The Subversive Copy Editor Quotes

“There should be no crying in copyediting.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago

“Knowing how to tinker with a broken piece of prose until it hums is a source of contentment known by all who have mastered a worthy craft.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago

“In editing, as in life, I have found "We can discuss this" to be a reliably effective suggestion. Sometimes the other party thinks, "Oh, well, since I have a choice, I'll let it go," and sometimes, "Omigod-she wants to discuss this endlessly. I'd rather just let it go.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago

“Quilters are so confident of a perfect product that they have a tradition of introducing a flaw into a quilt on purpose, in order not to offend the gods.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago

“Probably the most startling story I've heard was about a freelance copy editor for a women's magazine who discovered that a writer-a famous "domestic diva"-had plagiarized a recipe. The poor freelancer mysteriously died the very same night she invited the writer to a dinner party at her house ...
But I don't mean to worry you. Statistically speaking, I believe that the number of copy editors murdered by their authors is fairly low.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago

“Over my entire career in editing, I don't think I've encountered more than half a dozen difficult authors. By "difficult," I mean a writer who simply does not want changes made to his manuscript and is not even prepared to discuss them. We know the stereotypes: The hotshot journalist jealous of every comma. The poet who claims that his misspellings and eccentric punctuation are inspired. Assistant professors writing a first book for tenure are notorious for their inflexibility, and understandably so: their futures are at stake. They take editing personally; red marks on their manuscripts are like little stab wounds. And then there are vain authors who quarrel when we lowercase their job titles, who want their photos plastered all over the piece or their
names in larger type. And don't get me started on writers who don't know what they're talking about, writers who are your boss, writers who are former high school English teachers.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago

“Everyone should have a guy—who of course can be a gal. A guy is someone who knows everything, has endless patience, and is always available and responsive. To maintain good relations with your guy, you must be very careful to bother him only occasionally and only when all else fails. Although I have a fabulous guy, there's a sort of food chain of competence here; I believe that several people actually consider me to be their guy.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago

“Although you will likely find your copy editor willing to restore almost everything you insist upon, it's usual for there to be a few matters she will want to discuss further. If there were places where you simply wrote "stet" without addressing the problem in the writing that she was trying to fix, the problem will still be there. She may write back explaining the problem and asking you to find a way to fix it. You maybe tempted to dismiss her perception of a problem as imaginary, but that would be a mistake. If one reader stumbles, others may, too, and you would do well to address the issue.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago

“Look at an offending edit and figure out why the editor thought the text needed help. There will usually be something wrong that needs fixing: after all, if the editor misunderstoodyou, other readers may, too. If you don't like the editor's solution, figure out a better one and write it in. If you are convinced that the original wording is the way you want it, mark a row of dots under everything you want restored and write "stet" beside it. And unless you want to go another round on the issue with the editor, pencil in a brief explanation.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago

“The point is, your style guide-or any given "rule" you learned in school-was created so you would do something the same way every time for the sake of consistency, for the reader's sake. It's less distracting that way. You learn style rules so you don't have to stop and ponder every time you, say, come to a number in the text: "Hmm. Here's a number. Shall I spell it out? Use numerals?" You know your chosen style by heart, so you just flybywith confidence. Style rules aren't used because they're "correct." They're used for your convenience in serving the reader.”
― Carol Fisher Saller, The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago