You can never have too many pairs of eyes check a document. Particularly, a fresh pair of eyes can be invaluable.
Writers should never edit their own work, because they will inevitably miss their own mistakes, and even copy editors or proofreaders might not be infallible.
For example, they may rewrite a passage and inadvertently introduce an error thanks to an errant keystroke. Or if they miss a mistake first time round, chances are they won’t see it later, either. Or there may be more than one editor working on a title, page or story, leading to inconsistencies.
It shouldn’t happen – editors are paid to catch mistakes, after all – but nobody is perfect. That’s why you can never have too many pairs of eyes.
Revise editing is the last stop before publication, and a different craft to that of the copy editor or proofreader who worked on earlier versions of a document. Ideally, the revise editor will not have seen the document before and so approaches it with a fresh pair of eyes.
They will not be looking to rework copy or make significant changes or cuts, but they will be focusing on consistency, style, legality and fact-checking.
They will also check the page layout to ensure these considerations are applied to the whole document, not just the body copy – headlines, captions, pull quotes and other page elements – and that the formatting and visual elements are all fine, too.
Employing a dedicated revise editor can give you peace of mind that all is well before going to press.
Rivers Editorial offers more than 20 years’ experience in print media, including revise editing for major newspapers. We are comfortable working to tight deadlines and at unsociable hours, without compromising attention to detail. If you thing our revise editing services could help you, please contact us.
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