The Shift From Writing to Copyediting

Some differences are not obvious.

A few months ago, I made a career shift from article writing—for a fitness magazine—to copyediting. Since both disciplines involve words and punctuation, I figured it would just be a breeze to adjust and be acquainted with processes, rules, and other specifics that go along with my new designation.

How did I fare?

The transition wasn’t devoid of bumps, but I’m quite satisfied with the pace of my progress. In writing my assigned articles, content was of utmost focus and importance. As in TV commercials, I had to reel in the viewers to keep watching (reading) and hopefully buy the product (magazine).

The first few manuscripts I edited, I saw myself as being the viewer (reader).
I observed that:
- I was more focused on whether or not I was entertained.
- I was able to edit faster if I liked the story, probably because I looked forward to knowing what happens next.
- much like leisure reading, my pace depended on the pace of the story, e.g. I tend to read faster when there is a chase sequence or a suspenseful scene, and slower when reading the emotions of the character.

Suffice it to say, I wasn’t consistent with my output—late submissions, reedits.

By getting acquainted with the process and logging in more editing time, I was able to lessen reedits and have time, in some instances, to do “rush work” while in the middle of editing a manuscript.

Being a good copy editor requires you to be more patient and meticulous as compared with being a writer. I now pay more attention to structure and rules. An advisable technique is to focus on words, phrases, sentences, and punctuation, without much concern on the plight of the characters.

Writing articles kept me focused on a limited range of subjects, especially since my previous employer was a theme-based magazine. With every manuscript, you get acquainted with certain words and jargon, depending on the subject, and it opens your consciousness to a plethora of new knowledge and information.

To be good at both writing and copyediting, you have to master each field’s pertinent and distinct essentials. The transition in shifting from one to the other is not as simple as it may seem.

Choose one.