Filing Dispatches From The Copyedit Front
Yes, the copyedit is still rolling on, so time for another dispatch.
I am currently about 40% through the total manuscript, and although I could have gotten further, I decided 40% was a good time to press pause, look back over progress to date, and make sure all my corrections for continuity and consistency were actually consistent.
So far, it’s looking OK overall, despite a few gnarly spots here and there, which is good news.
As you probably gathered from last Thursday’s post, the copyedit is very much an attention to detail exercise. We’re talking comma placement here, after all, not to mention grammar, spelling, and whether a particular character’s internal and exterior reflections constitute: “speaking to oneself, as direct thought”, “quotations and repeat of formerly spoken word(s)”, or simply(!) “recollected speech.” I kid you not, dear readers… 😉
All part of the grand campaign for the successful delivery of a book that you may enjoy reading without moments of gnarly editing intruding.
And if, in this grand campaign, the author (that’s me, in this case) may be described as “army group centre”, then my left and right flanks are undoubtedly the mighty Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster’s dictionary respectively, with my editor(s) as the vital reserve force that may be called upon at strategic moments, especially if it appears that army group centre may be in danger of collapse.
Because as those of you who are familiar with the military history of World War 2 will know, the collapse of “army group centre” signalled a military disaster of epic proportions (for Germany. )