User:SMasters/Copyedit tips

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The following section is for serious editors looking for assistance in copy editing. If you came here to find out more about me, or to give me cookies, smiles or other gifts — feel free to skip this section, explore the rest of this page, and proceed to my talk page.


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Copy editing (also copy-editing and copyediting) is the work that an editor does to improve the formatting, style, and accuracy (but not necessarily content) of a manuscript. — Wikipedia

If you came here to ask for assistance, thank you for considering me. However, due to time constraints, I can no longer take individual requests. Instead, you should make a request to the Guild of Copy Editors. Their request page can be found here. If I have time, I will pick up articles from that page to work on.

The vast majority of requests at the GOCE are for articles going for WP:GA or WP:FA, which means that they are fairly long. Like most copy editors, I am completely methodical when working, and will edit an article from top to bottom, section by section. A full edit of such an article can take many hours. Sometimes, this has to be done over several days.

I have seen time again, editors scrambling to have a copy edit done, after they have submitted for WP:GAN or WP:GAR. Somehow, WP:PR has missed the need for copy edit, or this may have been ignored. By the time a copy editor can look at the article, GAN or GAR has ended, and the article has failed. Therefore, it is important to remember to have your copy editing done, before you try to move an article forward.

Having said that, things happen, and some editors find themselves in this "emergency" situation. If this is the case, put this in your notes at the GOCE, and they will see if they are able to help.

Normally, I prefer to work on articles that are going for GAN or GAR. I will ensure compliance to WP:MoS. However, I am also happy to look at articles that are going for WP:FAC — provided that they are fairly clean, comply with the MoS for FA, and just require an outside opinion or third-party edit. Once again, this is due to time constraints. You can see the differences in requirements at WP:GVF.