A strong copy editor is the unsung hero when it comes to the written word. The last line of defense between hastily penned and irresponsibly published. The grammar police, human spell-checker and gut-checker all wrapped in one. One missed typo, an awkward non sequitur, or an egregiously mistyped “they're” instead of “their” and a world of words can come crashing down in a hailstorm of “hell no’s!” Nobody misses a good copy editor until she or he is gone. They're the difference between the message being gotten... and outright dismissed. If you ever wondered what the best ones possess, here's a short list of qualities:

In a world of fueled by text exchanges and over-reliance on autocorrect, silly little things like spelling, punctuation and grammar have taken a huge hit at the hands of our thumbs. And the best copy editors know it. They're on high alert, aware that our country's collective attention to grammatical detail has suffered immensely. So they keep an eye out, an eagle eye, for both subtle lapses in judgement and egregious misuse of the English language. It all falls under their domain as they often get the final word.

The written word in all its forms isn't the only domain for the copy editor. The best ones always know who they're editing for; what the best practices are; the style guide defined by the editorial team; and what's acceptable content and what's not. Whether it's adhering to AP or the Chicago Manual of Style, the copy editor always takes into account the context of what they're reading and checks it against a set of previously defined parameters. This way, they can achieve not just accuracy, but consistency.

Copy editing isn't just about dotting your “i’s” and crossing your “t’s,” it's about sometimes asking whether “it” even belongs in the content piece in the first place. Context is key. In that realm, a good copy editor will use their own litmus — combined with research and fact checking — to determine if something seems out of whack, incredulous or even flat out wrong before sending something to press or publishing it. All while making sure the piece communicates in the tightest, most impactful way possible.

From dangling modifiers to double negatives to split infinitives, there's a long history of copy editors taking issue with certain grammatical faux pas that rear their heads during a copy edit. Common mistakes that make these unsung heroes bristle and reload their proverbial red pens with ink. Here's what some of the better eagle eyes in the ClearVoice stable have taken issue with.

Preposition placement

"Preposition placement errors crop up when we write the way we speak. Prepositions like 'of' and 'for' aren’t good to end sentences with. (Did you catch it?) When that happens, there’s always a more direct way to express your thought that makes it easier to read."

Lindsay Haskell, Writer

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Misplacing apostrophes

"My biggest grammar pet peeve is that lots of people mistakenly add an apostrophe to the end of 'its.' the possessive pronoun. Similarly, folks sometimes either misuse or misspell "it's," the contraction for "it is." Simple errors such as these can undermine the credibility of a piece of content, even if it is generally well written."

Jacqueline Emigh, Tech Writer and Editor

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Being redundant

"Redundancies tend to put a burr in my saddle, since they make reading a piece more work than it needs to be. Say it once, say it concisely, and your audience will have a much easier time staying rapt to your copy ⁠— no need to clutter it up!"

Scot Mills, Health & Fitness Writer and Editor

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Underestimate the importance of having a good copy editor and you’re tempting fate. When they do their job right, their work goes unnoticed. They fix errors, fight wordiness, and eliminate unnecessary commas like that last one after wordiness. Their sole being is dedicated to preventing a piece from becoming delegitimized due to, say, an erroneous fact or misplaced apostrophe.

But that hasn't always mattered to budget-cutters and those who undervalue this necessary cog in the editing wheel. Thankfully, the Internet has a long history of detailing the copy crimes that have haunted those who presumably chose to skimp out on this service. As a result, over the years, we've witnessed headlines such as "Students Cook & Serve Grandparents" and "County Spelling Bee Postoned One More Time." 

There's also that time when a travel services company put an ad in the Yellow Pages citing "erotic travel" instead of "exotic travel," consequently losing nearly 80% of their customers as a result. Not to mention the time when Alitalia Airlines incredulously offered business-class flights from Toronto to Cyprus for $39 instead of, you know, $3,900.

Whoops.

You get the point: Copy editors are important.

Tips from a Copy Editor

"Whether you're mass-producing collateral or just publishing an article to a website, it pays to have a fresh set of eyes on that last revision (and all the revs in between). The devil is in the details. If you're budgeting x thousand to produce something and you omit the professionally trained eye that makes it all clean, accurate and on point in the end — it could all blow up in your face."

Anonymous Copy Editor