My continual pet peeve: babbling copy editors

If the writer makes the same mistake over and over, don't just fix it in the copy. Fix it at the source. Send an e-mail and let the writer know you changed it and why.

And I don't mean spelling or grammar errors. Fix those and move on. If it's a serious factual error -- a wrong score, a wrong day, etc. -- I call the writer that night to say I've caught it. Because some writers will reread their stories later in the evening and call you on deadline -- or after deadline -- to make a fix. This saves you time. Also might save the writer a sleepless night, wondering if you caught the mistake.

The good ones appreciate it.

 

Fixed.

 

Those who fix errors and have to announce them are basically saying, "Look at me. I'm great. I'm doing a great job."
The reporters, meanwhile, write their stories in silence. It's all about me, baby.

Moral: Shut up and do your job and let the buttkissers remain in the higher paid middle management jobs as they try to daily kiss their way up the ladder at the 9 a.m. meetings.

 

Not that I agree with the basic idea, but writers' names are on their stories. People know the work they did. Deskers basically have no way to show if they got a clean story and pushed it through or if they did heavy lifting.

 

You know what I hate? When you get shampoo in your eyes. Yeah, cause then you have to put conditioner in them or they get frizzy!

 

I've ran into many copy editors who are smarter than a whip, but insecure as hell. They have that mentality that they have to get themselves over at the expense of the talent.

That's my 2 cents.

 

Can say the same about many writers.

 

Those names on the story, to me, mean that the errors get attributed to the writer if they end up in the paper or on the Web site. No need to heckle their asses along the production line. You are paid to fix the stories.

You don't hear the medics at the urgent-care center giving a play-by-play of how the patient has fucked up: "This slob with the paddles on his chest obviously ate too much fatty food" and so on. Do the job you were hired for and carry yourself like a team player. If that doesn't get you where you think you want to go, you probably shouldn't want to go there.

 

I haven't worked in an office for a while, but what used to bug me was the old "notes" font when you changed something. To me, the only reason to leave the mistake in there in notes, rather than just deleting it, is to say "look at all the things I changed." Just seems like an invitation to see "winvictory" in the paper sometime.

If a reporter is constantly making certain errors, send him an email or send one to the whole staff as a refresher for common errors.

 

[/Thread].

Spot on, Fredrick.

 

Well ... those errors usually are attributable to the writer, in all honesty. (Of course, it also means the desk didn't catch them. So there's blame to go around.)

But I see a lot more preference/style changes than I do actual errors being edited into stories by deskers. Few and far between, in my experience. The ratio is about 98/2 in favor of errors being caught rather than errors being made, as I think most writers would acknowledge (including myself, since I still write freelance as well as editing in my day job.)

That said, I certainly agree with your second point: no need to heckle writers for making common mistakes. You're paid to edit; you shouldn't get glory for, gasp, doing your damn job. If you want the glory ... go write. ;D

 

Best way to keep a copy editor quiet is to not make mistakes.