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Featured Topic: Editing the Gray Area

Copyediting is equal parts art and science. Today we explore the art: when to give in to peevers, whether to use whom, and the value—or not—of nominalizations.

• “Dumbness with No Reward”: A new blog makes a strong argument for giving in to sticklers. (Ten Minutes Past Deadline)
• “To Whom It Deeply Concerns”: While you’re thinking about sticklers, how do they feel about whom? (Macmillan Dictionary Blog)
• “Those Irritating Verbs-as-Nouns”: Transforming verbs into nouns is a natural, useful part of our language, but...

Copyeditors are sometimes asked to do less than a copyedit on a project. We can be asked to proofread a layout instead, whether the manuscript has been copyedited already or not. It’s something we can adapt our skills to when we’re given the right information.

Proofreading comes in after the manuscript has been laid out. Because this is late in the publishing cycle, major changes are frowned upon. Among other things, proofreaders check: 

• Formatting
• Typography
• Art
• Style
• Spelling
• Text

Proofreaders are as concerned with the physical aspects of the document, such as size and layout, as with the text. They will correct for typos, double words, and bad word breaks, as well as for inconsistencies in usage and...

I was given a file to proofread and noticed it was a .PDF file. These files are not meant to be changed, so I had to find a way to track changes and make comments so the author could tell where my edits could be found within the document. A positive with tracking changes on a PDF is no other program is needed, either paid or free.

Follow these easy instructions to show track changes on a PDF:

1. Go to File>Open and select the file
2. Select View>Comments>Drawing Markup
3. Highlight the part of text where you wish to add a mark.
4. Select the tool you wish to use from the right sidebar.
5. Be sure to always save your work by going to File>Save

I recommend saving the original separately from a file used to track changes...

Is wile away a preferred or at least perfectly acceptable variation of while away or is it an error? The answer isn’t exactly simple.

If wile away is an error, it’s one that has now been around long enough to be considered mainstream and, according to the OED, was committed by both Dickens and Scott. It was introduced as early as 1796 as a substitute for while away, which preceded it by about 100 years. The transitive verb form of wile [away the time] appears, with no usage notes or cautions, in the American Heritage Dictionary as “to pass (time) agreeably” and in the...