Editing Terminology

Like any professions, editors have their only language that makes communication more efficient. But for non-editors, this can make things more difficult to understand. And since editing is not a regulated profession, different terms are used for the same thing and some terms mean different things depending on the part of the world you're from.

With that in mind, here is a list of editing terminology to get you started. The definitions are the ones most commonly found in Canada. Where there are several commonly used terms for the same thing, I have listed both.

Note: This list is a starting point. When working with an editor, always ask for clarification if you are unsure what they mean.

Action Beat: text that precedes or follows dialogue that shows what a character is doing or how they are reacting. The verbs used in an action beat do not describe how the dialogue is being spoken. Usually a short, single sentence, but can be longer.

Adjective: a word that describes a noun.

e.g. blue, young, happy, small

Adjectival Phrase: a group of words that act as an adjective to describe a noun.

e.g. The woman with long red hair.

Adverb: a word that describes a non-noun, phrase, clause or sentence answering the questions when?, where?, how?, how much?, how long?, or how often. They are often, but not always, formed by adding -ly to the end of an adjective.

e.g. slowly, carefully, once, very

Adverbial Phrase: a group of words that acts as an adverb to describe a verb.

e.g. they said under their breath

Antecedent: the noun that is replaced by a pronoun in a subsequent phrase or sentence. An unclear antecedent means that it is difficult for the reader to interpret who (or what) the pronoun is referring to.

e.g. I like Tim. He's a funny man.

(Tim is the antecedent that he refers to)

Book: the finished, published product of a written work that is available for sale or distribution to readers.

Clause: a group of words that contains a subject (noun) and a predicate (verb). A clause may or may not be a complete sentence.

Comma Splice: two or more independent clauses that are joined by a comma instead of a coordinating conjunction, semicolon or period. In most cases, these are considered incorrect.

e.g. The king was gone, the chancellor prepared to take his place.

Compliment: the word or words required to complete a sentence that are not the subject or predicate. If it cannot be removed from the sentence, it is likely a compliment.

e.g. She is brave.

(brave is the compliment that completes the sentence. She is is the clause.)

Compound: a word or series of words that together create a single meaning.

Closed Compound: two words that are joined without a space to create a new word.

e.g. sweatshirt, manhunt, flashpoint

Hyphenated Compound: a compound word created by connecting two words with a hyphen.

e.g. light-year, merry-go-round, long-term

Open Compound: a compound word with a space between the words.

e.g. high school, ice cream

Conjugate: the practice of matching a verb to its subject.

e.g. I fly, you fly, she flies, they fly

Coordinating Conjunction: connects words, phrases or clauses of equal importance. There are seven: For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So. They can be remembered by the mnemonic FANBOYS.

Copy Edit: an edit that focuses on fixing mechanical errors in a text such as spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Dangling Modifier: a modifier where the intended subject of the modifier is unclear, leading to confusion about the meaning of a sentence.

e.g. Reaching to her side, the sword was drawn.

This makes it sound like the sword is the one reaching.

Dependent Clause: a clause that cannot form a sentence on its own and is therefore dependent on its relationship to another clause.

e.g. Because she loved fairies

Developmental Edit: see Structural Edit.

Dialogue Tag: follows a piece of dialogue to indicate who is speaking and how they are speaking. Usually consists of a subject and verb, but can also include an adverb.

e.g. she said, he yelled, they said quietly

Independent Clause: contains a subject and a predicate and can stand on its own as a complete, simple sentence. It can also be combined with other independent or dependent clauses to form compound or complex sentences.

e.g. She drew her sword.

Line Edit: see Stylistic Edit.

Linking Verb: non-action verbs that help to describe the subject. To be is the most common English linking verb and all sensory verbs (e.g. feel, appear, smells) can be used as linking verbs.

e.g. He was famous, They smell like flowers, She appears calm

Manuscript: a written work in progress. Usually a digital text file but can also be handwritten. This is what an editor works on.

Modifier: a word or phrase that describes or qualifies other parts of the sentence.

Non-Restrictive Clause: a clause that provides additional information but is not integral to the meaning of the sentence. Usually set off by commas, em dashes or parentheses, a non-restrictive clause can be removed from a sentence without affecting the meaning.

e.g. The girl, who hated yellow, stomped on the daffodils.

Noun: a person, place or thing. The subject of a sentence. Who/what the sentence is about.

e.g. Lily, girl, kingdom, alleyway, magic, alien

General Noun: non-specific. Refers to the object in a general sense.

e.g. flower, house, dragon, sword

Proper Noun: specific. Designates a specific person, place or thing without the need for modifiers. Usually a name or a title.

e.g. Poppy, Mona Lisa, Toronto

Noun Phrase: a noun accompanied by modifiers. The modifier can be a pronoun, adjective or adjectival phrase. A noun phrase functions as a subject, object or complement within a sentence. A noun phrase can be replaced by a pronoun and maintain a coherent sentence.

e.g. my sword, the dog over there, the purple sheep

Object: the noun in a sentence that receives the action, not what performs the action.

e.g. She raised her sword.

Pass: a single read-through of a manuscript by an editor. Most editors will do at least two passes in a single round of edits.

Phrase: a series of two or more words that fulfil the role of a part of speech.

Predicate: a fancy word for a verb. This is the part of the sentence that describes what the subject is doing.

e.g. She opened her wings.

Pronoun: a word that replaces a noun.

e.g. I, you, he, she, they, it

Proofread: a stage of editing that looks at the formatted manuscript correcting errors that may have been introduced by the formatting and any missed copy editing errors.

Recast: to rewrite a sentence.

Restrictive Clause: a clause that modifies a noun and is essential to meaning. It is not set off by commas.

e.g. The warrior with the scared face decided to stay in our village.

Round: the time an editor takes with a manuscript before returning it to the author. Most editors will bill for each round separately. A round can include multiple passes.

Scope: the kind of editing a manuscript needs and the amount/depth of the edit.

Sensitivity Read: where a reader with lived experience reads the manuscript to check for appropriate representation.

Speech Tag: see Dialogue Tag.

Stet: leave as is. Used by editors when they have made a change that they then decide they don't want to make. Falling out of use with electronic editing.

Structural Edit: an edit that looks at the big-picture, structural elements of a manuscript. It can come in the form of an editorial letter, edits directly on the manuscript or a combination of both. Some editors will also include supporting documents such as plot outlines, character guides/profiles and maps.

Style Guide: a general set of rules that cover spelling, grammar, syntax and formatting. Every piece of writing should follow a style guide to maintain consistency throughout the text. The Chicago Manual of Style is the most commonly used style guide for fiction.

Style Sheet: a set of rules that are specific to a manuscript or project outlining deviations from the style guide, elements that are missing from the style guide and style elements that an editor wants to highlight for a specific project.

Stylistic Edit: an edit that looks at the sentence level of a manuscript and checks for clarity, coherence and flow, and language. Often done in conjunction with a structural or copy edit, but can be its own round or pass.

Subject: who/what in the sentence is performing the action or being described. Who/what the sentence is about. A noun, pronoun or noun phrase.

e.g. She raised her sword.

Substantive Edit: see Structural Edit.

Tense: the form of a verb that tells when in time the action is happening.

Terminal Punctuation: punctuation that comes at the end of a sentence. There are three kinds: periods (.), exclamation marks (!) and question marks (?).

TOC or ToC: table of contents

Verbs: words that describe an action. Verbs are conjugated to match the subject of the sentence.

e.g. I run, you run, she runs, he runs

WIP: work in progress.