The question I’m always asking is: how can we apply style choices consistently across this manuscript?

So, here’s me, a copy editor, and my process for copy editing queer fiction.

I’ve always aimed to be a student-centred educator, and I’ve carried this approach into my work as an author-centred editor. The editing process isn’t about me; it’s about bringing out the best in the queer fiction in front of me.

There is some overlap between how I copy edit and how others might line edit, but I combine them into a single copy-editing package because it’s generally simpler and suits the needs of the indie authors I work with.

Ideally, your manuscript has been through a thorough developmental edit (by yourself or with professional help), and multiple beta readers have had eyes on the story.

I truly believe it takes a village, and a community, to bring a great book out into the world, so don’t be afraid to seek help. Feedback can be tough at first, but with the right team, their input can pay off tenfold.

I primarily work with writers of gay (MM) fiction and LGBTQ+ characters and themes. My aim is always to preserve the author’s style, to query facts, to correct grammar, spelling, and usage errors, and to ensure the manuscript meets the agreed-upon style, usually CMOS (USA) or New Hart’s Rules (UK).

Ensuring internal consistency for the world where the story takes place is critical. This might mean breaking some “rules”, but making sure they are consistently “broken” is key.

While most authors don’t have a house style, they will have an author style. Some authors pick and choose from UK, USA, Canadian, or Australian conventions of English, and their preferences are the starting point for my copy edit.

When there are no author preferences, I make choices for them based on the first and most frequent usage in the manuscript. I’ll query the author for their agreement before I make any major changes and when it’s not clear what the preference might be.

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Step 1

I set up a style sheet (fiction) for the manuscript, and this covers character, place, and a timeline for the major story events. I also include space for unusual word choices, and depending on the genre, this can be quite short or a couple of pages in length. Unusual spellings are often skipped over by writing software, so keeping a record from page one helps keep them in check.

Across a series, it is important to ensure that characters’ details, including eye colour, hairstyle, height, weight, etc., remain consistent. Places in fiction can be real or made-up, and I might do some fact-checking if the places are real to see whether distances can be covered in the time stated or if places are where they should be on the map.

Fiction copy editing differs from nonfiction in several ways because there could be made-up worlds, non-human characters, naming conventions, and a multitude of words that might be frowned upon in more academic, formal writing, but they are what give fiction its pleasure and power. For me, getting a good sense of the author’s goals and the direction they wish to take the manuscript helps me make many of the decisions I need to make.

From initial chats with the author, usually via email, I know whether the book is a standalone or part of a series. I try to read at least one book from the series, usually the one prior to the one I’m editing, mainly because it helps me get a sense of the writer’s style, and also because I love reading queer fiction! I start to build up an informal style sheet and cross-reference this with author preferences I’ve gathered during our initial conversations.

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Step 2

The first pass is to learn the general story and get an overview of the issues that might need attention. I call this step the “mechanical stage,” during which I search for around sixty-five words that are commonly overused and can often be omitted. Each case has to be considered, as it’s never as simple as just hitting the delete button!

Sometimes “that” is necessary for meaning, or “a little” fits the tone of the sentence, or “big” is the best word choice for that character and her way of speaking. I also look out for common and repeated turns of phrase. This crosses over into the job of the line editor, but authors often find it helpful to have these pointed out—and some even request it.

I’ll also be checking how single and double quotation marks are used throughout, in addition to the author’s preference for “scare quotes” or other speech marks when required.

Again, author style comes into play with dashes, slashes, and how to space these correctly. CMOS provides fairly clear rules on these, but I will always query if it appears the author has a preferred way to present speech interruptions and parenthetical content. I’ve found that the use of possessives is an area of concern for authors, and usage can vary. Is it Bess’s house or Bess’ house? Well, both are correct, but as with many areas in the copy edit, it’s the author’s preference!

I also look out for filter words, including “felt” and “saw.” While they aren’t wrong, I evaluate how they fit within the manuscript and whether they maintain a suitable narrative distance. Sometimes authors prefer to keep these words because they sound better in audiobooks and help orientate the listener, so that is one consideration I keep in mind.

With Microsoft Word’s Track Changes off, I remove indents, tabs, double spaces, spaces after numbers, and spaces between sentences, and check line spacing. I don’t make many changes, but I highlight the text a great deal. There are further checks covering full stops outside of closing quotation marks (UK style), such as …trees’.

With hyphens, I usually check twice: once at this stage to gauge how the author uses them, and again during the second pass. Consistency with compound adjectives, including colours (e.g., light blue, dark blue, red-haired, etc.), is important. As these are often style choices, I decide prior to the edit whether the text is hyphen-heavy or hyphen-light.

Other areas include:

Missing chapter and scene breaks. Chapter numbers, titles, and naming conventions can also become unstuck during the revision process.

Character hair colour, style, length, eye colour, and skin tone.

Wandering body parts—eyes that fly across the room.

Character name spelling and the choice of names. More than two characters with names starting with the same letter can get confusing.

Filter words: She felt, he thought, they believed.

Redundancies: They nodded their head.

Overused words phrases and clichés: ‘just’ ‘a bit’ ‘she smiled and laughed’

Sentence openings and structure: subject + verb, or the same structures used close together or on the line above.

Consistency of text: emails, texts, DMs, signs, posters, and newspapers.

Pace, depth of emotion, and how characters react, move, and reflect in dynamic moments. These can become repetitive or fail to create the clear image the author intended.

Awkward sentence phrasing that requires the reader to stop and puzzle over placement, action order, or the cause-and-effect order in a sequence.

Conscious language: ableist language, slurs for marginalized communities, and historically accurate language (avoiding anachronisms). As a gay man, I am always on the lookout for inaccuracies or turns of phrase that could be offensive or harmful to fellow members of the LGBTQ+ community, so a copy edit with me includes a degree of sensitivity and authenticity reading.

Typography: Authors use different ways to express direct thoughts, indirect thoughts, memories, dreams, emphasis, and flashbacks and they all need to be consistent!

All these fun facts are recorded on a style sheet—for future books and series knowledge.

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Step 3

The second pass is where things get low and slow.

At this stage, I cover most of the areas I believe writers think of when the word “editor” springs to mind. If only it were as simple as error correction, and I could wield the delete button and be done. To me, this is one reason a human editor will always trump writing software—because the nuance and style of each writer is different, and ensuring author preferences are met is currently beyond the abilities of a machine.

Some of the main edits focus on parallelism, ensuring a string of gerunds or prepositional phrases all match. I also check -ise/-ize endings, ensure commas are in the right place and not overused, and work on readability and accuracy while avoiding humorous gaffes. This involves looking carefully at modifier position and adverb placement. Misplaced modifiers can be unclear about what is being modified or might modify the wrong thing—placing the modifier close to the subject is usually a safe bet to fix it. Alongside these, repeated words and phrases that have sneaked past previous editing rounds will be spotted and fixed.

Coding for headings and subheadings is not a large part of fiction copy editing (for indie authors), but in nonfiction, this requires setting up the manuscript for a typesetter to apply the codes and ensure everything is where it should be on the page. References, bibliographies, images, photographs, and figures are all within the remit of the copy editor, depending on the project.

My personal method for managing comments and queries is to pose them as questions, not statements, because they are often not as simple as correct/incorrect. To avoid overwhelming the manuscript, I record general and recurring issues on the style sheet and speak with the author about any concerns after the edit. As every manuscript is different and every author is unique, I try to accommodate their working practices in how I provide feedback.

Ultimately, I am helping you with you project, so I try to be flexible and accommodate authors’ needs.

I hope this explanation has provided some insights into what goes into my copy editing process and the value it could add to your project. With your returned manuscript and style sheet in hand, you should have all the tools to confidently self-publish, approach an acquisitions editor, or prepare for consistency across the next book in the series.

Always happy to chat about your fiction project.

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay