I’m reviewing suggestions from a copyeditor on my new book (Recovery at Work: Using Twelve Step Principles for Professional Success—more about that later!) and have a few observations about the editing/proofreading process:

• Editing is not proofreading. We teach students the difference, and this should be clear in the Business Communication and Character text. Still, what is called copyediting, at times, seems to include only proofreading. Not that proofreading isn’t important! But I’ve had to change my expectations about the type of assistance I’ll get during the copyediting process.

• Editions change. The copyeditor for my book suggested I hyphenate email and coworker, which the Chicago Manual of Style stopped suggesting with the 17th edition back in 2017. Guidance for formatting references changed since then too.

• Copyeditors can be wrong. In addition to the edition confusion, the copyeditor has different ideas about punctuation. Here are three “corrections”:

  • Do we “walk the talk” and “practice what we preach?"

  • What starts small, affects people in future generations.

  • If this is your introduction to Twelve-Step programs, you’ll see how they have helped millions of people not only get and stay sober but live more peaceful, productive lives.

  The first two errors are obvious to business communication faculty. The third could be debatable but not if we follow CMOS guidance (see examples of “graduate student housing” and “high school diploma”). Misreading as 12 step programs is unlikely. I also chose to capitalize and spell out Twelve Step to follow program convention.

• I have work to do. My annoyance and impatience about the copyediting process remind me to continue working on my humility and perfectionism. The copyeditor is an imperfect human just like me. A friend and colleague suggested I recognize that errors are likely in printed books. I’m trying to accept that.