Proof Reading and Copy Editing- The Joys and Woes of this Useful Vocation!

I have been proof reading and copy-editing articles for online publications for the last two years. In these two years I have gone through myriad emotions while at work- anger, frustration, pride, fascination, amusement -not necessarily in that order! Yes, the writings can make you cry, laugh, shake your head in disbelief and drum your fingers with impatience as you try to make sense of randomly arranged words/ loose sentences. But there is the undeniable satisfaction of reading through a corrected article - pride at my own handiwork! The joy of having made an article readable and error-free always manages to satiate me and perk me up despite the definite tedium of the task.

I have always had a critical eye ever since I remember and am quick at spotting errors - a quality which did not always go down well specially with people who were close to me! It irked them why I was always tracking mistakes, constantly trying to critique and improve things around me. Thankfully, a critical eye is just what proof-readers are supposed to have so finally I got a vocation which allowed me to put my skill-set to use- without the accompanying guilt and without having to deal with the 'not again' looks. It was difficult to convince employers about my USP at first since I am not trained at proof-reading or copy-editing but usually one sample of copy-editing was all it took for them to hand me the job (and no client has complained so far). It did help though that my previous full-time job as a compliance officer in a stock exchange required me to prepare lengthy inspection reports. These were mostly a write-up on all that the stock brokers were doing against the rules (which was aplenty), what they were doing right (a tiny bit) and determining the penalty/fine to be imposed on them as per the rule books.

For the ignorant, proof -readers are paid to render the given text, error-free - basically iron out grammatical, spelling and syntax errors. Copy-editors are required to go a notch up giving meaning to words and context to sentences. They need to ensure that the reader is not lost in the maze of characters but can comprehend the idea behind the story. A fascinating concept because the writer is usually so familiar with his own story, he cannot imagine how anyone else cannot comprehend it! A critical third-eye becomes an absolutely necessity for all write-ups whether produced by amateurs or professionals.

For me at first, the job was overwhelmingly frustrating as I usually ended up rewriting the whole text and realized that I was giving thousand times more in terms of time and effort to what my potential income was as a proof-reader/copy-editor . But slowly, I learnt the ropes reminding myself not to take the writing personally. I knew I had to read with a discerning eye but not as if I was the judge....after all I had no right to change what another writers' mind had created and intended to convey to his reader.

The other problem which I faced and still do is that I had to unlearn my Queen's English which is so deeply ingrained me that I breathe and dream in it! But if I did use the British/ Queen's English to spell-check the whole text would end up with ugly red blotches. I had to adapt to the Americanized English the one that does away with all the 'u' s from words like color and honor and changes the way metre (meter) is written! Apparently, everyone is using the English (U.S) these days as it seems more logical, cuts out the superfluous characters and thus appeals to the tweet/text happy generation!

[I have actually listed out many words which are now spelled differently from when we went to school (and I am not that old!) and words which mean differently too...I have also tried to gauge the reaction of most Westerners and Asians on the phenomenon of Americanization of Queen's English- but more on this in my next post.]

Coming back to the joys and woes of proof-reading; even though I enjoy polishing and refining the writings, the job does end up being monotonous and dull on many occasions. Over time, I have devised certain strategies which helps me stay faithful to my assignments;

Strategy 1- is to first manually check and then run the spell & grammar check on the system...it forms a double check for the article and also serves as a check for my error-spotting skills (I chide myself profusely in case I missed out something which Microsoft pointed out!)

Strategy 2 - is to read the article once after editing and then letting it lie for sometime before reading it again, this way I am sure to spot the tricky, hidden errors !

Strategy 3- is if an article really confounds me or i do not know where to begin and end editing it, a good idea is to read it aloud in its original state while making the changes (using track changes) as I go or at least keep highlighting the errors so I can get back to them.

Strategy 4 - is whenever I have had to change most of the article, I read it aloud after edits to make sure the flow of the article is correct....reading aloud also helps keep maintain my alertness levels.

Strategy 5 (the most important of all)- is not to subject myself to more than two hours of proof-reading/editing at a stretch before my mind goes on an 'auto' mode and I become as useful or as useless as the MS word spell check!

All said, even though the romance of the job is gone and so has gone the notion of it being a well- paying job (the remuneration in most cases is pathetic), but I still intend to continue contributing to the world of words just the way I know it!