Editorial Tips and Tricks
This week’s blog post will focus on some of the tips and tricks that I have adopted when I’m proofreading manuscripts. You must find what works best for you and the client when it comes to completing a job to the best of your ability!
Find and Replace (Ctrl + H)
Double spaces – check for rogue double spaces and replace with single spaces.
Quotation marks – if the manuscript uses curly quotation marks, check for any straight quote marks by putting ^34 for double curly quotes or ^39 for single curly quotes in the 'Find' box.
Ellipsis – check that the ellipsis character (Ctrl + Alt + Full Stop) has been used rather than three full points. Enter three full points in the 'Find' box and the ellipsis character in the 'Replace' box.
Spaced hyphens – check that spaced hyphens have not been used instead of spaced en rules (Ctrl + minus sign).
I would check whether these shortcuts work on your version of Microsoft Word. Also, it is worth going through the Find and Replace stage first, before you start your proofread. If you want more information about Find and Replace, you can read this blog post.
House Guides and Style Sheets
You can also use Find and Replace to implement changes or check things as directed in the designated house guides/style sheets you are following. The most common features found are the following:
Specific spellings, as there is often a preference as to how words that can be spelled in different ways are spelled, common ones are alright/all right, okay/OK, per cent/percent, T-shirt/tee shirt.
-ise/-ize spellings.
Ellipsis (are they closed up beforehand… like this… or spaced either side like … this or closed up both sides like…this).
Preferences around capitalisation.
Of course, every style sheet will look different, but usually, style guides will follow similar principles. Consistency is of the utmost importance, so if there is something that deviates from the style sheet but is consistent throughout the text, always check with the editor before changing all. If you want more information about Style Guides and Style Sheets, you can read this blog post.
Other
Make sure you check homophones! Homophones are words that sound the same but mean different things (e.g. affect/effect).
Italics can be used for emphasis and to indicate the thoughts of a character – make sure they are used correctly!
Dialogue – the layout of dialogue is very specific
Capitalisation – a good reference on capitalisation is the New Oxford Dictionary for Writers & Editors.
Take regular breaks! I like to use the Pomodoro method available on Toggl.
Lauren Ternent| The Editorial Geordie