Editing
I have been an editor for two years, and along the way, I've developed a critical eye for what makes a story good and how I can help writers improve their work through these experiences and processes.
My Editing Process
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ANGLE AND NEWSWORTHINESS
First, I focus on the angle of the story and if the story meets newsworthiness values such as timeliness and relevance. I'll also try to provide solutions to any issues I spot.
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WRITING STYLE
More narrowly, I then examine how the writer's tone, sentence structure, and diction tells the story and offer suggestions and comments on how to make their writing more concise and clear.
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TRANSITIONS AND QUOTES
I then look at how the writer incorporates transitions and quotes, and the overall structure of the story. This often has to do with finding the most important information and highlighting it well.
COPY EDITS
I focus on copy edits last and usually after the writer has made the big picture edits. These include AP Style, grammar, spelling, wording, and other small errors. I often refer the writer to resources to find out how to fix issues instead of telling them directly so they can become more autonomous.
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Graphic by Audrey Enghauser
Magazine editing process as EIC
I lead the print staff through this magazine cycle with rough, middle, and final drafts, editing stories at each deadline and more frequently if the stories need more attention. I also conduct most conferences in order to have a conversation about the feedback I gave the writer and help them come up with ways to mitigate any challenges they faced.
Editing resource
I created this guide for new editors to use as they edit their staffers’ rough drafts, especially I created this guide for new editors to use as they edit their staffers’ rough drafts, especially because many of them had limited experience with this. I included tangible ways to find issues at each level of editing so that they could have a solid foundation for what they should be looking for.
many of them had limited experience with this.
Menu checklists
Spring 2020
When I assumed the role of Menu Editor to edit staffers’ monthly journalistic media assignments, I decided to create a more uniform way to edit our team's work. I developed individualized checklists for the eight choices, from personal blogs to photo galleries, to serve as a guide for the writer and editor with specific criteria to help improve their submissions by exceeding descriptions of the basic requirements. This opportunity grew my skills in editing and thinking logically about what a story needs, but also how to best communicate these concepts with writers.
Ultimate Content Spreadsheet
I collaborated with the digital team in my role as Menu Editor to keep up with this Ultimate Content Spreadsheet that provided a place to keep up with the status of everyone’s menu item -- if it is not viable, needs to be edited, ready to be posted on the website, or posted. I updated this spreadsheet every month with feedback for each staffer and communicated with the Digital Editor and Webmaster frequently to ensure a smooth process from submission to publication. This system helps our writers get published and contributes to more productive conferences with them about their work.
Copy editing
As Lead Copy Editor last year, after our Editor-in-Chief finished compiling our staff’s stories into the design, I thoroughly copy edited the magazine and provided her with a comprehensive document of edits to which the Managing Editor also contributed. I was diligent to catch any errors in design, AP Style, grammar, spellings of names and titles or other problems in the stories. This process took multiple days, but it was necessary to ensure the quality of our first magazine of the year.
Screenshots by Audrey Enghauser
Screenshots by Audrey Enghauser
Editing Issue 1 drafts
As the Lead Copy Editor, it was my responsibility to keep up with our staff's stories throughout the draft process, not solely at the copy editing stage. I gave thorough edits to these staffers that explain why something isn't working in their story and how they can resolve the issue. The edits shown are for former Variety Editor Emma Scott's story along with my notes for a conference with her. I helped her brainstorm what it was she wanted to argue when her story became convoluted and gave her ways to communicate those ideas in her writing.
Editing Menu items
As Menu Editor, it was my responsibility to edit each staffer’s chosen media assignment at the end of each month. I provided copy edits and structural edits, and checked off requirements on the corresponding menu checklist. I also conferenced with staffers about their work, explaining the edits I gave as well as the strengths in the piece and helped them generate action steps for reaching publication.
