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"Editor" redirects here. For other uses, see Editor (disambiguation).
"Quarters of the news editor," one of a group of four photos in the 1900 brochure,
Seattle and the Orient, which was collectively captioned, "The Seattle Daily Times—Editorial Department."
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible and film media used to convey information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate and complete work.[1]
The editing process often begins with the author's idea for the work itself, continuing as a collaboration between the author and the editor as the work is created. As such, editing can involve creative skills, human relations and a precise set of methods.[2][3]
Contents
- 1 Print media
- 2 Executive editor
- 3 Periodicals
- 4 Scholarly books and journals
- 5 Technical editing
- 6 Editing services
- 7 See also
- 8 References
- 9 Further reading
- 10 External links
Print media[edit]
Editors work on producing an issue of Bild, West Berlin, 1977. Previous front pages are affixed to the wall behind them.
Photo by George Garrigues
There are various editorial positions in publishing. Typically, one finds editorial assistants reporting to the senior-level editorial staff and directors who report to senior executive editors. Senior executive editors are responsible for developing a product for its final release. The smaller the publication, the more these roles overlap.
The top editor at many publications may be known as the chief editor, executive editor, or simply the editor. A frequent and highly regarded contributor to a magazine may acquire the title of editor-at-large or contributing editor. Mid-level newspaper editors often manage or help to manage sections, such as business, sports and features. In U.S. newspapers, the level below the top editor is usually the managing editor.
In the book publishing industry, editors may organize anthologies and other compilations, produce definitive editions of a classic author's works (scholarly editor), and organize and manage contributions to a multi-author book (symposium editor or volume editor). Obtaining manuscripts or recruiting authors is the role of an Acquisitions Editor or a commissioning editor in a publishing house.[4] Finding marketable ideas and presenting them to appropriate authors are the responsibilities of a sponsoring editor.
Copy editors correct spelling, grammar and align writings to house style. Changes to the publishing industry since the 1980s have resulted in nearly all copy editing of book manuscripts being outsourced to freelance copy editors.[4]
At newspapers and wire services, copy editors write headlines and work on more substantive issues, such as ensuring accuracy, fairness, and taste. In some positions, they design pages and select news stories for inclusion. At U.K. and Australian newspapers, the term is sub-editor. They may choose the layout of the publication and communicate with the printer. These editors may have the title of layout or design editor or (more so in the past) makeup editor.
Executive editor[edit]
The top editor is generally responsible for the content of the publication. An exception is large newspapers, who usually have a separate editor for the editorials and opinion pages in order to separate news reporting and editorial content.
Top editors set the performance standards to be met by the publication. They motivate and develop the staff. They are also responsible for developing and maintaining the publication budget. In concert with the publisher and the operating committee, the top editor is responsible for strategic and operational planning. Thus, they are effectively the head of the newspaper and have considerable influence on its content.
Periodicals[edit]
Editors at newspapers supervise journalists and improve their work. Newspaper editing encompasses a variety of titles and functions. These include:
- Chief or supervising editors, who may be called editor in chief, executive editor or sometimes just editor
- Managing editors and assistant or deputy managing editors (the managing editor is often second in line after the top editor)
- News editors, who oversee the news desks
- Editorial page editor who oversees the coverage on the editorial page. This editor often sits on the editorial board and assigns writing of editorials. The editorial page editor may also oversee letters to the editor or to the op-ed page. Alternately, these duties are assigned to separate letters or op-ed editors.
- Department or section editors and their assistants, such as for business, features, and sports
- Photo or picture editors
- Copy editors
- Readers' editors or public editors, sometimes known as the ombudsman, who field complaints from readers and respond to them
- Wire editors, who choose and edit articles from various international wire services, and are usually part of the copy desk
The term city editor has different meanings in various parts of the world. In North America and South America, it refers to the editor responsible for the news coverage of a newspaper's local circulation area (also sometimes called metro editor). But in the United Kingdom, it refers to the editor responsible for coverage of business in the City of London and elsewhere.[5][6]
Scholarly books and journals[edit]
Within the publishing environment, editors of scholarly books are of three main types, each with particular responsibilities:
- Acquisitions editor (or commissioning editor in Britain), who contracts with the author to produce the copy
- Project editor or production editor, who sees the copy through its stages from manuscript to bound book and usually assumes most of the budget and schedule responsibilities
- Copy editor or manuscript editor, who prepares the copy for conversion into printed form.
In the case of multiauthor edited volumes, before the manuscript is delivered to the publisher it will have undergone substantive and linguistic editing by the volume's editor who works independently of the publisher.
As for scholarly journals, where spontaneous submissions are more common than commissioned works, the position of journal editor or editor-in-chief replaces the acquisitions editor of the book publishing environment, while the roles of production editor and copy editor remain. However, another editor is sometimes involved in the creation of scholarly research articles. Called the authors' editor, this editor works with authors to get a manuscript fit for purpose before it is submitted to a scholarly journal for publication.
The primary difference between copy editing scholarly books and journals and other sorts of copy editing lies in applying the standards of the publisher to the copy. Most scholarly publishers have a preferred style which usually specifies the choice of a dictionary and a style manual, for example, the Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Style Manual or the APA Publication Manual in the US, or the New Hart's Rules in the U.K.
Technical editing[edit]
See also: Technical writing and Technical communication
Technical editing involves reviewing text written on a technical topic, identifying usage errors and ensuring adherence to a style guide.
Technical editing may include the correction of grammatical mistakes, misspellings, mistyping, incorrect punctuation, inconsistencies in usage, poorly structured sentences, wrong scientific terms, wrong units and dimensions, inconsistency in significant figures, technical ambivalence, technical disambiguation, statements conflicting with general scientific knowledge, correction of synopsis, content, index, headings and subheadings, correcting data and chart presentation in a research paper or report, and correcting errors in citations.
In large companies, experienced writers are dedicated to the technical editing function. In organizations that cannot afford dedicated editors, experienced writers typically peer-edit text produced by their less experienced colleagues.
It helps if the technical editor is familiar with the subject being edited. The "technical" knowledge that an editor gains over time while working on a particular product or technology does give the editor an edge over another who has just started editing content related to that product or technology. But essential general skills are attention to detail, the ability to sustain focus while working through lengthy pieces of text on complex topics, tact in dealing with writers, and excellent communication skills.
Editing services[edit]
"Paid editing" redirects here. For paid editing on Wikipedia, see Paid editing on Wikipedia.
Editing is a growing field of work in the service industry. Paid editing services may be provided by specialized editing firms or by self-employed (freelance) editors.
Editing firms may employ a team of in-house editors, rely on a network of individual contractors or both.[7] Such firms are able to handle editing in a wide range of topics and genres, depending on the skills of individual editors. The services provided by these editors may be varied and can include proofreading, copy editing, line editing, developmental editing, editing for search engine optimization (SEO), etc.
Self-employed editors work directly for clients (e.g., authors, publishers) or offer their services through editing firms, or both. They may specialize in a type of editing (e.g., copy editing) and in a particular subject area. Those who work directly for authors and develop professional relationships with them are called authors' editors.
See also[edit]
- Audio editing
- Film editing
- Society for Editors and Proofreaders — UK based
- Stealth edit
- Video editing
- Writer
References[edit]
- ^ Mamishev, Alexander, Williams, Sean, Technical Writing for Teams: The STREAM Tools Handbook, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, John Wiley & Sons. Inc., Hoboken, 2009, p.128
- ^ "Encarta Dictionary definition of "editing"". Archived from the original on 31 October 2009.
- ^ "Encarta Dictionary definition of "editor"". Archived from the original on 31 October 2009.
- ^ a b Poland, Louise, The business, Craft and Profession of the Book Editor, in Carter, David, Galligan, Anne, (eds.), Making books: contemporary Australian publishing, Queensland University Press, 2007, p.100
- ^ City Editor - Mark Kleinman Sky News
- ^ Kleinman Sky News
- ^ Appiah, Bernard (2009). "Science editing at an Indian firm: perspectives of two US visitors". Science Editing 32 (4): 118–119.
Further reading[edit]
- Morrison, Blake (6 August 2005). "Black day for the blue pencil". The Guardian.
- Overholser, Geneva (December 1998). "Editor Inc.". American Journalism Review.
- Stephen, Leslie (1898). "The Evolution of Editors". Studies of a Biographer 1. London: Duckworth and Co. pp. 37–73.
External links[edit]
Library resources about
Editing
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- Resources in your library
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The book publishing process
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| Copy preparation |
- Submission
- author or literary agent
- Publisher's reader
- Contract negotiation
- intellectual property rights
- royalty rates, format, etc
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| Prepress |
Literary editor • Commissioning editor • Developmental editor • Authors' editor • Book editor
- Design
- Typesetting
- Proof-reading
- List of Proofreader's Marks
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| Book production |
- Printing
- Folding
- Binding
- Trimming
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