From Conflict to Concord: Copyeditors, Composition, and Technology

Abstract

The traditional rhetorical model suggests that the composition process progresses from writer, to text, to audience, but copyeditors must be added to the equation as writers create texts for the purpose of publication. To better understand the copyeditor's role in the publication process and within authors' writing and revision processes, this study examined how thirty copyeditors describe their roles; how they feel about their interactions with authors; and how they feel about the role of technology in the writing process and how they have adapted to technology. Overall, copyeditors were confident in their ability to copyedit using technology. In revising/editing, copyeditors are responsible for grammar, punctuation, and style; additionally, however, this study posits that they are also responsible for engaging in a collaborative revision process with the author. They must be recognized as both readers and writers and thus have the ability to affect a writer's revision and writing processes.