Copy editing

Copy editing is the process of modifying written content (copy) to enhance readability and fitness, as well as ensuring that text is free of grammatical and factual mistakes. Other names for this procedure are copyediting and manuscript editing. According to the Chicago Manual of Style, the process of editing a manuscript can range from "simple mechanical corrections" (referred to as "mechanical editing") to "sentence-level interventions" (referred to as "line editing") to "substantive remedial work on literary style and clarity, disorganised passages, baggy prose, muddled tables and figures, and the like" (referred to as "substantive editing"). In the context of a publication that will be printed, copy editing comes first, followed by typesetting, and then comes proofreading. Outside of the realm of conventional book and journal publishing, the process of copy editing is sometimes mistakenly referred to as proofreading, and the word copy editing may occasionally include other responsibilities.

Even while it is typically expected of copy editors to make straightforward edits in order to smooth out problematic portions, copy editors do not have the authority to rewrite a text line by line, nor do they produce content on behalf of the author. The practise of creating original work that will be published under the name of another individual is referred to as ghostwriting. In addition, it is required of copy editors to point out issues with the document's organisation and structure, but it is not expected of them to correct these issues. 

In both the United States and Canada, an editor who is responsible for this kind of work is referred to as a copy editor. The highest-ranking copy editor in an organisation, often known as the editor in charge of directing a team of copy editors, is sometimes referred to as the copy chief, copy desk chief, or news editor. Copy editor is the phrase that is used in the United Kingdom, however in the publishing industry for newspapers and magazines, the term subeditor (or sub-editor), which is usually reduced to sub, is used. The written material that may be found on a website is referred to as the online copy in the context of the Internet. The act of modifying and preparing the raw or draught text of web pages for publishing is referred to as online copy editing, which is analogous to the process of editing printed materials.

The degrees of copy editing that are mild, medium, and heavy are as follows: The amount of editing that should be used will be communicated to the copy editor by the publisher based on the publication's timeline and budgetary constraints. The copy editor will be able to more effectively prioritise their work based on the kind of editing that has been selected.

There is substantive editing and mechanical editing included in the field of copy editing. The act of aligning a document with editorial or house style is known as mechanical editing. This editing endeavour ensures that the publication's desired style as well as its grammatical standards are adhered to throughout all of the material. The process of editing the information, including its structure and organisation, to ensure that it is consistent throughout is referred to as content editing, which is also known as substantive editing.