Copyedit and Proof Checklist
A copyedit makes the text correct and consistent with style-sheet.md.
It does not change voice or meaning. Tell the user plainly: this pass
catches much, but it is not a substitute for a professional copyeditor on
a book going to print.
Before starting, run story prose . and fix every avoided spelling it
lists. Keep the style sheet open: when the manuscript settles a new
question, record it there in the same change.
Grammar and usage
- Subject-verb agreement, especially with collective nouns and long intervening phrases
- Pronoun case (between you and me), and who/whom only where the narration's register uses it
- Tense consistency with
story.md; past perfect to enter a flashback, then back to simple past - Commonly confused words: its/it's, lay/lie, affect/effect, further/farther, peak/peek/pique, reign/rein, discrete/discreet
- Usage rules recorded in the style sheet (all right, toward, OK)
- Dialogue is exempt from grammar fixes that would change the voice; only fix errors the character would not make
Punctuation
- Commas: after introductory clauses, around non-restrictive clauses, before coordinating conjunctions joining independent clauses; the serial comma per the style sheet; no comma splices in narration unless the voice uses them deliberately
- Dashes: em dash style (closed or spaced) and en dash for ranges, per the style sheet; hyphens only in compounds
- Ellipses: one style throughout (three periods, spaced, or the single character) per the style sheet
- Apostrophes and quotes: curly or straight consistently; apostrophes facing the right way on leading elisions ('til, 'em)
- Semicolons and colons used correctly or not at all
Dialogue punctuation
| Case | Pattern (double quotes, US style) |
|---|---|
| Tag after line | "We leave at dawn," she said. |
| Tag before line | She said, "We leave at dawn." |
| Question or exclamation with tag | "At dawn?" she asked. (lowercase tag) |
| Action beat, not tag | "We leave at dawn." She shouldered the bag. |
| Interrupted line | "We leave at—" / "No." |
| Trailing off | "We leave at…" |
| Tag mid-sentence | "We leave," she said, "at dawn." |
| Tag between sentences | "We leave at dawn," she said. "Pack light." |
| Multi-paragraph speech | No closing quote at the end of a paragraph; opening quote on the next |
| Quote within a quote | Single inside double (reverse for British single-quote style) |
British house styles often use single quotes and may place punctuation outside the quote when it is not part of the speech; follow the style sheet's Dialogue And Punctuation section. A new speaker gets a new paragraph. Action beats belong in the speaker's paragraph.
Consistency
- Character, place, and term names match their entity files and
glossary/terms/, including aliases and capitalisation - Spelling of invented terms, hyphenation of compounds, and capitalisation of titles and ranks per the style sheet
- Numbers: spelled out or numerals per the style sheet threshold; times and dates in one style
- Italics: one rule for thoughts, foreign words, ship names, emphasis
- Physical details: eye colour, scars, ages, and heights match the
character files (continuity errors go to
revision-continuity) - Chapter titles and numbers match
chapters/_index.md
Proof pass (on a built copy)
Proofread the book as a reader will see it, not the markdown. Build with
story build . --format html and, for print, story build . --format print --trim <size>. Cite problems by paragraph anchor (ch03-p12).
- Typos introduced by editing: doubled words (the the), missing words, half-deleted sentences, a sentence edited in two tenses
- Scene breaks render as breaks; no stray markdown (
**,#,>) - Chapter headings, numbering, and order
- Front and back matter present, in order, with correct text
- Print copy: widows and orphans, a chapter title stranded at a page foot, running heads, page numbers, the raised chapter initial, hyphenation at line ends
- Final check that the copyright page and any credits match what the author supplied; never invent them