typographic oath

Regular readers know that I’ve been developing an editorial method, The Copyeditor’s Typographic Oath, that all copyeditors can follow, no matter what types of manuscripts we edit.

It’s not a new idea. From time to time, some smart copyeditor will develop a set of rules we can follow to produce clear, correct copy. The Editorial Eye produced this list more than three decades ago:

After creating the Copyeditor’s Typographic Oath over a year ago, I thought I had a finished document. Then I added a new commandment to it earlier this month: Read the entire manuscript first. It’s done now, right?

Wrong.

The dust hasn’t even settle on the new commandment (it’s not one every copyeditor can follow and I have my reservations about it), but here I am, adding to the list again:

Summer is a great time to catch up on articles we’ve missed during the busy times. Whether you’re relaxing at home or enjoying a quieter office, catch up on your reading with these previous Tips of the Week.

We’ve covered a lot of topics in the Tip during 2011. We looked at grammar and usage rules, of course, but we also talked about being a copyeditor and what that means in the face of all the changes in publishing and what we can do to keep our skills sharp. Below are some of the most popular Tips from this past year. If you missed any, here they are again for your reading pleasure.