COPYEDITING MARKS: Getting Started

COPYEDITING MARKS: Getting Started Editorial marks are a sort of shorthand that has evolved over time. These marks are not universal, but they're nearly so. They save the editor untold hours of writing detailed instructions. Nonetheless, if you don't use the marks clearly and correctly, your work can generate needless revisions, raise costs, and cause annoyance. Clear, professional-looking marks also impress authors and help lend cre- dence to the editor's suggestions. Further, no keyboarder should have to make a "best guess" at what an editorial mark means. These days, it's easy to make changes and produce another printout, but it's also easy to forget that each additional iteration costs time and money. In the publishing world both are usually in short supply. The marks that follow are standard for editors. Some organizations use slightly different ones for particular purposes. If your office uses variants, by all means conform, but keep in mind that someone else (an "outside" author or keyboarder, for instance) may not understand your notation. Editors and proofreaders use the same marks, but use them differently. Edi- tors mark in the text line, because the keyboarders need to read every line as they work. Proofreaders, working at a later stage in the editorial process, mark in the margin, so the keyboarder making corrections need only run an eye down the margin to see what to do. Delete one character, several letters, or a whole word with a looped cancel Delete mark (7'), which supposedly evolved from a medieval a. (for delendo— get rid of). If you want to delete an entire passage, box it in and draw an X through it. Delete this letter. Delete this letter. Delete this we-WWord. Delete this word. To close up space entirely, use this mark (C), often called close-up hooks. Close up tooth paste toothpaste tooth brush toothbrush 1/4..40 SUBSTANCE & STYLE 15 Using only the top half of the mark means to decrease the space, or to leave a word space, or to take out any extra space, depending on the context. Now is the time. Now is the time. Delete and When you combine the delete symbol with the close-up hooks, you get a close up mark that looks like this: ,357, . Use it when you want to delete a letter in the middle of a word or at the end of a word, just before a punctuation mark. NoW is the tie. Now is the time. Now is the timey. Now is the time. Insert When you want to insert a letter or a phrase, use a caret ( A ). Always place your insertions above the line, and always place the caret precisely where you want the insertion to be. - Now is the time for men Now is the time for all good men A brace ( under the insertion helps direct the eye to the proper place. Now ime Now is the time A for all good men for all good men If you're inserting a letter at the beginning or end of a word, you must use close-up hooks as well. To some people this practice seems superfluous, but without the hooks it's often impossible to tell where such insertions belong in very heavily edited copy. For example, what did the editor intend here, fields or snow? field Snow A The use of close-up hooks would have told you. Sl field how field snow field-now fields now A If you want to add space rather than a word, use a caret and a space mark ( ). Some editors draw a line to separate the two words rather than using the symbol: Inse r5es pace Insert space Inserthpace Insert space 16 CHAPTER 3: COPYEDITING MARKS A slash through a capital letter means that the letter should be lowercase. If Lowercase you wish to lowercase several letters in a row, you can use a slash with a "hat" on it. Xowercase lowercase ..C17ATER-C-A-FE lowercase To make a lowercase letter or word uppercase, put three lines under the let- Capitals ters to be changed. capital Capital = all caps ALL CAPS •Sr- -c."-irr Small caps are capital letters that are only as big as lowercase letters; they're Small caps often used for acronyms, such as VISTA, or combined with regular capitals for names in signature lines. To mark for small caps, use two lines under the words or letters. ROBERT E. BROWN Robert aE. Brown Robert E. Brown ROBERT E. BROWN 5 a a ..= Some people choose two lines to indicate regular caps, but such usage isn't standard. The underline symbol ( ) is used to signify both italics and under- Italics score. To differentiate between the two forms, write the instruction (ital or score) in a circle in the margin. Keyboarders know not to enter or "set" any- thing circled in the margin. Circle all instructions, specifications, or que- ries, so that no one will put them into the text by mistake. The Sound and the Fury The Sound and the Fury The Sound and the Fury The Sound and the Fury To remove italics, put a series of hatch marks through the line, or put a delete mark at the end. The latter, however, is very easy to miss in heavily edited copy. rSTIIDYP,i'lliff remove italics SUBSTANCE & STYLE 17 Boldface To indicate boldface, use a wavy line (AA...) and to remove it, use hatch marks or write and circle , which means lightface. Boldface Boldface Remove boldface Remove boldface Remove boldface Remove boldface Transpose The transposition mark looks like this: VI . You can use it to transpose both letters and words. TrOspose Transpose \words Transpos Transpose words You can also transpose around something that you've left untouched, although it's often better to rewrite the words. Be sure to keep transpositions easy to read and don't make transpositions within transpositions. Kollooldlyinwhere no man has gone 4* boldly ,ft where no man has gone To boldly go where no man has gone Replace To mark for replacement, slash through the incorrect letter and put its replacement above the line. To replace an entire word, cross it out and write the correction above it to avoid any possibility of misunderstanding. slish slash spia.66 splash Spellout/Usethe If you want to use the complete word instead of an abbreviation, circle the other form abbreviation. Circling also indicates that you want the other form. seven Company GM General Motors 18 CHAPTER 3: COPYEDITING MARKS Note that the circle works both ways: 6even) 7 Company Co. General Motors) GM If the circled text results in an ambiguous instruction, write out what you want. For instance, does Calif. become CA or California? Is GM General Motors or Gen- eral Mills? Is VA Virginia or the Veterans Administration? In none of these cases will your keyboarder know what to do (except perhaps from context, and good operators generally see words, not context). A symbol called the pilcrow ( 47 ) is used to denote the beginning of a Paragraph paragraph. This sign, which dates back to Middle English, is univer- sally understood. Some editors use a sign that looks like an L ( L.. ) to mark a paragraph break, but this mark is too often lost in heavily edited copy and therefore is used less often. Q Need a new paragraph L LT eed a new paragraph Conversely, if you don't want a paragraph where one already exists, then Run on you mark to run on (c) ). You can use the same symbol to mark the end of a considerable deletion as well. We were told to John Brown, Manager ...c) speak to John Brown He is Assistant r o t Manager the Bethesda branch To move material to an adjacent line, brace or circle the passage and show Transfer with an arrow where you want it to go. Be sure your marks and instructions are clear and accurate when you want to move material d' nt o another. Brace or circle material to be move. SUBSTANCE & STYLE 19 Box material to be moved to a different position on the same page and run an arrow to the new position. Move this line down. Copy marked this way is easily read by the word (processing staff. If you want to move material to another page, say from page 3 to page 4, follow this procedure: On page 3, circle the material to be moved, label it In- sert A, and draw an arrow pointing toward the right-hand margin. In a circle, write Move to page 4. On page 4, draw an arrow from the left margin to the place of insertion and write in a circle, Insert A from page 3. r bas: Li e ter dye ie jth.e t .nof tat Ltnie• d4d died,4dod 1 al kind--- 4 a tmo we &peel 42.. 1.1001 dtliked 2 Y431'4448 ens. ......-.... 44 er or a 2o Transfer to d If a menus 4 S':444-i:41,, %51"3': type 4ma- . 1211 de t dash. .4;24;00 477 144 Be sure your marks and i"t • Ito-dashe s accord whether the hd22 ine2 to move material from one plan y. hyphen ie :::4.44ted Part of the Strd moved to an adjacent line. 44 444 or"4 40t and 4f 11444' Y4 to mark the To move materiel to an If 4 hlphen ePpears onlY because a 2ine U produces *i/2 4444 Yon 442st mark this .soft.

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