In our continued focus on revision this month, we reached
out to Regina Castillo, the Copy Chief at Dial Books for Young Readers, to get
the scoop on all things related to the copyedit, an important part of the
revision process, and one that I think many of us don't know much about. Regina has been at Dial BFYR for over twenty
years, so we're in very good hands…Enjoy!
I think lots of us don't really understand the difference
between an Editor and a Copyeditor. Can you explain that?
Editors acquire manuscripts and help develop stories.
They work very closely with authors to get their manuscripts into great shape.
The copyeditor then corrects grammar and spelling, and points out
inconsistencies or plot issues. Because the editor and author go through
multiple drafts and revisions, a fresh pair of eyes is quite useful!
Copy editors are grammar and usage mavens -- something I
aspire to be! Have you always enjoyed that part of reading and writing?
I have always been sort of a grammar nerd! But I never
actually thought of it as a career. It never occurred to me that it was a job I
could do, and love.
How did you become a Copyeditor? What would you
recommend for someone who wants to follow that path now?
I began in college doing freelance proofreading for a
small publishing house. Someone interested in getting into copyediting might
benefit from taking a course, and also becoming familiar with style guides.
There are definitely entertaining grammar books on the market that a person can
read before moving on to the drier style manuals.
I'd love to know about some entertaining grammar books
and imagine that our readers will as well. The Elements of Style, with
illustrations by Maira Kalman is one of my favorites. Which do you
particularly like?
Woe Is I and Between You & Me, while not guides like
the one Maira Kalman illustrated so brilliantly, are fun, entertaining books
that people will learn things from without actually realizing they’re learning.
What's the best part of your job? the toughest?
The whole process of producing the books is
wonderful—seeing something go from a few sheets of paper to a book in the
bookstore is kind of amazing. The toughest part is the headache of deadlines.
Sometimes a manuscript is a little late, or art is a little late, and that time
has to be made up somewhere.
What do you think people don't know about copyediting?
A lot of people think it’s simply a matter of reading and
finding misspellings. There is a lot more involved than that. Besides also
needing a good grasp of grammar, a copyeditor needs to watch out for plot
problems, timelines, consistency of characters, etc. Copyeditors also have to
be fact checkers.
What's the best way to work with a Copyeditor?
The same as working with anyone else—respect on both
sides always makes a working relationship better. And authors shouldn’t take
their work being “corrected” personally. Everyone involved is only interested
in the final product being the best it can possibly be.
Can you tell us about a particularly complicated issue
that has arisen with a particular book? Or, a book that you're
particularly proud of having worked on?
It always makes me proud when a book that I’ve worked on
has gotten excellent reviews and has garnered awards. It makes all the
complicated issues that arise from time to time just fade from memory!
Were you a reader as a child? Can you tell us about
a favorite book?
We were all voracious readers as kids in my house. I
always thought—and still do—that books are magical. It’s difficult to pick a
favorite because there are so many that I love. When I was a child, my favorite
book was a version of Thumbelina that had incredible art and an almost 3-D
effect on the cover.
