Editing
As an editor for our print publication, I edit and grade a team of content producers each issue. This involves checking writers for correct AP Style, grammar, and general flow and clarity, and photographers and artists for correct file and upload settings for the best printing.
While preparing for the upcoming year as Editor-in-Chief, I've also practiced editing the spreads of editors as I was.
Through doing both of these, I've learned the importance of balance: I must keep the best interests of the publication in mind, such as through using the style guide for cohesiveness between our designs, while supporting my editors by trying to keep their designs as original as possible. Magazine spreads are like art, which can be very personal for the artist. I've experienced this firsthand as an editor this past year, often subconsciously associating my peer's constructive criticism of my work with my own worth, so I try to preserve as much as I can of others' work.
Editing for accuracy
Checking AP Style, grammar, spelling, and sourcing/data
Within my rubrics, I listed major AP Style and grammar mistakes, and then pointed my writers to the specific comments I left on their documents for easier access if there were too many to all write out:
OR:
Accuracy doesn't just mean perfect writing, but also correct identification of sources. For a print magazine, this is especially important as we can't include and interchange hyperlinks as desired. All data and statements must be properly attributed (i.e. "According to,") to a site if not a source. While editing my writers, I often had to request they add additional attributions to keep out any bias:
Editing for clarity
Ensuring readability and understandability
I found that using the comment feature in Google Docs was the easiest way to provide feedback to improve readability for my writers, since they could then choose to accept and have all of the edits flowed right into their article:
Much of the feedback I gave in this category would not be docked or would be docked very little because it was based on personal preference. Articles I'd receive would often be grammatically sound, but lose your comprehension halfway through.
For these pieces, I often suggested cutting down or reordering paragraphs or words:
Editing for cohesiveness
Turning individual spreads publication-ready
Being part of a print publication means that consistency is very important. Unlike with publishing content on our website, in our magazine, each article must look like part of the set. While editors are free to design creatively, they must still resemble the style guide enough that any reader could tell where it came from. In preparation for my taking on a larger role next year as Editor-in-Chief, I adjusted designs for several spreads going into the last two issues of this year, communicating with their respective editors before print to ensure there were no concerns about the changes.
Before edits:
After edits:
