For the highly curious or the extra committed, here are a few more editorial tools. You'll find a brief editing test and two different answer keys, some professional-level aids, including a style sheet suitable for professionals (or for people who just want the best), a complete eight-stage proofreading checklist, and an editorial checklist that combines all the topics covered in Part Two. And for your convenience, you'll also find a glossary of some selected terms.
Want to gauge your editing skills? Take the following test before reading this book—and then again after, to see how much better you do.
You can use this as an exercise for yourself or to test a potential editor you're considering hiring. And don't worry, we haven't left you hanging. The keys to the test are on pages 200–203. Because editors and proofreaders review at different levels, we've provided two different answer keys, so you'll be able to see the things that should be noted by each. Have fun!
Note: This answer key is marked at the level of a standard proofread (for more on editorial levels, see Chapters 1 and 5).
NOTE There are often many different ways to correct and improve a document. This answer key is marked at the level of a medium copyedit (for discussion of editorial levels, see Chapters 1 and 5) and represents just one way, so use it as a guide only.
The template that follows is suitable for professional editors or for anyone who wants to ensure the highest level of accuracy in any writing. Choose from the topics on this detailed template to create a customized style sheet for a specific document, a client or department, or an entire organization.
• For special terms:
• Other:
Headers and Footers Note the content that should appear in headers and footers and how it's positioned (e.g., flush left, flush right, or centered).
• Header content (odd, even, and first page, plus front/back matter):
• Header location (odd, even, and first page):
• Footer content (odd, even, and first page, plus front/back matter):
• Footer location (odd, even, and first page):
• Folio (page number) style (lowercase roman or arabic for front matter):
• Folio location (odd, even, and first page):
Lists Note when a bulleted list is used versus a numbered list, whether all list introductions or only certain ones are followed by a colon, whether all list items begin with a capital letter, if and under what circumstances list items end with punctuation, how list item lead-ins are styled, how lists within lists are handled, and any other list guidelines.
• Bulleted lists:
• Numbered lists:
• List introductions:
• List item capitalization:
• List item punctuation:
• List item lead-ins:
• Lists within lists:
• Other:
Numbers Note which numbers are spelled out and which are shown as numerals; whether commas are used in four-digit numbers; whether even dollar amounts are shown with a decimal and zeros; how numbers are rounded; how percentages are shown; how dates, times, and telephone numbers are formatted; when numbers are used with units of measure; and any other style choices that apply to numbers.
• Spelled-out numbers:
• Numerals:
• Commas in numbers:
• Dollar amounts:
• Rounding:
• Percentages:
• Dates:
• Times:
• Telephone numbers:
• Units of measure:
• Other:
Punctuation Note whether series commas are used; whether there is space or no space around em dashes; how and where other types of dashes are used; whether quotation marks are used around new or specialized terms and whether quotation marks are straight or curly; whether punctuation is used in headings; and any other punctuation style choices.
• Series commas:
• Dashes:
• Quotation marks:
• In headings:
• Other:
Spacing For all copy, note standard number of letter spaces following colons and between sentences. (With a few rare exceptions, such as in some legal or academic works, this should be one space.) For checking formatting as part of copyediting and for proofreading, note page setup parameters, such as margins and indents. Note standard line spacing in body text and around headings and such elements as lists, tables, and captions. Also note justification style (left, center, right, full) as appropriate for all elements.
• Number of spaces following colons and between sentences:
• Margins:
• Indents:
• Body text:
• Above/below headings:
• Above/below lists:
• Above/below tables:
• Above/below captions:
• Justification:
• Other:
Symbols Note whether such things as ampersands, degree symbols, mathematical operator symbols, monetary symbols, and percent signs are used and under what circumstances. If there is a choice of different symbols, be sure to note which one is used.
• Ampersands:
• Degree symbols:
• Mathematical operators:
• Monetary symbols:
• Percent signs:
• Other:
Tables Note all table styles used and the kind of information that should appear in each. In addition to the style (grid lines, shading, etc.) and content type for each style, include formatting parameters such as column widths; text spacing within cells; and capitalization in column headings, left-column row labels, and table cells. Note any special use of abbreviations or numbers in tables.
• Table styles/content:
• Column widths:
• Text spacing:
• Capitalization:
• Abbreviations/numbers:
• Other:
Word Breaks, Widows, and Orphans (for Proofreading) Note any special guidelines for word breaks at the ends of lines in a finished document (e.g., no more than three in a row) and for treatment of widows (a short line at the top of a page) and orphans (a single word or part of a word at the end of a paragraph).
• Word breaks at ends of lines:
• Widows:
• Orphans:
Word List
Include here, in alphabetical order, the exact spelling, capitalization, and font of individual words and terms as they should appear. Include words that can be spelled more than one way, abbreviations and acronyms, hyphenations, proper nouns, proprietary names and terms coined by the author or organization, and any other terms that might need verification by an editor or proofreader. For complex jobs, break this list into categories. For example, Product Names, Trademarked Titles, Module Names, Sample Cases, Contract Provisions, etc.
The checklist that follows is designed for the professional proofreader, someone already familiar with the technical aspects of proofreading. But it's useful for anyone who wants his or her written materials to be as free of errors as possible.
Not all the items in this list would be considered the proofreader's responsibility if he or she were doing a standard proofread (see Chapter 1 for definitions). However, so often in business, as opposed to traditional publishing, a "proofread" is all a document gets, and the proofreader is asked to review a few items that might otherwise be considered the responsibility of an editor.
In general, a proofreader's focus is on accuracy and consistency, and an editor's focus is on those things as well as on improvement to the writing. An "editorial proofread" falls somewhere in the middle—a bit more than a standard proofread and a bit less than a copyedit. So for the convenience of anyone doing an editorial proofread, we've included in this checklist some of the items that level of work might involve and marked them with asterisks. If you're doing a more traditional standard proofread, you can probably consider these items beyond your job description (but if in doubt, be sure to ask). And if you need to do more than an editorial proofread, use the Complete Editorial Checklist that follows this checklist.
When proofreading, as when editing, to ensure the best finished product, it's vital to go through a piece of writing several times, looking at different elements on each pass (see Chapter 2 for more on the stages of editorial review). The eight stages outlined here, and the items within them, will help you remember not only the process to follow but also the particulars to look for as you work.
The checklist that follows brings together the three individual checklists that appear at the end of Chapters 3, 4, and 5, to provide you with reminders—in a single place—that cover all aspects of editing. Keep it handy and refer to it often to ensure that the writing you edit is the best it can be.
