The Value of Copy Editors
When you look at something made by people, it’s easy to take for granted all of the steps it took to create it. Look at the monitor you’re reading this on. Think about how many assembly-line workers it took to put it together. Now think about the people who did the CAD designs. Then think of the people who spent time writing an owner’s manual. And what about the tiny components inside of the monitor? People designed and manufactured those too.
Now that the book is almost complete, I’m keenly aware of how many people it takes to bring a book to life. I spent the last week going over the edits from my copy editor. This person, this master of detail, was able to uncover a ton of things that I, my development editor, two rounds of tech reviews, and a public beta had not uncovered. I fixed inaccurate instructions, confusing segues, and even a handful of incomplete thoughts or sentences that I must have read hundreds of times.
Copy editors are awesome. They really know the language, and they understand communication. They don’t have to know anything about your topic, and the less they know, the better they’ll be able to do their job. They’ll be able to tell you if you’re doing things right, and they’ll alert you to places when you made a complete fool out of yourself.
When you’re putting content on your web site for the world to see, run your content by a copy editor. The good ones will suggest ways you can improve it, but the best ones, like mine, will just change it for you and ask you to review it. You’ll be thankful you did, as you watch your hastily-written thoughts get transformed into something your customers will immediately appreciate, and you’ll look a million times better as a result.
