Elisabeth TenBrink Kelley, who also goes by TK, has been editing since they were 18. They love working on projects written with passion, particularly speculative fiction novels and personal stories. Catch them here sharing their insights with Viney Kirpal, a personal essay and health writer.

Viney: Elisabeth, what’s copy editing and what makes it important?

Elisabeth: Copy editing is one of the more technical levels of editing, though not quite so much as proofreading. It involves looking at more than simply spelling and punctuation, but grammar, wording, style, tone, consistency, and similar issues. Copy editing is normally done after the author is done drafting. That is, when major structural changes are no longer expected. This allows copy editing to focus on the manuscript in a mostly line-by-line fashion, ensuring all of the details are right.

Because of this very focused approach that isn’t typical (or particularly helpful) with larger-picture editing like content editing or especially developmental editing, copy editing tends to mostly be about correcting errors. But it is also about ensuring that the manuscript comes across right. Just because a word or phrase isn’t wrong doesn’t mean that it’s the right one. Perhaps the word “sigh” is perfect to describe a character’s action, but it has been used three times in the same paragraph. Or maybe the subject of an interview did “prevaricate”, but readers would be more likely to understand “answered evasively”.

Fact-checking is often wrapped into the copy editing job as well, but not always. (Though, of course, if something is blatantly false, that should always be noted.) It’s best to make clear if that’s a service you want from your copy editor.

Viney: What’s the role of a copy editor?

Elisabeth: To ensure that the author is understood. There are so many layers of communication and ways that the author’s meaning can get lost, and the copy editor must figure out what the author means and ensure that what they are saying matches it. This is why I always read any manuscript through before I start doing any actual editing. (Sometimes this is on a chapter-by-chapter basis with longer works.) I want to see my first reaction before I have started analyzing. That is, I want to read it as a reader before I read it as an editor. From there, I try to see if what I understood matches with what the author meant.

Since I’m just one reader, and I’m not the actual audience, it’s important for me to be able to see how other people might read it as well. If I’m editing something that is meant for experts in a field I’m not familiar with, I’ll assume the author knows better than I do which terms need to be explained and which acronyms need to be defined. Conversely, if I’m editing something meant for a general audience, I have to be aware that I have a larger-than-average vocabulary thanks to my love of linguistics and the ridiculous number of books I read growing up, and so just because I recognize a word doesn’t mean it will be understood.

Viney: When do writers need copy editing?

Elisabeth: I consider copy editing to be the most universally vital level of editing. Some people may always need developmental editing, some people don’t need any larger-picture editing at all, my work always feels a little naked if it hasn’t gotten some content editing or beta reading done, etc. But really, everyone will benefit from a copy editor. Granted, everyone will also benefit from a proof reader, and I’d never publish a longer work without one, but copy editing sits at a point that no one can master alone. Even if your ideas are always perfectly spot-on and your writing is technical perfection without a typo in sight, you can always use some help making sure that your flawless prose actually communicates your incredible concepts.

As far as the more literal “when”, it should be after any big changes. Make sure that you know the structure and flow of your piece, get some content editing if you’re not feeling confident. Definitely have either content editing done or have a friend who can actually give constructive feedback to look it over if it’s a novella or a book. No copy editor wants to go through an entire novel that hasn’t been seen by any eyes but your own. And proofreading should always be the last editing done, so make sure to get copy editing done first if you want both.

Viney: Is copy editing a well-paying side hustle, or can one make a full-time career out of it? What are the challenges you experience?

Elisabeth: It can be either, and how easy it is to be full-time depends on if you’re working for yourself or for someone else. If you’re working freelance, it’s much harder to have a stable full-time income, but if you have a salaried or hourly position at a company then it won’t be any harder than getting a part-time job.

The struggle with trying to make a full-time career out of any kind of freelance editing is that you don’t have guaranteed work. You might be super busy for several months and then have next to nothing for a full year. A 100,000-word book is only going to last about a month. But obviously, people do make a living as freelance copy editors. That requires either a large enough reach that you constantly have new clients coming in or a variety of recurring clients. Ideally, you’ll have enough people who want your services that you are turning people down and/or are booked out for several months. Both of these can theoretically be built up over time, though there’s definitely an element of luck, as with all business.

My biggest challenge has been finding work that actually pays well. You’d be amazed at how many people want to pay $100 to edit an epic-sized novel. I get that editors are expensive, and being an author is hardly lucrative most of the time, but I can’t live off of $100 a month.

Viney: How does one qualify to become a copy editor?

Elisabeth: That depends on if you want to be a freelance editor or you want to get an editing position. Most job openings for editors ask for a bachelor’s degree in “English, Journalism, or a related field”. You might be able to hook one even without said degree, but your chances are much slimmer. It’s also very difficult to find the job openings you’re looking for, since most job sites don’t understand the difference between “copy editor” and “newspaper editor” and “video editor”. 

But if you’re freelance, the only requirement is that you be good at your job. Some certificates can help you to stand out and seem a bit more professional, and you should definitely look into courses if you’re not confident in your abilities, but in the end all that matters is the quality of your work. I may not have work booked out to the end of the year, but I’ve never once had a client dissatisfied with my editing. Not that they’ve told me, anyway.

Viney: That was an honest assessment of the situation that a copyeditor could experience. It was a pleasure getting your views, Elisabeth. Thank you very much for your time! Elisabeth is available on tkeditingservice@gmail.com