Titivillus Editing for the Health Sciences: Stage 5. Text Editing

Titivillus Editing for the Health Sciences

Preparing Ideas and Research Results for Publication

Timothy DeVinney, Author's Editor and Copy Editor

Titivillus Editorial Services

Stage 5. Text Edit by the Copy Editor

Objective: to prepare your publication or presentation to a standard that will ensure that it receives respectful consideration and treatment by a journal, publisher, or audience; that it communicates effectively to the reader or audience; and that it enhances the reputation of the work and the author.

As the copy editor, I will immediately acknowledge receipt of your book, article, or presentation. In accordance with the agreement reached in stage 3, I will begin editing the text and, if at all possible, finish it within the time specified (if that proves to be impossible, I will let you know immediately). I do not outsource or subcontract the work I have agreed to do myself.

Copyediting is based on a style sheet specified either by you or by the journal or publisher to which you intend to submit your work for publication. You can see a brief selection from one such style sheet on the style sheet sample page.

Principal sources for copyediting

American Medical Association Manual of Style. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 1998.

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington DC: American Psychological Association; 2001. (Note: there is a Web site with FAQs and updates to APA style available at: http://www.apastyle.org/faqs.html. Accessed April 24, 2006.)

Beers MK, Berkow R, eds. The Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy. 17th ed. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck & Co Inc; 1999.

The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago, Ill: University of Chicago Press; 2003.

Council of Biology Editors Style Manual Committee. Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. 6th ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1994.

Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary. 30th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders Co; 2000.

Gibaldi J, ed. MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing. 2nd ed. New York, NY: Modern Language Association; 1998.

Johnson, Edward. The Handbook of Good English. New York: Washington Square Press; 1991

The Merck Index. 13th ed. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck & Co Inc; 2001.

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, Mass: Merriam-Webster Inc; 2003.

The Oxford English Dictionary [book on CD-ROM, Version 3.0]. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2002.

Skillin, Marjorie, and Robert Gay. Words into Type. 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; 1974.

Stedman's Medical Dictionary. 28th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2006.

For the next step, go to stage 6: editing of reference citations and lists by the copy editor.

URL for this page: http://www.HeathSciEdit.com/tes-stage05.htm
© 2003–2009 Timothy DeVinney. Page updated April 24, 2006.