A crash course in copyediting

This is my 200th post. I got from 0 to 100 in seven and a half months. I got from 100 to 200 in three and a half months. This blog seems to have picked up some momentum.

Anyway, as per Tessie's request in the comments of her post yesterday, I've decided to do a post that might be marginally useful. It's about basic editing and proofreading. I don't know exactly what she wanted us "editors" to post about (proofreading marks?), but I figured I'd discuss some editorial stuff that people ask me a lot.

So, first off, let me say that the most important thing when writing or editing a document is consistency. Many stylistic choices are just that--choices. Different style guides conflict on some basic things, or they say that two different ways of doing something are technically considered correct. So don't worry too much about whether the Chicago Manual of Style agrees with your stylistic choice (just make sure that we're talking about something that's a choice and not something that's a rule). But if you say 1990's with an apostrophe (à la the New York Times) the first time you reference a decade , you can't turn around and say 1990s without the apostrophe (à la the Chicago Manual) the next time. You have to pick a way and stick with it.

Okay, now let's discuss where to place punctuation when dealing with quotes. The basic way to remember how this works is to think about what messes with the way a quote would be read. If the punctuation does not change the meaning or tone of the quote, such as a period or a comma, then it goes inside the quotation marks. If it would change the meaning or the tone, such as a question mark, an exclamation point, or a semicolon, it goes outside the quotation marks. The exception to this is poetry, where every punctuation mark is considered to affect the meaning of the quote and therefore all punctuation goes outside of the quotation marks. Of course, any punctuation that is actually part of the quote stays inside the quotation marks.

Oh! And while we're on the subject of correct punctuation placement, let's briefly discuss parentheses. If the sentence preceding the item in parentheses is its own sentence, and the item in the parentheses is its own sentence, then the punctuation goes inside the parentheses. If not (the more common scenario), the punctuation goes outside the parentheses. I won't provide an example of the latter situation, because I inadvertently included one in the explanation. Here's an example of the former situation. (See, this part is its own independent sentence.) Got it?

Next: hyphens! This is a mistake that a lot of people make. Verbs that are modified by prepositions normally do not take hyphens. For example, if I were to be attending Weight Watchers meetings, I'd weigh in weekly. However, if we're discussing the noun or adjective form, the two words do take a hyphen. So at the WW meeting, I'd have my weekly weigh-in.

Another example of mis-hyphenation is the whole age thing. Tessie's daughter is one year old. She is a one-year-old. Tessie has a one-year-old daughter. In the first case, one year old is a state of being and does not take hyphens. In the second case, it's a noun, so it does. In the third case, it's an adjective modifying a noun, so it does.

This is the last thing I'll say about hyphens. If you're doing a series of different words that would all go before the hyphen, you give each one its own hyphen, and then follow the last one with the end of the term. For example, I have both short- and long-term plans.

Okay, final topic before I lose the three readers who managed to make it this far: proofreading marks. This is what was originally being discussed in Tessie's comment section, which is why I feel compelled to address it. First of all, proofreading marks are nearly useless to any editor who works in a company that is not writing-focused, because whoever sees your proofreading marks will have absolutely no idea what they mean. In a publishing house, they fly. In a public health non-profit, not so much.

However, it's still good to know the basics. The Chicago Manual of Style has a great figure explaining them all, but for your online convenience, check out Merriam-Webster's chart. Those marks are universal, so if you get an edited document back and you don't know what something means, maybe check there first. Just a PSA for overworked editors everywhere.

Okay, I think I've said my piece, at least for now. For my fellow editors (or fussy editor-types), what have I missed? What needs to be added? Tessie, is this what you were looking for?