Different Level of Copy editing
                     WHAT ARE THE
DIFFERENT LEVELS 
OF
COPYEDITING?
Copyeditors could linger over each line and paragraph in a document until 
they were pleased with its clarity, coherence, consistency, and correctness— 
even  its  beauty  and  elegance—if  time  and  money  were  not  a  problem. 
However, because time and money are always constraints, many book and 
corporate publishers use light, medium, or heavy phrases to help copyeditors 
focus and prioritize their work.
The level of Manuscript copyediting a publisher requests for a given project 
depends on several factors, including the following:
the calibre of the author's 
writing; the target market;
the timeline and budget for 
editing and publication;
the author's reputation, attitude toward editing, and 
availability; the size of the final print run;
and the significance of the publication to the publisher.
In a perfect world, judgments on the amount of copyediting would only be 
made after considering the writing's caliber and the demands of the target 
audience.
Thoughts like "This manuscript is poorly written, but our budget only allows for 
light copyediting" or "This manuscript would benefit from a heavier hand, but 
the  author  has  many  pressing  commitments  and  won't  have  time  to  read 
through  a  heavily  edited  manuscript"  frequently  prevail  due  to  budgetary 
constraints and deadline pressures.
There are no standard definitions for light, medium, and severe copyediting, 
but if you adhere to the recommendations, you won't stray too far from the 
mark. You may even show your editorial coordinator these criteria and ask 
which ones best reflect their expectations for your work.
Additionally,  before  commencing  copyediting,  you  should  inquire  about  the 
following topics.
AUDIENC
EWho is the text's primary readership?
How much background knowledge is assumed of the readers?
What purpose will readers have for the publication? Will it be 
reading for leisure or work? Is it a reference manual or a read it 
once and put it aside document? Will most readers skim the 
article, or will they sometimes refer back to different parts?
TEXT
How much text is there?
What kind of physical part is the text?
For editing on paper: It's double-spaced. (Copying-editing single-spaced text might be challenging unless only a few 
commas are needed.) On how many words does a page arc? How well does the typeface read? All four margins must be at 
least one inch wide.
Par on-sweat editing: What word processing program did the author use? For example, has the publisher converted the 
author's files into another program or format? How will the journal copyedited manuscript be processed?
For hard-copy editing: Will the entire document be re-keyed, or will the modifications be entered? (If the latter, the 
copyeditor must mark up any changes with a brightly coloured pencil or pen so that the inputter may see them straight 
away.)
For on-snap editing: Is the copyeditor need to provide dean files, 
which include the copyedited text, or redlined files, which show 
insertions  and  deletions?  Is  the  copyeditor  required  to  code 
elements or unique characters (such as diacritical markings on 
letters and foreign alphabets)?
Does the manuscript include anything except plain text, such as 
tables,  footnotes  or  endnotes,  a  bibliography,  photographs,  or 
graphs? How many of each type?
Are all works of art available as readable copies?
TYPE OF EDITING
Which type of medical manuscript copyediting—light, medium, or heavy—is being asked for?
Is there any scheduling or financial restrictions behind that request?
Has the requester read the whole text or only a portion of it? How much money or hours are 
allotted for the copyediting?
Does the copyeditor have to make significant text cuts?
Is  it  expected  that  the  copyeditor  will  verify  the  math  in  the  tables?  To  examine 
bibliographical references? Exist any significant design restrictions or preferences that place 
restrictions  on  the  amount  of  art,  table  size,  or  several  heading  levels?  Using  unique 
characters  (foreign  alphabets,  mathematical  symbols,  musical  notation)?  Endnotes  or 
footnotes?
EDITORIAL 
STWhYat tLypeE of manual does the pack prefer? The dictionary of 
choice?
Does a style manual, cheat sheet or list of editorial 
preferences exist inside the company?
Should I read any prior editions or similar literature first? Is 
this work a part of a more extensive series?
AUTHO
RWho wrote this? Is the author new or seasoned?
The author has seen a sample edit, right?
Has the author been informed of the editing type (or degree)?
ADMINISTRATIVE 
DWhEomT shAouldI LtheS copyeditor address any inquiries that come up 
while editing?
What time frame must the language editing be finished? How firm 
is it?
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