Questions for a Copy Editor at the College Board

Jaime Sperling got into copyediting “by happy accident” while working at the American Museum of Natural History. She is currently a contract copyeditor for the College Board, a nonprofit organization that helps students and colleges connect, where she edits communications to students, parents, teachers, and other education professionals. 

Tell us about this happy accident that led to your copyediting career. 

While working on an education project at the AMNH, I became one of the de facto copyeditors because I actually cared about and noticed things like serial commas. When an editorial position opened, I applied for it. I managed the entire production cycle of several publications, but always liked the copyediting part best. 

How is your work at the College Board different from previous editing you’ve done? 

It covers a very specific range of topics. It's mostly email marketing, so the text is necessarily short and to the point. At AMNH, I worked on a variety of materials and the topics ranged from exhibitions to scientific expeditions. (See what I did there? I used a false range!) When freelancing, I edited an even wider variety--magazine articles, fiction, academic papers, and corporate reports. 

What do you find satisfying about your current gig? 

1) My job really is copyediting. It's not development or production. 2) The editorial process and input gets respect and appreciation. 

What’s one thing you wish all your authors knew? 

That I'm always right! I jest, of course. The role of the copyeditor is not to point out how their writing is bad, but to make it a better experience for its final audience. 

Any interesting projects you’ve worked on lately or will always remember? 

The most...erm, challenging...project I've ever done was proofreading an 800-page fictionalized biography of Genghis Khan, written by a non-native speaker of English--in two weeks! I stocked up on food, cranked up the air conditioner, and didn't leave my apartment for days. 

If you weren't copyediting, what do you think you would be doing as a career? 

I would be a librarian. I worked in libraries all through college and grad school, and my first job at AMNH was in the library. I'd also love to try indexing, and if/when I go back to freelancing, I hope I can add that to my skill set. 

Thanks for letting us peek into your copyediting world, Jaime! 

You can hear more from Jaime Sperling and her copyediting world on Twitter: @DiedofEnnui.