How to Approach Editing
This guide is a living resource for members of the rotating Editorial Collectives. Email questions to sftp.publishing@gmail.com.
WHY EDIT? WHO ARE WE EDITING FOR?
Your goal as an editor is to help create a piece that:
is readable, with the main arguments organized in a way that flows and encourages reading to the end (working with the author)
is free from factual errors (working with a fact checker)
adheres to the house Style Guide
A good article has a strong narrative, is informative and accurate, and is accessible. SftP is for a general audience; while many members of our audience have scientific expertise, articles should also be journalistic: readable and engaging to a popular audience.
ASSIGNMENTS & WORKFLOW
Once abstracts are received, the editorial collective has a meeting to review abstracts, discuss possible conflicts, and make the final selection of articles that we definitely want to commission, articles that we may accept but we need more information from the author(s), and articles we are rejecting. The lead editor of the collective will be tasked with sending these responses to contributors.
Also at that meeting, editors will be assigned to each piece: one to edit, and one to copy edit/proofread, which helps the collective stay on timeline and accountable.
EDITING PROCESS
Manuscripts will come to SftP in likely two formats: As a document attachment (.doc, docx, odt) or as a Google Drive document.
When editing, make your edits in Track Changes mode (in Word) or Suggesting Mode (Google Drive). Whenever possible (according to the author’s ability to use the tool), please use Google Drive so that the documents can be shared easily with the rest of the SftP editorial collective. The lead editor is responsible for collecting all drafts and making sure that folder is shared with the collective.
File naming protocol: Please title the documents (even if the contributor has provided a different file name) with the author’s last name, draft, and draft number. The final version should be called “final.” For instance:
Foster draft 1
Foster draft 2
Foster final
MANUSCRIPT READABILITY & ORGANIZATION
When first sitting down with a manuscript, you, the editor, want to read it all the way through to get an idea of the overall framework of the piece, how it flows. As you read, jot down what questions come up that the author is asking or that come to your mind when reading. Are they answered? Does the author leave questions unanswered or contradict themselves? Is the overall structure of the piece easy to follow? And is it interesting?
Also note if a piece has an even tone--do you notice the author’s mood or point of view change? Do they go off on tangents? Do they provide unnecessary detail, or gloss over important points?
Once you’ve read through the entire piece, go through it again and start to make comments. Make sure you’re in Suggesting mode in Google Drive AND that you, the editor, are the owner of the document, so that you get notifications on changes and edits from the author, not the other way around. Also be sure that your document is saved in the shared Editorial Collective folder set up by the Lead Editor.
There are two main levels of editing: for readability and organization, and line- or copy editing, which focuses on the granular aspects of style and grammar. An editor can do both at the same time, or work on readability first and then go back to review for commas, spelling, and adherence to the Style Guide. We suggest that as a first pass, you think about readability and organization. Later drafts can focus on line edits. This keeps the author from being overwhelmed by edits, and keeps you from doing extra work line editing sections that may not make it to the final draft.
FACT CHECKING
Each piece will need to be fact-checked after the second round of editing, before the final draft is submitted. For features, a dedicated fact checker/Technical Editor will be assigned to the piece, but for shorter pieces (like book reviews), the editor may also serve as fact checker. Given that our editorial collectives are volunteer based, authors should be asked when submitting drafts to send all citations and contact information for sources in order to streamline this process for editors and fact checkers.
Read through the piece again thoroughly and note things that need to be verified:
Dates
Quotations
Historical accounts
Scientific figures
Authors are required to provide sources for all of their data, so make sure you have access to those sources--and use them! If you have questions or note conflicting information, you may need to contact or review the author’s sources. As with any research, first-hand and verified accounts should be prioritized over an author’s opinion.
STYLE GUIDE
Every publication uses a style guide to standardize grammar and how to refer to proper nouns, titles, numbers, and citations. When a manuscript is near final, read through it again to copy edit and make sure it follows the style guide.
TITLES AND SUBTITLES (HEADS AND DECKS)
Words in titles and subtitles should be capitalized--the exception being conjunctions and prepositions of four letters or under (with, and, of, a, the) if not the first word in the title or subtitle.
CITATIONS
Please follow the Purdue OWL guidelines. All citations are endnotes, not paginated footnotes.
PROOFREADING
Once an article is in layout--online or in PDF for print--it must be proofread to ensure no errors have crept into the manuscript. Editors have a hard time proofreading manuscripts they are familiar with, so you may be asked to proofread a new piece that another editor worked on. Read it very carefully and don’t be afraid to nitpick! Be extra mindful of misplaced commas or apostrophes, extra or missing spaces, or awkward line or paragraph breaks that distract from readability.
RESOURCES
Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition
The Elements of Editing: A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalists, by Arthur Plotnik
The Elements of Style, Third Edition, by William Strunk and E.B. White
The Copyeditor's Handbook: A Guide for Book Publishing and Corporate Communications, 3rd Edition, by Amy Einsohn
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