What, exactly, does a copy editor do?

Answer 1

A copy editor reviews written material before it is published, looking specifically for clarity, correctness, and adherence to the publisher's style guides (if applicable). For example, most copy editors I have worked with would probably take the last comma out of the preceding sentence, making it "...clarity, correctness and adherence..." -- I tend to overuse commas because I like the parallel structure they give before the last element of a list.

The publishing business employs several different kinds of editor. There may be an editor-in-chief (think Perry White if you're a Superman fan) who is in charge of the overall organization, composition and content of a publication; this position may also be known as a managing editor. There may also be a development editor, whose role is to work with the author on issues that come up, including content, schedule and artwork. A good development editor can be the author's best friend, acting as a sounding board for troublesome chapters and also working as the liaison between the author and the rest of the staff at the publisher while the author is writing the book.

Finally, when the author drops a bundle of ink-stained paper on the publisher's doorstep (or more likely, FTPs a zip file to the publisher's file system), the copy editor looks over the author's drafts and identifies areas that may need further attention. Sometimes this is as simple as my comma-splice example above; sometimes the copy editor enforces consistent use of English vs. American spellings (colour, harbour, capitalise) for works that crossed the Atlantic in one direction or another during development. Sometimes the copy editor will question sentences that are unclear, either because they're too long, because a word or two has been omitted, or because the author may not have crafted it as carefully as it required. In rare occasions, the copy editor may make structural suggestions -- for example, recommending that a paragraph or subsection be moved earlier or later in the book to better suit the flow. I say "in rare occasions" because a good development editor will typically catch issues such as this, but occasionally flow problems aren't evident till the work is nearly completed.

Usually a copy editor's suggestions and corrections are sent back to the author, who then incorporates them (or not, if the author disagrees with them) in the final draft. Sometimes the copy editor's changes are incorporated directly by the publisher as the work is being prepared for publication (which for the past 15 years or so has meant being converted from whatever program the author used to write the book into whatever program the publisher uses to paginate, lay out, and print it -- for example, from Microsoft Word into Adobe Framemaker). If there is significant work in the conversion, the copy editor may also verify that all edits made to the author's final draft have in fact been incorporated in the camera-ready proof copy.

A good copy editor can save the author from embarrassment in many ways, not only by preventing omissions and errors but also by catching places where the author may have made a note in the text to follow up on something at a later date, then forgot to remove the note. (That happened to me yesterday, in fact!) And a copy editor, in the final analysis, is the publisher's last quality control agent, making sure that what the writer says makes sense, is clear, and will be understood by the audience for which the book or periodical is intended.

Answer 2

Sort of like an English teacher. He/she reviews what other people have written and corrects it, makes it more readable, edits it, and gets it ready for publication.

Answer 3

i am pretty sure they check written material for errors.
grammar, punctuation, spelling, usage. they have to be
sticklers and very detail oriented. you have to find ALL the mistakes before it goes to print.