Why Your Copyeditor Tells You No

You receive your manuscript back, open it up, and see a veritable ocean of additions, deletions, format changes, and comments all over your pristine work. It can be disheartening at first glance, but the more you work with your copyeditor, the more you know we only want to make your work better.

Sometimes, that means saying no.

As copyeditors, we do more than check your grammar. We fact-check (in a limited capacity) and keep an eye out for issues with the language in your manuscript, including word choice.

That’s going to be a (soft) nope from me

What are some of the reasons a copyeditor will (gently) tell you no? Take a look at these examples!

Legal Issues

Using a brand name in this context can be tricky. Consider replacing this with a generic name, like “cola.”

Although you can use brand names in your writing, you might not want to, especially if the portrayal can be construed as negative.

You’ll need to seek permission to quote these lyrics if you haven’t already. Is there a public domain alternative, or a circumlocution you could use instead?

More stuff needs permissions than you might think, lest you run afoul of copyright law.

Fact Checking

This is a fun quotation, but Winston Churchill actually didn’t say this. My research indicates it was likely Mickey Mouse.

Attribution of quotations can be tricky in the internet age of misinformation! Copyeditors are not infallible, encyclopedic sources of knowledge, but we read critically and try to check your facts as much as we can.

Inclusive Language

Many people consider this idiom to be ableist. I’ve offered an alternative that hopefully creates the same effect you intend.

Even when we are trying to be inclusive, issues can slip through in our writing because of how we internalize language.

Readability

Original phrasing might confuse the reader about: did they shoot the sheriff and also the deputy, or did they just shoot the sheriff? See my suggested recast to clarify.

This one verges on stylistic editing (which I usually offer as part of my copyediting), and unlike the others, this one is very subjective. As your editor, I’m looking at your manuscript like a reader would and asking myself how easy it is to read and understand what you’re trying to say.

How to deal with a case of the oh noes

When your editor tells you no, it’s the beginning of the conversation, not the end.

In some of the above examples, it’s probably best just to listen: remove the song lyrics, change or remove the incorrect fact, alter the idiom, etc.

But that “no” isn’t there to shut you down. It’s there to act like a speed bump. It’s a big flag saying, “Please give this some more love.”

If those song lyrics are really important to you, see if you can get permission to use them. If your editor’s first suggestion to fix non-inclusive language doesn’t work for you, ask for more alternatives. If you disagree with an editor’s pronouncement that a sentence is vague or unclear, you can reject their change.

Stay tuned because in my next article, I will talk more about when you should tell your editor no!

Build it better together

In the end, your editor and you are on the same team. I work with my clients to build better writing.

As your copyeditor, I sweat the small stuff so you don’t have to. I’m here to catch the issues before they end up in front of your target audience.

I’m available to edit a variety of work, from manuscripts to corporate reports and novels to memoirs. DM me for more info about copyediting by Kara!