So you’re a copyeditor looking for work from a publisher or packager, and they ask you to take a copyediting test. You’re probably nervous, especially if you’re new to the game or haven’t taken an editing test in a while. If you’re looking for some specific tips for approaching the test, you’ve come to the right place!

Last month, I shared some insights into what a copyediting test grader might look for. (Check out that blog post, part I of this two-part series, here.) Remember, these tips are based on my own experience, primarily of grading tests but also of taking them. My primary test-related experience is with fiction editing for traditional publishers, though many of these tips apply to trade nonfiction and academic work as well. But my experience isn’t universal, and you may hear different views from other sources.

Without further ado, here are my tips!

Double-check the test material.

Some clients may provide a house style guide, while others may simply tell you which style guide to follow. Carefully read the house style guide, if it’s provided, and note any differences from the standard style manual.   

Demonstrate understanding of basic editing tools.

In most cases, publishers and packagers will want you to work in Microsoft Word using Track Changes. Using a different app, such as Google Docs or LibreOffice, usually will not cut it. This is because production processes often rely on tools and processes specific to Word. Working on a manuscript in Google Docs or another program can destroy formatting or other elements of a manuscript, costing the client time and money.

This tip might seem basic, but I’ve seen editing tests from editors who can’t use the full functionality of Word (e.g., because they don’t own a laptop/desktop) or clearly don’t know how to use Track Changes (to the point where the text no longer makes sense). This is usually an automatic fail. So make sure you’re using the right software and that you’re using Track Changes correctly.

No matter how experienced an editor is, we all make Track Changes slip-ups sometimes, especially when we’re anxious. So before you submit the test, use Simple Markup or No Markup view to make absolutely sure you haven’t introduced errors. I suggest using Word’s Read Aloud function to catch issues your eye misses. Run spell check to ensure you haven’t accidentally deleted spaces between words. Look out for typical Track Changes issues like double spaces, incorrect spacing around punctuation and line breaks, and so on.

Sweat the small stuff. 

As discussed in my previous post, traditional publishers often want a very light edit. If you’ve been working with indie authors, you may be accustomed to doing more line editing, even in what you think of as a light edit.

For traditional publishers, preserving author voice tends to be imperative (see part I for more on this), so you’re often concentrating less on higher-level issues such as clarity and word choice (though those certainly come into play!). What’s often much more important is the stuff that many indie authors wouldn’t even notice:

• Are compounds hyphenated consistently, and does hyphenation follow the style guide?

• Are titles and headings capitalized and styled correctly and consistently?

• Do spellings follow the preferred dictionary?

An indie author may not care whether it’s spelled worldbuilding or world-building, advisor or adviser, and they may not even notice if it’s spelled two different ways. A traditional publisher, however, is likely to see this as a real issue.

I therefore recommend checking everything possible against the style guide’s preferred dictionary. There are a lot of strange, surprising preferred spellings out there: outa, woodstove, bloodred, Tombouctou, and so on. These change, too: it might be voice mail one month and voicemail the next. Small as these issues are, they can be a big deal on a test.

Other small things that are a big deal:

• Are quotation marks and apostrophes smart/“curly,” and are they facing the right direction?

• Are ellipses, dashes, and the like used correctly and consistently?

• Is there an extra space before the beginning of a paragraph? Or anywhere?

Sweat this stuff too:

• Numbers. If you’re following Chicago, there are a lot of specific rules for numbers and which are spelled out and which aren’t. Make sure you know these rules and apply them. The grader will notice.

• Italics. Which elements are italicized, and which aren’t? Are words used as words italicized or in quotation marks? What about T-shirt slogans? Direct thoughts? Remembered dialogue? This should be consistent. If there’s no rule in the style guide, make one, based on the manuscript.

• Proper nouns. Are they all spelled correctly? Is it Ben and Jerry’s or Ben & Jerry’s? Kellogg’s or Kelloggs? Does the name make sense in the context of the book? For instance, if a book is set in 1990s Arizona and the characters are discussing Piestewa Peak, this is an issue: although the spelling is correct, the mountain wasn’t called by that name until 2003. This should be corrected or queried. (In this case, a query might be appropriate; the name is incorrect, but the one it replaced is considered derogatory, and the author may have wanted to avoid using it.)

Keep an eye out for continuity issues.

And that brings up another issue. If you’re editing fiction, you’ll want to look for not only anachronisms but also continuity issues. Does a character sit down twice in a row without getting up? Is someone a lieutenant in one paragraph and a sergeant in another? Does a character with cropped hair later put her hair in a bun? These should be queried, and a suggestion for revision should be given, unless the correction is obvious. (For instance, if someone’s called Lieutenant eight times and Sergeant once, they’re probably meant to be a lieutenant.)

Some tests will have continuity errors; some won’t. Some errors will be deliberately inserted, while others may have been a real author’s mistake. Either way, if they’re present, it’s important to catch them.

Be polite, professional, and helpful.

If the solution isn’t obvious or there are multiple correct solutions, a query is in order. Make it clear what the problem is and why it’s a problem, then give a suggestion for revision. Be respectful: instead of saying This doesn’t make sense, which may come off as aggressively critical, try Readers may be confused here. This will get a better reaction from most authors (and clients).

And be respectful of the author’s time. Queries should be informative but concise, and they shouldn’t leave authors hunting all over the manuscript. Don’t say “you used this word in the last chapter” or “the walls were a different color earlier in the story.” Quote the wording in question and, if appropriate, give a page number so the author can easily find it. Highlighting can be useful if the quotes in question are close together.

Don’t overquery.

If you have more than two to three queries/comments per page, reconsider. Are they all necessary? Even two queries per page is a lot for a fiction manuscript, but queries do tend to cluster around the opening pages, so a short piece/excerpt (such as a test) may legitimately have a few more.

Are you using comments to explain standard changes, like clause commas and spelling changes? Delete these. If I’m recasting sentences for issues such as dangling modifiers and impossible simultaneous actions, I’ll leave a comment on the first instance. Otherwise, the author may think I’m recasting for subjective reasons. But while leaving comments like “US English uses em dashes” or “I’ve inserted a comma because this is an introductory dependent clause” can be great for indie clients, it’s generally discouraged by traditional publishers.

It’s OK to leave a comment or two for the grader (e.g., “GRADER: I’ve retained comma splices in narrative for style. If you prefer I correct these, I’d be happy to follow this style in the future.”), but keep these to a minimum as well. You should be demonstrating that you feel comfortable making editorial judgments on your own.

Treat it like a real manuscript.

Act as if the test is a portion of a real final product that’s being sent to the client. Run all your final checks: PerfectIt, spellcheck, final manuscript checklists. That stray space before an em dash that you’d normally clean up in your last checks through a complete manuscript? This should be gone.

Don’t cheat. 

I’m sure no one needs to be told not to cheat! Still, remember that the test should reflect your actual skills as an editor.

Consulting the same resources you’d consult if this were a real, full-length manuscript is not cheating (unless the test specifically asks you not to, though I’ve never seen that happen). Nobody expects you to memorize CMoS. We want you to look things up.

But if you do something like asking a more experienced editor friend to go over the test and correct it before you turn it in, that would be an issue. The client will notice if your work doesn’t show the same level of skill your test did, and they will not be happy.

Don’t panic.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a perfect editing test. I’m positive that I’ve never turned one in myself. In fact, I missed a glaring continuity error on the editing test I took for my most important client. I still passed, and I’ve had a fabulous relationship with them ever since. (That tip about making sure you don’t leave a stray space before a dash? I made that mistake on my first or second sample edit for them. They still didn’t hate me forever; much the opposite.)

A grader will understand that you’re human, and if a test is strong, a few small mistakes shouldn’t kill you. If a client expects absolute perfection, they may not be pleasant to work with, anyway!

And if you fail, don’t take it too hard. It may be your skills aren’t quite there yet; it may be poor fit; it may be bad luck; it may be something else. Bad as it feels to fail a test, it’s not the end of the world, and it doesn’t mean you’re a bad editor. There are other clients and other tests. Just keep learning, keep trying, keep moving forward. And don’t beat yourself up.