EDITING + PROOFREADING + INDEXING

Editing comprises some or all of the following crucial stages that takes place between pen and press: acquisition and/or transcription of the work to be published; verifying the transcription’s accuracy to the original manuscript; giving structural, storyline, and overarching critique of the work as a whole; correcting errors or inconsistencies in style, usage, tone, voice, spelling, and punctuation; application of an author’s or publisher’s style guide throughout; verification of facts, quotes, and citations.

Proofreading takes place immediately prior to the printing process - this is the last opportunity to catch and correct any mistakes that were not seen in the copyediting stage. A proofreader will read over a document word for word, line by line, ensuring no grammatical or style mistakes are present.

Indexing is a unique skill that requires both attention to detail and a fair knowledge of the subject matter - as well as a little patience. Once the book has been laid out and all editorial changes have been made, the indexer’s task is to identify and organize all the most relevant instances within the manuscript of the technical vocabulary, specific to the work itself. His goal is to create an organized “map,” as it were, at the back of the book for the reader to use when wanting to navigate to a specific topic within the work. This “map” is the index.

He is the model of all workers - and this worker desires to emulate him (in his home and in his profession). Furthermore, carpentry and editing, while quite different in appearances, have rather many skills in common: attention to detail; ability to retain a given work’s integrity, while at the same time strengthening weak points and polishing up its surface; and appreciation for another’s hard work. Through the powerful intercession of that “just man,” Saint Joseph, may the work undertaken by his editing company be blessed and fruitful - for the glory of God and the sanctification of souls.