Transforming the author’s idea into a readable book or a leaflet handed to a customer takes many peoples’ engagement on various stages of the process. Although hardly recognised, thanks to their work the text is compelling for the reader and meets the expectations of its author. A multitasking specialist, the very first reader, the grey eminence of publication: that’s the editor. Text editing is a dream job of many philology students and an extraordinary challenge which guarantees constant development and many fascinating activities.
Text editing
The editor’s work starts at a very early stage, when there is a long way to go until the text is printed. The editor works in close cooperation with the author, pointing out any inconsistencies, plot holes, fallacies or stylistic errors. The editor might suggest modifications to sentences, peragraphs, chapters or even to entire text under revision. They might even propose a change of title of a book or its part. The editor’s task is not only to control the language, but also to watch over substantive issues concerning general knowledge, correctness of dates, correct spelling of geographical terms and proper nouns. Another task is to unify the spelling of such terms as numbers, dates, abbreviations, names, proper nouns, captions for pictures, graphs and tables.
The editor’s tough job
As you can see above, text editing is a complex and extremely demanding job which involves huge responsibility during the process of preparing a publication. Obviously, it is essential to master the rules of one’s language, as well as its ortography, stylistics, and phraseology. Another important factors are proper use of dictionaries or other aids and understanding, who should be contacted in the case of doubts. Apart from vast general knowledge, an editor should stand out with their impeccable manners and interpersonal skills, as their task is not only to cooperate with the setter and the proofreaders, but also with the translator and the author of the text. This brings about the need to solve problems efficiently, which may require well developed diplomatic skills. Those who think a quiet, shy person would do well as editor are wrong.
An editor in a translation office
Accurate text editing is an important step in the process of creating content which is to be printed or published online after being translated. Along with proofreading, text editing is a crucial service that complements the translation. Work specification in a translation office involves using two language versions of a translated text, and therefore requires good command of both of them or close cooperation with the translator. The edited file, apart from complying with the original, must be well adjusted to the background of the target language and culture and compelling for the reader. Therefore, text editing is recommended in a large number of cases. Alingua translation agency features it as an additional service, which guarantees enhancement of texts designed for a webpage, a marketing catalogue, or a book prepared by a publishing house in cooperation with our agency.
