In praise of biz copy editors

Jane Berentsen, the editor of Inc. magazine, writes in the April issue to laud the work of the magazine’s copy editors.

Berentsen writes, “The art department tinkers with type size, the executive editor reads it two times once it is in page, the production manager runs it across her sightline, and the managing editor takes a look just before it’s shipped electronically to the printer. All this for about 400 words.

“But the heroes of this particular tale are our two copy editors: copy chief Peter J. McLaughlin and his deputy, Pam Warren. They scrutinize every word, every sentence, every comma, from manuscript to published page. Peter and Pam know more about punctuation and grammar than I ever learned from my English teachers. They know, for instance, that the word peruse means “to read through with thoroughness or care” and not, as many of us think, “to scan.”

“Hanging in my living room is a page ripped from a notebook scribbled upon by Winston Churchill. I’m a big Churchill fan. He not only helped save the world from the Nazis but was also a master of the English language, the proof of which can be found in any of his books.”

Berentsen’s editor’s letter is not yet online.