likely to catch mistakes or see ways that rearranging a couple paragraphs will make it easier to read. Taking that small break allows your brain to reset and see the piece in a new way. If you just keep plugging away at editing and re-drafting without that mental break, your eyes tend to glaze over, and you’ll skate over missing words or confusing transition sentences.
If any copy editors are reading, feel free to contribute additional ideas in the comments.
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