Don’t trust the text Attitude adjustment: the key to being a good editor

What happens in most classes  Books and articles are presented as authorities  You are supposed to support your work with citations to published writing  The implicit message is that you can and should believe what you read

What happens in Editing  You have to distrust the text  You have to question everything you read  You have to overrule (sometimes) the writer  Your judgment has to be better than the writer’s judgment  You have total license to make changes AS LONG AS YOU ARE RIGHT

Some tips from Frank Fee  Always do the math

Some tips from Frank Fee  Always do the math  Always check a map when describing a site, route, etc.

Some tips from Frank Fee  Always do the math  Always check a map when describing a site, route, etc.  Always find the first reference to a person in copy

Some tips from Frank Fee  Always do the math  Always check a map when describing a site, route, etc.  Always find the first reference to a person in copy  Never assume anything

Some tips from Frank Fee  Always do the math  Always check a map when describing a site, route, etc.  Always find the first reference to a person in copy  Never assume anything

Some tips from Frank Fee  Always do the math  Always check a map when describing a site, route, etc.  Always find the first reference to a person in copy  Never assume anything  Never rationalize the copy

Some tips from Frank Fee  Always do the math  Always check a map when describing a site, route, etc.  Always find the first reference to a person in copy  Never assume anything  Never rationalize the copy  Always use all your tools

Editing methodology

 You should read the text multiple times, looking for different things

Editing methodology  You should read the text multiple times, looking for different things  Read first for content: facts, locations, names, inconsistencies

Editing methodology  You should read the text multiple times, looking for different things  Read first for content: facts, locations, names, inconsistencies  Read again for structure

Editing methodology  You should read the text multiple times, looking for different things  Read first for content: facts, locations, names, inconsistencies  Read again for structure  Read a third time for language: AP, grammar, word choice

Editing methodology  You should read the text multiple times, looking for different things  Read first for content: facts, locations, names, inconsistencies  Read again for structure  Read a third time for language: AP, grammar, word choice  Read a fourth time: bottom to top

The query  There are times when an editor cannot resolve a factual discrepancy

The query  There are times when an editor cannot resolve a factual discrepancy  Write a query

The query  There are times when an editor cannot resolve a factual discrepancy  Write a query  Query: Is first graf “Sixth Avenue” or third graf “Sixth Street” CQ?

The query  There are times when an editor cannot resolve a factual discrepancy  Write a query  Query: Is first graf “Sixth Avenue” or third graf “Sixth Street” CQ?  You can query facts only, not style, grammar, punctuation, word usage

Final thoughts

 Editing is really easy because you don’t have to know anything to be a good editor. You can always look it up: Internet, stylebook, encyclopedia, dictionary, almanac, map, etc.

Final thoughts  Editing is really easy because you don’t have to know anything to be a good editor. You can always look it up: Internet, stylebook, encyclopedia, dictionary, almanac, map, etc.  Editing is really hard because we don’t always know what we don’t know. It’s the things that we think are right that can really get us.