Ten Top Tips for Good Copyediting

1. Quotation Marks

Surprised? Most people expect spelling to be at the top of this list. Correct spelling is vital, of course, and we’ll get to that soon. So why on earth begin with quotation marks?

Because nothing screams Amateur! like incorrect or badly styled quotation marks.

Believe it or not, quotation marks are one of the first things good reviewers and good readers will notice. It is absolutely crucial to get them right. If you don’t, then you’re giving yourself a huge disadvantage.

Your potential reviewers and readers make all sorts of judgements about your book based on whether or not you have done these correctly. A good reviewer, for example, can easily decide there and then not to read your book. He or she knows that if you haven’t got these right, then you haven’t got a lot of other things right either. They don’t want to waste their time wading through a mess of a book.

That might sound unfair, but that’s the way it is.

Here’s what you need to do:

• Never – but never! – use typewriter quotes.

Here’s what I mean:

"I don't know," Pete replied. "He's always like that. It's just how he's been taught."

These straight-up-and-down quotation marks look really ugly, as if they’ve been thumped out on an old typewriter. They’re also a dead giveaway to readers that no care has been taken. As a copyeditor and reviewer, I have learned that anyone who uses quotation marks like these can usually be relied upon to have left hundreds of errors and inconsistencies.

Instead, always – but always! – use smart quotes. Here’s what I mean:

“I don’t know,” Pete replied. “He’s always been like that. It’s just how he’s been taught.”

These look so much better, which is why they have been the industry standard for centuries. If you could do only one thing to make your book look professional, using smart quotes would probably get my vote. So change the preferences on your computer and make sure you always write with smart quotes. Your writing will immediately look better and your readers will be reassured.

If you are using Word, this can be done easily. Go to Word Preferences. Under ‘Authoring and Proofing Tools’ select ‘Auto Correct’, then select ‘Auto Format As You Type’. Under ‘Replace As You Type’ tick (check) the box next to ‘Straight Quotation Marks with Smart Quotation Marks’. Then click ‘OK’.

Whether you decide to use single quotes – ‘Like these’ – or double quotes – “Like these” – stick to them and never interchange.

When text is inside quotation marks and the speaker quotes someone else, the rule is to use single inside double or double inside single:

“Jane said ‘I don’t care’ and then she left.”

‘Jane said “I don’t care” and then she left.’

Never use single inside single or double inside double.

You’ll want to avoid instances where someone is quoting someone quoting someone … and so on. The rule is always the rule of opposites: e.g. single within double within single within …

Summary

• Use smart quotes.

• Use single or double and stick with them.

• Remember the rule of opposites: single within double within single within …