Copyeditors often talk about the 5 Cs of copyediting, though we don’t always agree on exactly what they are! In this blog post, I’ll apply the 5 Cs to copyediting science fiction.
The five Cs of copyediting are:
- Correctness
- Clarity
- Conciseness
- Consistency
- Completeness
These can all be applied to science fiction!
Correctness
The first thing I focus on is correctness. In addition to spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and depending on how “hard” your science fiction is, you might need to do some in-depth research into the science you’re describing or extrapolating from. Books like The Martian get this right, and readers love it. My detailed style sheet keeps track of all of it for you. Whether I’m copyediting science fiction or any other genre, I’ll also do some light fact-checking so the rules of your world make sense.
Clarity
Some readers avoid science fiction because it’s too dense, tangly, or unclear, or they just can’t wrap their heads around the concepts. Keeping the big things clear—the timeline, the technology, battles, critters, and communication—means your readers can more easily immerse themselves in the emotional journey of the story. When I edit your manuscript, I can help untangle your syntax so that your readers don’t drift into a black hole of confusion.
Conciseness
When you’re writing about a new world or even a new universe, there’s a risk of overwhelming your readers with a meteor shower of information. As your copyeditor, I can help you find the balance between making the world feel real and leaving room for the story to happen.
What’s more, I recognize that SFF authors need room for their worldbuilding, so I don’t penalize your hefty word count. Ask me about my “Big Books” discount!
Consistency
When you’re making up your own rules, it’s easy to confuse them or forget how they work. I keep track of the words you’ve invented and the rules you’ve set so that readers don’t get sucked out through a gaping plot hole. Sure, you can sometimes get away with hand-waving the technobabble, like Star Trek. But even Star Trek kept a record of their technobabble so they could babble consistently across episodes!
Completeness
Science fiction has always been a pioneering genre for inclusivity and representation, with authors like Ursula K Le Guin featuring nonbinary characters, and WEB Du Bois confronting racism during an apocalyptic event in “The Comet.” During your copyedit, I’ll help you notice where you might be relying on stale stereotypes or harmful tropes so that all your readers feel invested in the story, because they’re included in it. Science fiction also gives us a vehicle to explore deeper topics, like philosophical or ethical dilemmas. I’ll help vaporize the clutter that gets in the way of the big “What if…?”
