EditingFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound for presentation through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications. A person who edits is called an editor.
[edit] EtymologyAccording to the Oxford English Dictionary, editor comes from the Latin phrase 'e ditus' which means "to put forward". The editor ludorum in Ancient Rome was the person who put on the games. The verb to edit is a back formation from editor. [edit] Print mediaThere are various levels of editorial positions in publishing. Typically one finds junior editorial assistants reporting to the senior level editorial managers and directors, who themselves report to senior executive editors responsible for project development to final releases. Human editors in the print publishing industry include people who are responsible for:
The smaller the publication, the more these roles run together. In particular, the substantive editor and copy editor often overlap: Fact-checking and rewriting can be the responsibility of either. [edit] Executive editorThe top editor sometimes has the title executive editor or editor-in-chief (the former is replacing the latter in the language). This person is generally responsible for the content of the publication. The exception is that newspapers that are large enough usually have a separate editor for the editorials and opinion pages in order to have a complete separation of its news reporting and its editorial content. The executive editor sets the publication standards for performance, as well as for motivating and developing the staff. The executive editor is also responsible for developing and maintaining the publication budget. In concert with the publisher and the operating committee, the executive editor is responsible for strategic and operational planning. [edit] NewspapersEditors at newspapers supervise journalists and improve their work. Newspaper editing encompasses a variety of titles and functions. These include:
The term city editor is used differently in North America, where it refers to the editor responsible for the news coverage of a newspaper's local circulation area (also sometimes called metro editor), and in the United Kingdom, where (normally with a capital C) it refers to the editor responsible for coverage of business in the City of London and, by extension, coverage of business and finance in general. [edit] Scholarly books and journalsEditors of scholarly books and journals are of three types, each with particular responsibilities: the acquisitions editor (or commissioning editor in Britain), who contracts with the author to produce the copy, the project editor or production editor, who sees the copy through its stages from manuscript through bound book and usually assumes most of the budget and schedule responsibilities, and the copyeditor or manuscript editor, who performs the tasks of readying the copy for conversion into printed form. 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 guide, usually a combination of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and either the The Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Style Manual, or the APA Publication Manual. Since scholars often have strong preferences, very often a publisher will adopt different styles for different fields. For instance, psychologists prefer the APA style, while linguists might prefer the MLA style. These guidelines offer sound advice on making cited sources complete and correct and making the presentation scholarly. [edit] Technical EditingTechnical editing involves reviewing text written on a technical topic, and identifying errors related to the use of language in general or adherence to a specific style guide. This activity ensures that documentation is of good quality. 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 relatively less experienced colleagues. It helps if the technical editor is familiar with the subject being edited, but that is not always essential. 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. In the long run, however, the skills that really matter 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. [edit] See also[edit] External LinksProfessional associations:
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