Copy Editing and Hammers

[rynling]

The copy editor I hired to look over my wizard detective story says that "conspectus" is not a word that exists. This is a silly thing to say, because:

(1) Magic also does not exist.
(2) We therefore have to invent words to talk about it.
(3) It would make sense for wizards to use these words.
(4) The meaning is 100% clear from context.

Also: I would love to have the talent to invent fancy Latinate words, but "conspectus," meaning "a subdiscipline of a broader field of study," is very much a real word that exists. Which the copy editor would know if she googled it.

She said the same thing about "ensorcelled," as in "a magically ensorcelled object." That's definitely a real word, and it makes sense for its meaning to shift to become more literal in a story where magic is real.

Like what's the point of writing fantasy if you don't get to make things up?

And also, what's the point of copy editing if you have no sense of style?

Comments

[lassarina]

....dear copy editor you might want to check dictionary.com before making those keyboard farts.

[scrawnytreedemon]

Oh my god. That is just embarrassing on all fronts. "Ensorcelled" is a word you'll stumble across if you read any amount of fantasy media, so this does not bode well in the least for her familiarity with what is, fundamentally, a speculative genre. I am shaking my head IRL, this is so bizarre.

[rynling]

You are so right, it's definitely a common word in fantasy fiction. I think I originally learned it from Patrick Rothfuss.

I'm gradually figuring out how to find my way around listings for copy editors in the same way I once had to learn my way around listings for artists with open commissions. Every artist deserves to be fairly compensated, and then they deserve even more compensation on top of that, of course. But still, sometimes when you see an artist charging above what should be the normal market price, it might be an indication that they don't know what they're doing. I now realize that this rule of thumb applies to other freelancers, including copy editors.