Strategic Copyediting

By John Russial
November 2003: The Guilford Press
ISBN: 1-572309261

The name John Russial has become synonymous with
copyediting in the School of Journalism and Communication. Alumni report using the skills they learned from him at work every day. The AEJMC’s 2002-03 newspaper division professor of the year has poured his more than twenty years’ experience on the copy desk and in the classroom into Strategic Copyediting, his first book. According to Russial, copyediting is as much about working with people as it is working with words. “The word ‘strategic’ in the title tries to capture that idea, one that I learned on the job at The Philadelphia Inquirer,” he says. “Editing isn't just about fixing and otherwise improving copy; it's about choices, discussion and often negotiation.”

Why did you write this book?

The short answer is an acquisitions editor asked me to write it. The longer answer is that I wanted to write a copyediting textbook that looked at the process in terms of how you work with words and how you work with people. The word "strategic" in the title tries to capture that idea-- one that I learned on the job at The Philadelphia Inquirer. Editing isn't just about fixing and otherwise improving copy; it's about choices, discussion and often negotiation. I also wanted to write a book that might be of use to professional copy editors as well as students.

What did you learn while writing it?

How long it takes to write a textbook. And to see it move through the production process. Let's just say it's a lot longer than the daily newspaper's publication cycle.

Are you using it as a textbook?

I'll be using it in the News Editing course in fall term. I know several professors who want to use it. It came out in late December--too late to order for spring semester classes.

What are you working on now?

I have a book project in mind, but it isn't settled enough to provide a short synopsis. The general topic I have in mind is media convergence and how convergence realities and myths play out in media industries as well as in academia.