Editing

<h2 id="scholarly-books-and-journals">Scholarly books and journals</h2>

Within the publishing environment, editors of scholarly books are of three main types, each with particular responsibilities:

<ul><li>Acquisitions editor (or commissioning editor in Britain), who contracts with the author to produce the copy</li>
<li>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</li>
<li>Copy editor or manuscript editor, who prepares the copy for conversion into printed form.</li></ul>
In the case of multi-author <a href="/facts/Edited_volume/GaYlbS6J">edited volumes</a>, before the manuscript is delivered to the publisher it has undergone substantive and linguistic editing by the volume's editor, who works independently of the publisher.
As for <a href="/facts/Scholarly_journal/SBI7Ue0q">scholarly journals</a>, where spontaneous submissions are more common than commissioned works, the position of journal editor or <a href="/facts/Editor-in-chief/d76Qb3Tr">editor-in-chief</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Authors%2527_editor/5GpfFYXo">authors' editor</a>, 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 that usually specifies a particular dictionary and style manual—for example, <a href="/facts/The_Chicago_Manual_of_Style/7g2EwHGA">The Chicago Manual of Style</a>, the <a href="/facts/MLA_Style_Manual/8vDr1ffn">MLA Style Manual</a> or the <a href="/facts/APA_style/AwII8cVl">APA Publication Manual</a> in the U.S., or the <a href="/facts/New_Hart%2527s_Rules/UM5wPA6I">New Hart's Rules</a> in the U.K.

<h2 id="editing-in-the-21st-century">Editing in the 21st century</h2>
Editing has a long history dating back to the earliest times of written language. Over time, editing has evolved greatly, particularly with the emergence of new forms of media and language that have led to a move towards <a href="/facts/Multimodality/7jmU7WRt">multimodality</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8">8</a> Today, <a href="/facts/Hard_copy/uUBR0yad">hardcopies</a> and print are no longer the main focus of editing as new content like film and audio require different kinds of edits.
Technical editing is now more commonly done using applications and websites on devices, which requires editors to be familiar with online platforms like <a href="/facts/Adobe_Acrobat/M2JSVARa">Adobe Acrobat</a>, <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Office/faD8vYG0">Microsoft Office</a>, and <a href="/facts/Google_Docs/y2RYkhAQ">Google Docs</a>. The significance and intentions behind editing have also changed, moving beyond print due to the continuous advancements in technology. As a result, the grounds and values of editing have changed as well.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9">9</a> For instance, text is often shortened and simplified online because of the preference for quick answers among this generation. Additionally, the advancement in social issues has made it possible to offer easy access to vast amounts of information.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10">10</a>
Apart from editing written work, video editing has also evolved. Nowadays, <a href="/facts/Non-linear_editing/xN4H6gw4">non-linear editing</a> is the main way of editing video clips, but in the 1900s, it was <a href="/facts/Linear_video_editing/Yv496Noo">linear editing</a>. As computer systems and software have developed, video clips are now able to be uploaded directly to the editing software, making the editing process quicker. With this evolution of editing, creativity has been sped up, editing has become easier, and there are now countless ways for writers to tell stories.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11">11</a>

<h2 id="visual-editing">Visual editing</h2>

In terms of editing visual content, the two main forms would be photo and cinematic. Photo editing has evolved considerably from humble means, dating back to the early 20th century. During the 1920s, photographers established a new discipline of creative editing by creating collages from multiple photos.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12">12</a> By the late 1980's, it became possible to computerize images by running physical photos through a scanner. Over time, software began to develop, aimed toward the manipulation of different qualities of a photo. Today, there are a multitude of applications to choose from to edit the content or qualities of photos; PhotoShop is a common example, as well as other applications such as Adobe Lightroom. Modern photo editing techniques include, but are not limited to linearization, white balance, noise reduction, tone reproduction and compression.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13">13</a>
The other form of visual editing is <a href="/facts/Film_editing/9F11k3K3">cinematic</a> editing. Cinematic editing entails anything that is to be used as cinematic material, mainly films. Cinematic editing dates back to the early 1900's when American filmmaker, <a href="/facts/D._W._Griffith/grWAvxjN">D.W. Griffith</a>, produced the first films that essentially paved the way for the editing techniques that are still used today.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14">14</a> The progression of technology brought about advancements in gear, which meant filmmakers were able to achieve new techniques in the post-production process through editing. Editors went from physically cutting and rearranging film to working on virtual timelines using software like <a href="/facts/DaVinci_Resolve/AHb0y0bq">Davinci Resolve</a> or <a href="/facts/Adobe_Premiere_Pro/Jb9X5ln9">Premiere pro</a>.

<h2 id="self-editing">Self-Editing</h2>
Self-editing is the process of evaluating one’s own writing and fixing errors, whether they be grammatical or difficult to understand. This does not require any specialized knowledge and simply aims to improve the overall quality of a literature work. It is an essential part of the editing process, benefiting both language learners and those writing in their native language.
Students often find learning about editing rewarding in both learning a language<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15">15</a> and improving language skills. However, the writing field currently debates whether self-editing is the best way to reduce errors in student writing. Some studies have shown that self-editing is more effective at reducing language errors in the short term than peer-editing.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> However, in the long term, both approaches have similar effects on students.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a> Others have found that the collaborative dialogue provided by peer-editing may cause it to be much better at reducing language errors than self-editing.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a>
Today, self-editing is being taught in numerous ways. Some researchers have found a significant improvement in student essays through self-editing worksheets.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a> Others have experimented with mobile apps. Similar to the worksheets, these mobile based editing exercises have been shown to reduce error specifically in English learners’ papers.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a> Just as applications like <a href="/facts/Google_Docs/y2RYkhAQ">Google Docs</a> and <a href="/facts/Grammarly/7ms8LbrR">Grammarly</a> can highlight grammatical errors, these applications may teach students to identify these mistakes, among others, by themselves.
While there hasn’t yet been a definitive answer on the best editing techniques to improve language errors, numerous studies have shown that learning to edit helps in both learning a language and improving native language skills.

<h2 id="technical-editing">Technical editing</h2>
See also: <a href="/facts/Technical_writing/ooL0Khya">Technical writing</a> and <a href="/facts/Technical_communication/sz8G7rYk">Technical communication</a>
Technical editing involves reviewing text written on a technical topic, identifying usage errors and ensuring adherence to a style guide. It aims to improve the clarity of the text or message from the author to the reader. Technical editing is actually the umbrella term for all the different kinds of edits that might occur.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a>
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.
From basics to more critical changes, these adjustments to the text can be categorized by the different terms within technical editing. There are policy edits, integrity edits, screening edits, copy clarification edits, format edits and mechanical style edits, language edits, etc.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a>
The two most common and broad are substantive editing and copy editing. Substantive editing is developmental because it guides the drafting process by providing essential building blocks to work off of. They work closely with the author to help supply ideas. Copy editing happens later in the drafting process and focuses on changing the text so that it's consistent throughout in terms of accuracy, style, flow, and so on. This is usually the preferred editing for the surface-level cleaning up of work.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a>
Large companies dedicate experienced writers to the technical editing function. Organizations that cannot afford dedicated editors typically have experienced writers peer-edit text produced by 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.
General essential skills include attention to detail, patience, persistence, the ability to sustain focus while working through lengthy pieces of text on complex topics, tact in dealing with writers, and excellent communication skills. Additionally, one does not need an English major to partake but language aptitude certainly helps.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24">24</a>

<h2 id="editing-services">Editing services</h2>
"Paid editing" redirects here. For paid editing on Wikipedia, see <a href="/facts/Paid_editing_on_Wikipedia/JCFkLVpm">Paid editing on Wikipedia</a>.
Editing is a growing field of work in the <a href="/facts/Service_industry/IbtKqotL">service industry</a>. There is little career training offered for editors.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25">25</a> Paid editing services may be provided by specialized editing firms or by self-employed (<a href="/facts/Freelancer/IEwvCMTI">freelance</a>) editors.
Editing firms may employ a team of in-house editors, rely on a network of individual contractors or both.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26">26</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Proofreading/5gTPjRUr">proofreading</a>, <a href="/facts/Copy_editing/xkewaACP">copy editing</a>, <a href="/facts/Online_editing/A3UsbNLn">online editing</a>, <a href="/facts/Developmental_editing/Lz668ScK">developmental editing</a>, editing for <a href="/facts/Search_engine_optimization/RNzIbb62">search engine optimization</a>, 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 <a href="/facts/Author_editing/5GpfFYXo">authors' editors</a>. There is hope for self-employed editors because all editing differs based on tradition, experience, education, personal style, values, etc.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27">27</a>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Audio_editing/vbbu6a3M">Audio editing</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Author_editing/5GpfFYXo">Author editing</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Film_editing/9F11k3K3">Film editing</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Literary_editor/ePGmLdUx">Literary editor</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Redaction/yyM9ayJ6">Redaction</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Social_edition/gIQKd4zJ">Social edition</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Stealth_edit/epbIPHYX">Stealth edit</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Textual_scholarship/4ee8KSS7">Textual scholarship</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Video_editing/VoWFUpIE">Video editing</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Writer/3xKMB3yB">Writer</a></li></ul>

<h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2>
<ul><li>Overholser, Geneva (December 1998). <a href="http://ajrarchive.org/article.asp?id=3290">"Editor Inc"</a>. <a href="/facts/American_Journalism_Review/IpuUbFdA">American Journalism Review</a>.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Leslie_Stephen/bLa0KFxe">Stephen, Leslie</a> (1898). <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Studies_of_a_Biographer/The_Evolution_of_Editors">"The Evolution of Editors"</a>. <a href="https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Studies_of_a_Biographer">Studies of a Biographer</a>. Vol. 1. London: Duckworth and Co. pp. 37–73.</li>
<li>Morrison, Blake (6 August 2005). <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/aug/06/featuresreviews.guardianreview1">"Black day for the blue pencil"</a>. The Observer. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210413220616/https://www.theguardian.com/books/2005/aug/06/featuresreviews.guardianreview1">Archived</a> from the original on 13 April 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2021.</li>
<li>Ó Brógáin, Séamas (2015). <a href="http://www.claritas.ie">A Dictionary of Editing</a>. Vol. 1. Dublin: Claritas.</li>
<li>Greenberg, Susan L. (2015) Editors talk about editing: insights for readers, writers and publishers, New York: Peter Lang</li>
<li>Munro, Craig (2021) Literary Lion Tamers: book editors who made publishing history, Brunswick, Victoria: Scribe Publications <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 9781925713220</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>

<ul><li> The dictionary definition of editing at Wiktionary</li>
<li> Media related to Editing at Wikimedia Commons</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">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. <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">"Encarta Dictionary definition of "editing"". Archived from the original on 22 October 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20091022154750/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/editing.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20091022154750/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/editing.html</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">"Encarta Dictionary definition of 'editor'". Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20090206041848/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/editor.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20090206041848/http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_/editor.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">Diab, N. M. (2010). Effects of peer-versus self-editing on students’ revision of language errors in revised drafts. System, 38(1), 85-95. <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">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. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">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. <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Orpen, Valerie (2003). Film Editing: The Art of the Expressive. Wallflower Press. ISBN 978-1-903364-53-6. <a href="978-1-903364-53-6" target="_blank">978-1-903364-53-6</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Buehler, Mary Fran (1981). "Defining Terms in Technical Editing: The Levels of Edit as a Model". Technical Communication. 28 (4): 10–15. JSTOR 43094307. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/43094307" target="_blank">http://www.jstor.org/stable/43094307</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Buehler, Mary Fran (1981). "Defining Terms in Technical Editing: The Levels of Edit as a Model". Technical Communication. 28 (4): 10–15. JSTOR 43094307. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/43094307" target="_blank">http://www.jstor.org/stable/43094307</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">Hayhoe, George F (2007). "The Future of Technical Writing and Editing". Technical Communication. 54 (3): 281–282. JSTOR 43089503. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/43089503" target="_blank">http://www.jstor.org/stable/43089503</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">SocialGuru (24 June 2023). "The Evolution of Video Editing: From Analog to Digital". Medium. Retrieved 17 October 2023. <a href="https://medium.com/@freelancekhayam/the-evolution-of-video-editing-from-analog-to-digital-d5396b18758b" target="_blank">https://medium.com/@freelancekhayam/the-evolution-of-video-editing-from-analog-to-digital-d5396b18758b</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">"History of digital photo manipulation | National Science and Media Museum". www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk. 16 June 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2023. <a href="https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/digital-photo-manipulation-history" target="_blank">https://www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/objects-and-stories/digital-photo-manipulation-history</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">"Chapter 1: Develop a Lightroom + Photoshop Mindset - Crafting the Landscape Photograph with Lightroom Classic and Photoshop [Book]". www.oreilly.com. Retrieved 17 October 2023. <a href="https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/crafting-the-landscape/9781681989907/xhtml/chapter1.xhtml" target="_blank">https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/crafting-the-landscape/9781681989907/xhtml/chapter1.xhtml</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Crittenden, Roger (2003). Film and Video Editing. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9780203427866. ISBN 978-1-135-37270-5. <a href="978-1-135-37270-5" target="_blank">978-1-135-37270-5</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">Ferris, Dana R; Hsiang Liu; Aparna Sinha; Manuel Senna. (2013). Written corrective feedback for individual L2 writers. Journal of Second Language Writing 22.3, 307-329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2012.09.009 <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Diab, N. M. (2016). A comparison of peer, teacher and self-feedback on the reduction of language errors in student essays. System, 57, 55-65. <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">Diab, N. M. (2016). A comparison of peer, teacher and self-feedback on the reduction of language errors in student essays. System, 57, 55-65. <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">Diab, N. M. (2010). Effects of peer-versus self-editing on students’ revision of language errors in revised drafts. System, 38(1), 85-95. <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">Holbrook, G., & Park, V. J. (2017). Student perceptions of the effectiveness of self-editing on their writing: towards a self-regulated approach. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, 12. https://doi.org/10.47408/jldhe.v0i12.425 <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">Li, Z. and Hegelheimer, V. (2013) ‘Mobile-assisted grammar exercises: effects on self-editing in L2 writing’, Language Learning & Technology, 17(3), pp.135-156. <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">Buehler, Mary Fran (1981). "Defining Terms in Technical Editing: The Levels of Edit as a Model". Technical Communication. 28 (4): 10–15. JSTOR 43094307. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/43094307" target="_blank">http://www.jstor.org/stable/43094307</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">Buehler, Mary Fran (1981). "Defining Terms in Technical Editing: The Levels of Edit as a Model". Technical Communication. 28 (4): 10–15. JSTOR 43094307. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/43094307" target="_blank">http://www.jstor.org/stable/43094307</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">Nobles, Heidi (2019). "I will not edit your paper (Will I?): Tutoring and/or editing in the writing center [Tutors' column]" (PDF). WLN: A Journal of Writing Center Scholarship. 43 (5–6): 21–24. doi:10.37514/WLN-J.2019.43.5.05. <a href="https://wlnjournal.org/archives/v43/43.5-6.pdf" target="_blank">https://wlnjournal.org/archives/v43/43.5-6.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:24">Putnam, Constance E. (1985). "Myths about Editing". Technical Communication. 32 (2): 17–20. JSTOR 43095639. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/43095639" target="_blank">http://www.jstor.org/stable/43095639</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:25">Malone, Micheal S. (2018). "Editing" The Craft of Professional Writing: A Guide for Amateur and Professional Writers. Anthem Press. pp. 283–292. ISBN 978-1-78308-830-0. <a href="978-1-78308-830-0" target="_blank">978-1-78308-830-0</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:26">Appiah, Bernard (2009). "Science editing at an Indian firm: perspectives of two US visitors" (PDF). Science Editing. 32 (4): 118–119. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 September 2013. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20130928030255/http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/files/scienceeditor/v32n4p118-119.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20130928030255/http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/files/scienceeditor/v32n4p118-119.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:27">Putnam, Constance E. (1985). "Myths about Editing". Technical Communication. 32 (2): 17–20. JSTOR 43095639. <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/43095639" target="_blank">http://www.jstor.org/stable/43095639</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Editing open-in-new

Editing