Standards

With regard to editorial work, as prescribed by the Chartered Institute of Editors and Proofreaders I will “use care, judgement, skill, knowledge and experience in checking that the work of author, editor and designer/typesetter is satisfactory, marking amendments and advising the client of problems, all with the aim of optimising the result while minimising cost of production and delay to publication”.

I  will, on the basis of the above:

• Compare the proofs to the edited copy line by line or read “blind”.

• Check page numbers and page headings.

• Check the table of contents against chapter titles, page numbers and endmatter – appendices, index, etc.

• Ensure consistent styles – of spellings and hyphenation particularly – by following a style guide, if supplied, or compiling [my] own.

• Watch out for omissions and inconsistencies in typography, layout and content.

• Judge the need for changes in view of the budget and schedule. Changing just one word can have drastic knock-on effects.

• Identify necessary changes and mark the proof (on paper or screen) using British Standards Institution (BSI) marks or another agreed method. 

• Check or insert cross-references where appropriate.

• Eliminate inelegant or confusing word, column and page breaks, including “widows” and “orphans” – short last or first lines of a paragraph at the top or the bottom of a page, respectively.

• Ensure that illustrations, captions and labels correspond with each other and with the text.

• Check that content looks right and is logically arranged.

• Liaise with the author(s) to resolve queries or advise the client.

• Collate the author's changes with others, including their own, rationalising or querying conflicting instructions.