Castle Walls Editing

Tag: copy editor

  • Beyond Spell-Check: Ten Catches Copy Editors Make

    Beyond Spell-Check: Ten Catches Copy Editors Make

    [vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Spell-check will fail to catch an almost unlimited number of writing miscues. In addition to spelling, copy editors address grammar, punctuation, style (hello, Chicago Manual), clarity, and consistency.

    The following ten items will give you some idea of what spell-check won’t catch.

    (Also note that I’m not addressing punctuation here and that while Word’s Editor function features a grammar check that will occasionally offer good suggestions, the many false positives and sometimes downright bizarre suggestions mean that you cannot accept any of the suggestions without a high level of discernment.)

    1. Wrong homophone. I can’t bare to see another picture of a bare. (Read: I can’t bear to see another picture of a bear.)
    2. Missing words. I can’t bear see another picture of a bear. (Read: I can’t bear to see another picture of a bear.)
    3. Transposed words. I can’t bear see to another picture of a bear. (Read: I can’t bear to see another picture of a bear.)
    4. Repeated words. This one’s obvious, and while spell-check will flag repeated words, it can’t determine whether the repetition was intentional.
    5. Repeated endings. Our brains sometimes do a funny thing where they inappropriately repeat an ending while typing: They keeping walking toward … (Read: They keep walking toward …)
    6. Echoes. Words repeated in proximity can clang against the ear of the listener. Often words like up and back (two prime offenders) can be deleted or switched out when they repeat too closely.
    7. Danglers. Dangling participles and other modifiers can cause problems, especially at the beginning of a sentence: Running into the classroom, the trash can caused me to trip. (The trash can wasn’t running into the classroom, so the person needs to be the subject instead.)
    8. Noninclusive language. Copy editors can call authors’ attention to potentially problematic language. The Conscious Style Guide and Crystal Shelley’s Conscious Language Toolkit are two great resources.
    9. Continuity issues. If a character’s eyes change color halfway through a manuscript, there should probably be a reason. Copy editors will comment on a wide range of continuity issues that can occur in a manuscript.
    10. Inconsistently applied style. Writers face a host of decisions for how they will style such things as thoughts and the words on signs, buttons, and other objects. The copy editor will help maintain consistency, keeping in mind author preference and style guidance from the big style guides (hello again, Chicago Manual) and publisher house styles, if working with a publisher.

     

    These often seemingly easy catches pose problems because writers (and editors too!) have a difficult time editing their own work. They simply know their work too well and see what should be there rather than what is actually there.

    Another set of eyes does wonders![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

  • Continuity, Part 1: Continuity Issues and Why They Pose Problems

    Continuity, Part 1: Continuity Issues and Why They Pose Problems

    “Only by thoughtful concentration on details can fiction be satisfactorily edited.”

    —Words into Type

    [On April 4, 2025, I presented “The Case of Ever-Changing Eye Color: Tracking Continuity in Manuscripts” to a live audience at ACES 2025 in Salt Lake City. This series of posts is largely based on that presentation.]

    What Are Continuity Issues?

    Continuity issues refer to discrepancies among details an author has provided in their manuscript.

    Usually these issues relate to physical character traits, nonphysical character traits, plot events, and matters of time, place, and distance.

    When the author provides information about a character, that information should be consistent throughout the manuscript unless there’s a good reason (a character’s hair might change color because they’ve dyed it).

    Discrepancies in the passage of time, the physical properties of setting, and the distance between settings (and the time it would take to travel between places) all present innumerable opportunities to introduce continuity issues.

    Continuity issues are present when the reader asks questions such as the following:

    • Didn’t this character have blue eyes in chapter 3?
    • How is it Saturday when four days have passed since Thursday?
    • How did this character just enter the room when they were already in the room?

    Continuity issues may occur within scenes, across scenes and chapters, and across books in a series. So copy editors face a daunting task when helping authors maintain good, uninterrupted continuity in their stories.

    James Gallagher speaking behind a lectern at ACES 2025 in Salt Lake City

    Why Are Continuity Issues a Problem?

    Readers are savvy at picking up continuity issues—and they often aren’t shy about sharing them online. So it’s well worth it for authors and editors to do what they can to address continuity before a book makes its way into the world.

    Continuity gaffes can do the following:

    • Break the spell of an author’s storytelling and take the reader out of the work.
    • Diminish author authority and lessen the reader’s faith in the author.
    • Weaken the story.

    Depending on the reader and the magnitude of the continuity issue, reader response might range from indifference to mild amusement to slight irritation to a refusal to finish the book.

    For the author, the response might be embarrassment, awareness that they’ve taken a hit to their reputation, or irritation with their editor for not catching the issue.

    For the editor, the response might be mortification (no one is harder on the editor than that editor), awareness that they’ve taken a hit to their reputation, and even fear that they could lose their client.

    Next time we’ll look at why continuity issues occur, and we’ll explore how we can prevent them.

    Note: Presenting a session on continuity live and in person to a room of editors at a national conference is something I’ll never forget. Organizations such as ACES: The Society for Editing provide learning opportunities and access to an inspiring community of editors.

  • Sign on the Dotted Line: The Editing Contract

    Sign on the Dotted Line: The Editing Contract

    Signing a contract can be intimidating. What am I getting into here? What might be lurking in the fine print?

    When it comes to the author–editor relationship, contracts can reassure authors

    • that they’ve chosen the right editor
    • that the editor will provide the services they want
    • that the pay and delivery schedule will meet their expectations

     

    The Right Editor for You

    Authors find editors in all kinds of ways, and if you poke around social media for a minute or two, you’ll probably come across authors asking where they can go to find a good editor.

    Editors may be referred by other authors (editors love this).

    Authors may find editors blind on the internet or through resources such as the Editorial Freelancers Association (of which I’m a member).

    Authors may even turn to friends who love to read and regularly point out grammar miscues on Facebook (but please don’t point out grammar miscues on Facebook).

    Wherever an author finds an editor, the contract is a sign of the editor’s professionalism. The contract says the following to the author:

    • “I am a professional, I take my job seriously, and I will treat you in a professional manner.”
    • “I want to be absolutely clear on the work that you want me to do, and I want you to be absolutely clear on the work I’m doing.”
    • “I want to prevent any misunderstandings on the cost of the work or when you can expect the work to be delivered.”

    Whether your editor is an old friend or a complete stranger, contracts set the business transaction off on the right foot and preserve the relationship between the parties by preventing misunderstandings.

    With something as important as a manuscript an author has toiled over, better safe than sorry is a good approach for everyone involved.

    The Services You Want

    An author’s view of the kind of editing that should be done on a manuscript can be very different from the editor’s.

    Authors and editors may even have different definitions for what is entailed by the different levels of editing: developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. (No surprise here, because editors often have different definitions themselves.)

    Authors might not even be aware there are different levels of editing, so prework discussions leading to the contract can be extremely informative.

    For example, the contract can prevent an author from thinking the copyeditor will perform Big Picture structural work on a manuscript when the copyeditor thinks he will be editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation, style, and consistency only.

    No Surprises

    Unspoken expectations lead to trouble, especially when it comes to money and the nature of the work involved.

    A contract may specify the type of file that will be supplied to the editor (an editor may be expecting a Word document when the author is planning to send a PDF for markup or share a Google document).

    A contract might say that the work will be billed based on the supplied word count and not the word count of the edited document (often much lower), or a contract may spell out a project fee and a pay schedule.

    Either way, addressing payment expectations (including the deposit and methods of payment) avoids one of the greatest sources of contention.

    In addition, an author might expect that the editor’s fee includes a full review of the edited manuscript after the author has addressed comments and accepted and rejected changes, whereas the editor might see this as a separate charge.

    What happens when the author or editor has to pull out of a project, for whatever reason? This can be covered in the contract too.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that if authors see something they don’t like in the contract, they are free to raise the issue with the editor and are encouraged to do so.

    After all, editors and authors are working toward a common goal: to make the author’s manuscript as good as it can be.

    Contracts help achieve this goal and reassure both parties that their expectations are being met.

    (For more on contracts and setting fees, The Paper It’s Written On by Karin Cather and Dick Margulis and The Science, Art and Voodoo of Freelance Pricing and Getting Paid by Jake Poinier, aka Dr. Freelance, are excellent resources.)

    About James Gallagher:

    James Gallagher is a copyeditor and the owner of Castle Walls Editing LLC. To view a sample contract or to find out how James can help with your writing projects, email James at James@castlewallsediting.com.

     

    References:

    Cather, Karin, and Dick Margulis. The Paper It’s Written On: Defining Your Relationship with an Editing Client. New Haven, CT: Andslash Books, 2018.

    Poinier, Jake. The Science, Art and Voodoo of Freelance Pricing and Getting Paid. Phoenix, AZ: More Cowbell Books, 2013.

  • Getting to the Why of Editing

    Getting to the Why of Editing

    In his wildly popular TED Talk video How Great Leaders Inspire Action, author Simon Sinek maintains that most businesses know what they do, and that some businesses even understand how they do it, but that few businesses truly understand why they do it.

    Why does your organization exist? he asks. Why do you get out of bed in the morning? Why should anyone care?

    I spent almost 15 years working an in-house gig as an editor at Recorded Books (a company that will always have a special place in my heart). But nearly six months ago, I left behind regular paychecks and benefits to begin an adventure running my own editing business.

    I’m a copy editor.

    I love copyediting.

    But that’s what I do.

    I’m learning all the time and refining my processes (something I hope and expect will always be the case). But even so, I can give you a good breakdown of how I do what I do.

    But why do I do it?

    Sinek makes a compelling case for answering this question, and I’m sold on the importance of doing so.

    I should answer it for myself, certainly.

    But perhaps more importantly, I should answer it for my clients and for my potential clients. In truth, they shouldn’t just ask the question. They should demand an answer.

    So here goes.

    Anyone who’s chosen the freelance route can rattle off the usual reasons for going it on your own:

    • Being your own boss
    • Setting your own schedule
    • Pursuing the kind of work you want
    • Avoiding office politics

    These are all compelling, but they don’t actually strike at the why of what I do.

    So how do I get to why?

    My Castle Walls Editing home page features rotating images with these slogans:

    • Serving the Author
    • Serving the Audience
    • Serving the Work

    Each represents a different aspect of my why.

    Serving the Author

    In The Subversive Copy Editor (a must-read for any editor), Carol Fisher Saller expresses her philosophy that editors and authors are not adversaries vying for control of the text. They are instead partners working in service to the reader.

    As an editor, I want to help the author. Helping is important to me, and on a basic level it makes me feel good. I have a strong need to please, and editing lets me do this in a direct way.

    Serving the Audience

    I’m a reader as well as an editor, and reading has always been a place of shelter and warmth (Clive Barker, Ramsey Campbell, and all the other writers I admire have gotten me through a lot of tough times, and reading to my children was one of the great pleasures of my life).

    In a blog post, Baltimore Sun editor John McIntyre wrote, “And to be an editor, you must first be an avid reader. You have to hear all the voices to know which one is appropriate for your writer, your subject, your publication, your reader.”

    So reading is important for both personal and professional reasons. And as an editor, I’m able to help deliver text to readers everywhere—and this is a mission I can believe in, heart and soul.

    Serving the Work

    As a child, one of the chief ways I pleased my mother was by tidying up my room. I’ve carried this desire for neatness—and the psychological rewards of tidying up—into my profession. My mother died when I was not yet out of my teens, but I think she would be proud of the work I do.

    Certain kinds of editing appeal to me more than others, but at the heart of all jobs is that sense of straightening up. Addressing a reference list, for example, can be tedious work, but seeing a final product that appears just the way it should, down to the smallest detail, is extremely satisfying.

    My Why

    So why do I edit? It comes down to three things:

    1. I enjoy helping people.
    2. I enjoy being part of the book-making process.
    3. I enjoy cleaning up text.

    Those are simple reasons, but they feel honest and they work for me. I hope they work for you too.

     

     

  • 5 Reasons Authors Need Style Sheets

    At Castle Walls Editing, I supply style sheets when returning edited manuscripts to authors. But, you might ask, what the heck is a style sheet?

    The style sheet is a separate document (or documents) used to ensure consistency in a manuscript or across a series.

    While editors usually work in accordance with specific style guides, such as the Chicago Manual of Style, style sheets cover instances not covered by the guide or instances that conflict with the guide.

    Style sheets usually address the following areas:

    • Spelling and Styles
      Editors will specify the dictionary they follow (Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, for example), but there are still any number of spelling decisions an editor has to make. The style sheet tracks the spellings of made-up words and words with alternate spellings. The style sheet also helps the editor, author, and proofreader use consistent styles for formatting and punctuation of quotation marks, ellipses, and other features of the manuscript.
    • Characters
      Consistent spelling of character names is obviously important (you don’t want Sara on page five and Sarah one hundred pages later—and family names can get even more complicated). Style sheets also track character traits and histories, so you don’t end up with characters switching eye color midway through the manuscript or performing an action that conflicts with a previous action.
    • Locations
      The style sheet tracks the spelling of place names and indicates characteristics of those places. This is important so that characters don’t head east out of a door that earlier faced west, or any number of other logical inconsistencies that can occur. The style sheet also helps track the physical layout and features of rooms, buildings, and locales for consistent presentation in the work.
    • Timeline/Plot
      It can be surprisingly easy for the author and editor to miss time gaffes and plot holes while focusing on the micro-level action in the manuscript. A timeline by day (Day 1, Day 2, Day 3) or whatever time division works best for the manuscript helps keep time elements straight while noting basic plot points.

     

    Benefits for the Author

    No author or editor can remember everything or keep track of all the information involved in a novel without some sort of handy reference. The style sheet is therefore a necessary tool that helps editors do their job while providing a multitude of benefits to the author.

    And now for the promised five reasons authors need style sheets.

    Style sheets supply the author with the following:

    1. An explanation of edits. When authors review the edits an editor has made in a document, the style sheet shows why the edits were made, thereby preventing authors from sending unnecessary queries to the editor. This reassures the author and saves the author time and money.
    2. An invaluable resource. After editing, authors may still rework their novel or they may move on to sequels or additional books in a series. The style sheet provides a helpful tool for keeping track of names and styles, especially useful for SF, fantasy, and other genre work with unusual naming conventions.
    3. Insight into their own work. The style sheet provides authors with another tool for viewing their work. Some authors create story maps or chart out their novels on index cards. The style sheet acts as another lens through which authors can view their work, and seeing their story from another angle often helps writers identify flaws and improve their novels.
    4. Lessons on style. After reviewing a style sheet, it’s not uncommon for an author to have an “Oh, I didn’t know that” reaction. Some authors may be talented storytellers but fall short on the technical aspects of writing. Style sheets help in this area, and authors are usually more than happy to learn something new.
    5. A peek inside the editor’s mind. In many ways, the style sheet maps the editor’s process and demonstrates his or her competence. The style sheet is, therefore, a useful tool for helping an author grade an editor and decide whether or not to use that editor again.

     

    A writer might take a manuscript to a copyeditor with no idea of what a style sheet is or that one will be provided with the edited manuscript. Once writers start enjoying the benefits of style sheets, however, they usually find that the sheets are something they don’t want to do without.

    For more information about style sheets or the services that Castle Walls Editing provides, select Contact from the menu to your left.

  • Toast

    I’ve never applied eye black before tackling a manuscript. My reading glasses, I’ll readily admit, don’t even come close to saying badass the way that eye black does. Still, with the kickoff of the NFL season scant hours away, it occurs to me that there’s a position on the gridiron not all too dissimilar to that of copy editor: the cornerback.

    Strange, you might think (or passing strange), to compare a position held by one of the world’s finest athletes to the role of copy editor, but there’s one obvious link: a copy editor, like a cornerback, can only screw up. We can only get burned.

    If a copy editor does his or her job correctly, no one notices. By the same token, if a cornerback shuts down a receiver, the ball doesn’t get thrown to that side of the field, and the corner and receiver might as well be invisible. It’s only when the receiver slips behind the defense and hauls in a big gain that the now-hapless-looking corner gets his name called. Any editor who’s missed something (and all editors miss from time to time) knows that feeling of getting schooled. (Thankfully, our moments of shame aren’t broadcast on national television.)

    Like a corner who’s just bitten on a really good fake, all we can do is shake it off, try to learn something from the experience, and remind ourselves that we’re damned good at what we do. What just happened won’t happen again. Not on my watch.

    I don’t want to completely discount our moments of glory, either. Snagging an interception and taking it to the house is a surefire way to bring a crowd (happily spilling beer and overpriced concessions) to its feet. Copy editors enjoy their own time in the limelight, even if pointing out a dangling participle isn’t likely to make any sports channel’s top-ten plays of the day.

    These moments, however, are few and far between. Our lot is to toil in obscurity, the garbage men of publishing, cleaning up unsightly errors while the rest of the world sleeps.

    I enjoy my work. I think it a noble profession. I like leaving a manuscript in better shape than I found it.

    I’m happy to play my position.