by Lamron Modles

Created on: June 28, 2008

The best measure of a talented copy editor, freelance or otherwise, is broad general knowledge.

A colleague of mine some years ago at a major Florida newspaper used to boast: "As a copy editor, I know a little about a whole lot of things."

Combine that main ingredient with a pound of educational background, a dash of editing testing, a tablespoon of common sense, a pinch of humor, an optional squeeze of travel, and you have a quick and easy recipe for hiring success.

And as you let your candidate options cool a bit out of the oven, look for the one who has reporting or other writing the their backgrounds. It used to be common for copy editors to move "up" from the reporting ranks. However, that experience has become scarce in today's editing marketplace. Look for it, though!

A seasoned and skilled copy editor should be a willing participant in discussion, eager to add an opinion, insight, humorous quip and, yes, an often-irritating grammar correction. However, grammar expertise should be merely a punctuation mark on a copy editor's life sentence, so to speak, not the lead of the story. Try to scratch the surface if the candidate is a bit more reticent yet, on paper, skilled. You'll likely find the trait common to all copy editors: A love affair with language and genuine concern about quality writing. They will care about all aspects of writing to a greater degree than most reporters and writers. They take this stuff personally.

Look for a copy editor who refers to quotations in his/her speech. Pay attention to whether they know history or remember something quickly that was in the news weeks ago. But mostly look and listen to whether they are more than one-dimensional creatures. Also, the sharpest copy editors with whom I have had the honor of working have had terrific senses of humor, most likely caustic. Don't hold that against them; it's part of being a critical editor, which is what you need.

The richer the editor's background, the more bang for your buck. Students fresh out of school will certainly know copy editing basics, but they won't combine speed and accuracy as well as others yet. They will spend more time on smaller details and often miss the bigger content pictures, and you really don't want that for you business. You are depending on these people as a safety net. It can mean the difference between copy that is merely "clean" but not enhanced.

Talented copy editors with experience and a rich background will improve your product on all editing levels: grammar, punctuation, content, structure as well as sheer reading ease and enjoyment. They will offer ideas, which are a byproduct of broad general knowledge.

I have learned over the years that the best copy editors are contextually gifted. They quickly read information and not only know what it is about, but where it belongs or how it fits into the overall picture. If there is to be any editing beyond simple punctuation and grammar fixes, the copy editor has to grasp what is happening in the article.

If the copy editor cannot understand that the analysis has to do with superdelegates in the upcoming presidential election, they will never understand why a quote about Elliot Spitzer being a supporter of candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton's is important. Finding any significant, or even many minor, errors in the story really hinges on understanding the larger picture - what it is all about.

This is just critical thinking, or common sense, which the best copy editor will have.

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