Studio Blog

Today’s close-up is from a CE winner, Adam O’Connor Rodriguez. Adam shares his top tips to Copy Editors (and writers!) for polishing and perfecting each article.

 
I started working as a CE for DMS as a way to make extra money that also accommodated my insomnia – I sleep less than five hours a night and my most productive hours are often after 2 a.m.

When I started editing here, I had the copyediting part of the job together but didn’t understand gatekeeping. Now I understand that it’s quite simple: don’t publish the bad articles; publish the good ones.

I now have a “smell test” for gatekeeping DMS articles. I ask, “Does this article provide useful information to the reader that’s at least 75 percent relevant to the title? Do I stumble over the writing? Is the article written within 85 percent of DMS guidelines?” If it meets those criteria, I do whatever I can to edit and accept. I hate rejecting articles, because it means I didn’t do my best work just as often as it means the writer didn’t.

Writing great rewrite requests is another key to being a great CE. Pointing out what’s wrong does little good without clear steps to fix the problems. I actually use numbered lists to detail the problems and solutions. I go down the list and if the writer fixes all of the material problems, I do whatever’s possible to accept. If the references aren’t formatted correctly or there’s a minor style violation or one step doesn’t begin with an actionable verb, I edit and approve, so long as the serious problems are addressed. We’re copy editors; line editing should be the easy part.

Other good advice for CEs (and writers, too):

1. Learn DMS guidelines and best practices inside and out.

2. DMS editing isn’t like other editing jobs – gatekeeping is 50 percent of the work; giving clear, constructive rewrite requests is 30 percent and the remaining 20 percent is the minutiae of copyediting – fixing commas, smoothing an awkward phrase, enforcing minor style issues.

3. Trust each other. It often seems like there’s an “us versus them” mentality between CEs and writers. There’s no need for that. As a CE, I treat every writer like they’re an honest professional and I know I can expect the same treatment. Snide comments or an unreasonable request on any side of the communication is unnecessary.




More ideas for writing and editing great articles…

“Prioritize quality over quantity. I know it's easy to say if you don't have bills to pay. Still, you have to set a threshold and stick to it. I kept thinking of something one of my combat shooting instructors used to say a lot: ‘Speed is fine, but accuracy is final.’ It applies equally well here; prioritize accuracy, and the speed will come.” – Pete Gatlin, Copy Editor


 
“Learn the guidelines. Next, read the important ‘sticky’ threads in the forum such as ‘Why Your Overview Matters.’ Then, browse through forum topics and read those that offer advice and tips. A gold mine of valuable information exists, not only in recent threads, but posts that are years old.” Kevin Lee, writer


 
 “Don’t hesitate to communicate with your copy curator, copy chief and other copy editors when you have questions and suggestions. The Demand community is a mother lode of experience, expertise, resources and support—take advantage of it.” – Bud Knecht, Copy Editor