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Copyediting – Proofreading Process (Part Five)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 12 Comments

What a week! I can’t thank everyone enough for their contributions. I’m going to have to work hard at getting the comments and ideas summarized.

So you’ve finished copyediting – proofreading the manuscript, and it’s time to send it back to the author. This is usually when I think about the work I’ve done and have I done what the author asked of me. It’s a good time to pause and re-read ALL the comments. I ask myself:

  • Are the comments clear?
  • Are the comments consistent?
  • Have I introduced any errors?

If I am working on a computer copy of the document, I’ve asked the author not to touch their version until I’m done (I probably should have mentioned this in part one). With only one version active, the author can accept or reject changes without introducing new errors. Also, I figure if I’m going to spend the time editing, the author should wait for me and not create another version of the manuscript. It’s frustrating to have to repeat the editing process.

I usually summarize my detailed comments in an overview. I remember to tell the author what I liked about the story. This is important. Every writer needs to hear what he/she does well. It’s easy to focus on criticism, and my goal is to motivate the author to continue to write. I don’t want to de-motivate them because I made too many comments.

In the summary, I remind the author to do the following before shipping the manuscript to an agent, publisher or uploading it to an e-book site (if they are self-publishing):

  • accept or reject suggested changes
  • delete any remaining comments
  • turn off mark-up or track changes
  • remove bookmarks
  • check under properties that the title is correct

When you’re ready, ship the manuscript back to the author and see what he/she thinks. I’m usually nervous at this point. It’s an honour to read and work on another author’s manuscript, and I hope I’ve found a balance between being helpful and not being overly critical.

One final caution: I find it difficult to edit my own work. My eye reads what I think I wrote and not what I actually wrote. I do my best to correct my manuscript before I give it to someone else to edit, but I try to have a sense of humour and laugh at myself when errors are found. Nobody’s perfect ☺

Thanks again for reading . . .

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Going Sailing: Medical Kit For Dogs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

Our dog Farley, spends his winters in the Bahamas on our Lagoon 380 S2.

We’ve entered the part of the year where we need prepare for the season. This includes provisioning for Farley. In Going Sailing With Your Dog? I gave a high level list of what to bring on a cruising boat.

Today I’ll focus on his medical kit.

The soft cone stops Farley from fussing with an injury on his front leg.

Before entering the Bahamas, Farley needs to get a health certificate. This has to be done right before we cross, so I don’t leave anything critical until then. Sometime during the summer, I have a discussion with Farley’s vet about what he needs for the upcoming season. If your dog required any medication, it’s best to order early. Sometime the vet won’t carry a six month supply.

For Farley we bring

  • Doxycycline – for lyme’s disease. This horrible disease can be cured, but only if you have the right medication.
  • Advantix – some years are worse than others in the Bahamas for ticks.
  • Heartworm pills
  • The cone of shame, both a soft one, as shown in the photo and a hard plastic one.  They can be stored flat underneath a bunk.
  • Ear cleaning fluid. Farley tends to get ear infractions when he swims in salt water. The fluid seems to held reduce this.
  • Antibiotic ear drops – for a serious infection
  • Antibiotic eye drops – for a serious infection
  • Muzzle – in case of severer injury, it might avoid a dog bite.
  • Shampoo – think lots of sand! I put this under medical and not grooming as I believe it keeps Farley from having skin issues.

There are  items from our medical kit that we could use for Farley.  This includes large bandages, scissors, gloves,  and antibiotic cream. I never give Farley medication from our kit unless a vet tells me it’s okay.

Before I leave for the season, I talk to my vet and make sure I can contact them while I’m away. There are vets in the Bahamas, and my experience there has been very good, but when sailing away from civilization, sometimes the only way to get a consult is through email

Please remember, this is what I bring based on what Farley needs. It’s best to consult your vet to get the right things for your dog.

If you have other items you bring, please let me know.

Copyediting – Proofreading Process (Part Four)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 2 Comments

First – thank you to everyone who has contributed thoughts on my blog and in LinkedIn. I’ve enjoyed putting my process out there and improving it based on the new ideas I’ve received.

We’ve made it through two readings of a manuscript. During the third reading, we get to propose changes that are subjective, and even though, as an editor, I want all my suggestions included in the next version of the manuscript, I have to accept that the author gets to decide how to handle each idea I put forward.

The first three blogs in this series are: Proofreading Process (Part One), Copyediting – Proofreading Process (Part Two) and Copyediting Proofreading Process (Part Three).

So here we go . . . Things to check during the third reading:

PASSIVE versus ACTIVE

Point out passive clauses but don’t change them. Passive or active is the author’s choice, but what if the author slipped into passive without noticing? I comment and then move on.

TENSE

Keep an ear out for tense and check for consistency. Tense can change during the course of a novel. Linwood Barclay uses past tense and present tense in his new novel Trust Your Eyes, but he keeps the tense consistent in each scene. The result is a fast paced, exciting novel. My point: It’s important to understand the author’s intent for tense and then edit accordingly.

FIRST, SECOND or THIRD PERSON      

This can change throughout a novel, but is it consistent per scene? If switching person takes away from the story, mention it to the author, but again, the author gets to decide whether to change it or not.

THAT

Check every use of that and decide if it’s needed. If that is not needed for clarity, suggest its removal. Here’s an example of when you don’t need that:

I used to think that it was easy to use a comma.

I used to think it was easy to use a comma.

The meaning of the second sentence without that is clear. Now compare the following two sentences, and I think you’ll agree that is needed.

Ignoring the shadows that vaguely reminded him of his long dead relatives, . . .

Ignoring the shadows vaguely reminded him of his long dead relatives, . . .

The meaning changes in the second sentence. That is needed  for clarity. The first sentence tells us the shadows remind him of dead relatives. The second sentence tells us ignoring the shadows reminds him of dead relatives.

ADJECTIVES

Are there cases where more than one adjective describes a noun? Yes? Then I ask if the author could pick the most important one and delete the others.

REPEATED WORDS

If a word jumps out at you as overused, it probably is. It’s okay to suggest alternatives, but it’s the author’s job to come up with a new word (if he/she agrees the word is overused).

WHAT’S NEXT?

I’ll post the final touches on Monday . . .

Thanks for reading 🙂

Copyediting – Proofreading Process (Part Three)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 8 Comments

We are finally getting to the end of the second reading of a manuscript. Thank you to everyone who commented on the previous two blogs. It’s great to add new ideas to my process.

In Proofreading Process (Part One) and Copyediting – Proofreading Process (Part Two) I covered my process for the first and second reading of a manuscript. In the comments section of the blogs you can find lots of interesting ideas on the subject.

Today, I’m going to cover a few more technical areas and finish off the second reading. In the next blog, I’ll cover areas that involve making suggestions to an author but aren’t hard rules.

What about Mom and Dad?

Search for mom, dad, aunt, uncle, etc. and check if they are capitalized correctly. The capitalization of the first letter is easy to type wrong and difficult for the eye to see. A global search will force you to look at each case.

Mom is capitalized for direct address.

“Hey, Mom. I got a tattoo.”

Mom is not capitalized when referring to her.

“My mom doesn’t like my tattoo. Can you believe that?”

Acronyms

Acronyms should be added to your “list” as you read the manuscript. Then it’s easy to check if they are written in a consistent manner. For example:

PH.D or PhD or P.H.D.

AM or am or a.m.

It’s a good idea to check the style manual the author uses and pick the format from there.

Dialogue Format

When editing dialogue pay attention to punctuation and capitalization.

  • Is the punctuation inside the end quote correct?
  • Is the first word after the end quote capitalized when it shouldn’t be?

Correct: “I love my new car,” she said.

Incorrect: “I love my new car.” She said. (Did you notice the 2 errors?)

Correct: “Why did you steal my car?” he asked.

Incorrect: “Why did you steal my car?” He asked.

Possessive or Plural?

Look for words ending in ‘s’ and check if they were meant to be possessive or plural. Remember, it’s the dog’s tail, not the dogs tail – unless there are multiple dogs that share one tail, but then it would be the dogs’ tail. Now that I think about it, I guess that creature could exist in a fantasy or sci-fi novel.

The Dreaded Comma

I used to think I knew how to use a comma. Ha ha. The joke was on me. During my mentorship program with Joan Barfoot through the HSW Correspondence Program, Joan kindly pointed out I needed to learn how to use a comma.  I literally spent two months studying the comma. I guess the saying– you don’t know what you don’t know – is true. I can’t thank Joan enough for pointing this out to me.

I won’t go into the comma rules as there are enough books on the topic, but I wanted to mention how important the pesky little punctuation mark is. To create a professional looking manuscript, it’s worth the effort to learn how to use the comma.

What’s next?

Phew. I feel sweat dripping down my forehead. We are finally at the end of the second reading. The next blog, you guessed it, will start with the third reading.

I’m keeping track of suggestions and comments, and in the final blog in this series, I will post all the great ideas people have been generous enough to send me. I used some of the ideas to proofread this blog. I hope you don’t find a typo 🙂

Thanks for reading . . .

Going Sailing with Your Dog?

~ Kristina Stanley ~ Leave a comment

. . . then here is a list of things to bring if you plan to cruise with your pup.

Farley on the deck of Mattina.

Farley, my wheaten terrier, has spent three winters on our Lagoon 380 S2 catamaran and is about to start his fourth.

This week Farley’s permit to enter the Bahamas arrived in the mail, and it was a good reminder for me to prepare for the season.

Farley can’t to this on his own, so I get to do it for him.

After a few weeks in Florida, we’ll sail across the Gulf Stream and spend the winter in the Bahamas. I created list  below from my experience in the Bahamas. I’m sure there are other things you need to consider for sailing to other countries.

Before each season, I review what I use for Farley at home and assume I won’t be able to get the items while I’m sailing.

Farley’s Provisioning List:

  • Dog food and treats
  • Medical Kit
  • Grooming Kit
  • Extra leashes and harness
  • Safety gear
  • Toys
  • Permit to enter Bahamas
  • Health certificate – including proof of immunization for rabies, distemper, hepatitis, parvovirus, leptospirosis, adenovirus and coronavirus.

I’ll expand on some of the items above in future blogs.

Did I miss anything you might bring?

Copyediting – Proofreading Process (Part Two)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 20 Comments

Today’s blog focuses on a list you can create to help you copyedit.

Creating a list is part of my process when reading another author’s manuscript. I use the list for my work too, but if you’ve edited your own writing, you’ll know how hard it is to find your mistakes.

Before I start – thank you to the people who pointed out the difference between proofreading and copyediting. Their definitions are in the comments of Proofreading (Part One). Also, thanks to everyone else for their comments. I had fun reading them all.

Monday’s blog took us part way through the second reading of a manuscript, but there’s still work to do on this pass.

While reading the manuscript for the second time, I create a list that includes:

  • Words with hyphens or words I think should have a hyphen.

While writing a novel, it’s easy for an author to forget which format they used for a word. It’s better to keep word formats consistent, which can be difficult, especially when the dictionary offers a choice or two dictionaries disagree with each other.

  • Words that are easy to type incorrectly, but the spell checker won’t find the error. There are many, so here are a few examples:

It’s/its

Their/there

Hear/here

Heard/herd

Where/were

Then/than

Then/the

This list grows with each new manuscript I read. Heard/herd came from the manuscript I’m currently editing.

  • Words that are spelt differently in Canadian or American spelling. This is hard to catch because some spell checkers allow both forms.  A difficult situation occurs if the author uses a Canadian spelling for one word and American for another.  For example:

My pyjamas are the color of green olives. Pyjamas is in Canadian spelling. Color is in American.

Search for words that can be spelt with ‘ou’ or ‘o’ and words where a consonant may or may not be doubled, such as:

Favourite/favorite

Travelling/Traveling

  • Words that can be spelt (spelled in the USA) two ways.

Toward/Towards

Backward/Backwards

Both are correct, but again consistency is important.

But what do you do with this list?

Even if you have read the manuscript in printed form, this is the point where a computer can help you eliminate errors.

In whatever word processing program you use, turn tracking on. Search the manuscript for each word in the list you’ve created during your second reading and make the appropriate changes. The author can decide to accept or reject the changes when he/she reads the suggested corrections.

Call me crazy, but I thought I was going to finish this subject in two blogs. We’re still not on to the third reading, but we’re getting there.  My next post on copyediting will be on Monday.

If you have any tips to share, I’d love to add them to my process.

Thanks for reading . . .

Related articles about proofreading versus copyediting:

Proofreading Process (Part One)

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 52 Comments

I estimate it takes 40 hours to seriously proofread an 80,000 word novel. It’s a daunting task, so here are some tips to get you through it.

At least this is the process that works for me.

1) PASS ONE: Read entire novel or short story before proofreading.

Why is this step important? I find if I don’t allow myself time to read, especially if it’s a good story, I don’t concentrate on proofreading, and I get engaged in the story.

I allow myself to jot quick comments as I read, but try not to do too much at this stage. Once I’ve done this, I can concentrate on the detailed proofreading.

2) PASS TWO: Check Basic Formatting:

Before checking for formatting, I get the document into a format that works for me. I:

  • Zoom in on the document. I go to the largest size my screen can take. This enables me to see each mark on the page.
  • Turn paragraph marking on. This allows me to see paragraph breaks and extra spaces.
  • Go into review mode and turn on track changes.
  • I’m heavy on the comments. When I make a change, if it’s not obvious why, I tell the author by using the comment function.

Things I check and correct (make consistent) during PASS TWO:

  • Are all chapter headings formatted the same?
  • Are the headers and footers formatted the same?
  • Do the same number of lines appear before and after each heading?
  • Is each chapter heading in same font and size?
  • Are italics consistently used?
  • Are paragraph indents formatted the same?
  • Does the first paragraph of each section or chapter have 0 indents, while the rest are consistent?
  • Are there any double or triple spaces between words?
  • Are there any double spaces after a period?
  • Are times formatted the same – am, a.m. AM?
  • Is the spacing between ellipses consistent (. . . and not …)?

I check these things because I think it gives the manuscript a professional feel. It shows the author took the time to check the details, even the ones that are boring to check.

I don’t like to write long blogs, so I’ll publish part two of The Proofreading Process on Thursday.  So yup, you guessed it. There is a pass three.

I hope this helps your proofreading. 🙂

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Patient Dogs

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 5 Comments

 

It amazes me how much patience a dog has.

We landed at a camping site north of Lake Superior on the Ontario side, and a squirrel ran by. The dogs, of course, wanted to chase it.

While we got the campsite ready, we leashed the dogs – keeping the squirrel population safe.

Forty-five minutes later, with no sighting of the squirrel, we let the dogs off-leash. The second we were free, they sprinted to the tree the squirrel was hiding in, and circled its base. The squirrel remained safe, but our dogs were doing their duty and protecting us from this scary forest monster.

Before being let off-leash, the dogs sat waiting by the picnic table, pretending they weren’t interested in anything. Did they trick us? Is it their nature to be strategic? . . . Or, were they resigned to being on a leash and saw no point in reacting until they were free?

Your guess is as good as mine.

I love the entertainment a dog provides our family!

 

Novel Translation

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 6 Comments

The translation of my novel Fracture Line into German is done.

Kanadische Rockies: Verwehte Spuren Im Schnee

has been sent to my agent, Margaret Hart, at the HSW Literary Agency.

So what’s next? My translator has started on Descent.

And what did I learn? Proofreading in German is just has hard as in English. But more importantly, a translator looks at every word and decides what it should be in another language. If you want to have a novel scrutinized, getting it translated and working daily with a translator, is a great way to do it.

She caught things like repeated words or phrases, suggested better paragraph ordering, and highlighted character traits. It made me think of writing in a whole new light.

I’m proud to say she only found one typo. I was amazed by that.

For anyone interested: Here is the English Blurb followed by the German Blurb (where my spellchecker went crazy).

IN ENGLISH:

On a cold winter morning, deep in the Purcell Mountains, Roy McCann disappears in an avalanche. Was it an accident or did something more sinister happen?

Kalin Thompson accepts a job in the interior of British Columbia, thinking she is moving from Ottawa to be near her estranged brother, Roy. She leaves the comfort of her job with the Canadian government to become the human resources manager at Stone Mountain Resort.

On her arrival, she discovers Roy is the prime suspect in a major theft. She struggles to adapt to the subculture of resort life while covertly investigating Roy’s involvement. Threats against Kalin escalate as she gets closer to the truth and she doesn’t know who to trust.  Is her faith in her brother justified?

IN GERMAN 

Stone Mountain, Britisch Kolumbien, Canada, Montag 31. Dezember, 7.29 Uhr.

An diesem kalten Wintermorgen, hoch auf den Purcell Bergen verschwindet Roy McCann in einer Lawine.

Kalin Thompson kündigt in der selben Woche ihren Job mit der Kanadischen Regierung  in Ottawa und nimmt den Job als Personalchefin im Stone Mountain Skibetrieb an. Sie will ihren entfremten Bruder Roy, wieder treffen.

Nach ihrer Ankunft entdeckt Kalin, dass Roy im Verdacht steht, einen großen Betriebsdiebstahl  durchgeführt zu haben.

Kalin muss sich in die Subkultur des Ortes einleben. und zugleich eine heimliche Untersuchung leiten, um Roys Unschuld zu beweisen.

Ihre Liebe zu Ben Timlin kompliziert ihr Leben noch weiter. Ist ihr Vertrauen gerechtfertigt?

Kalins Leben wird bedroht als ihre Forschung nach der Wahrheit Erfolge zeigt.

Kalins Dilemma: Ist ihr Glaube an die Unschuld ihres Bruders richtig, und was verursachte die Lawine, Mann oder Natur?

Scrivener and Novels

~ Kristina Stanley ~ 15 Comments

Do you use Scrivener to write? I’m looking for input.

It’s been recommend to me by several writers, so I thought I’d try it. I’ve been using it for a week. If you’ve been reading my posts you know I can’t write a novel without a spreadsheet. It’s how I keep track of details.

One of my favourite things to do with a spreadsheet is to sort the columns. I can quickly see how may times I use a POV, Location, Characters etc. In Keeping Track Of Scenes I list some of the things I put in a spreadsheet.

Do do this in Scrivener I used the outline page and added fields to the custom meta-data section. This seems to work okay.

I’m going to use Scrivener for the trial period and then decide whether to buy it.

Can you share with me your favourite Scrivener feature and how you use it?

I’m hesitant to move away from my current method, but if this is a better way then I will.

Looking for help. Thanks, 🙂

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