Reflection 5

Since my last post I've been continuing to work on editing the book I mentioned before. It's a collection of essays on coal and I've only been through four and the preface and I'm thinking I've learned enough about coal to last a lifetime. Because I'm not wrapped up in the story of the book, I can really take notice of how I read when I edit. I would think that if the subject wasn't interesting to me I would skim or if it were really interesting I would read too quickly. (That's how I read books, once quickly because I need to see what happens and then as many more times after that as I want to really notice everything.) However, reading at work is it's own thing. I read every word, interested or not, and stay focused enough to check that things make sense, are grammatically correct, and are consistent. I'm sure I miss things; it would be impossible not to, but I'm sometimes just amazed by the things I do catch. How do I notice a subject-verb agreement mistake on page twenty-five on an essay on company stores in the fifth paragraph the author explains, yet again, what scrip is? I think that's what always keeps me focused; I do love to find things that can be fixed, and with the editing I've done so far I've noticed that people tend to make a mistake when they've done the same thing correctly many times before. Sometimes I notice consistent mistakes, but usually they're just the random mistakes that everyone makes for no reason. There's no way to skim and be confident that nothing was wrong.

It's nice to figure out a piece of my editing process. Before I might have just thought that I just read like normal and notice things, but now I'm realizing that I read to edit when I'm editing. It's a quick, detailed reading. That's why I comprehend enough to know how the paper is organized and when the author is contradicting him/herself, but I don't comprehend as much as I do when I actually just read.

I've also noticed how working with mainly West Virginia history books helps when I move from project to project. The current book I'm working on mentioned Gov. Walter C. Glasscock, something I would have completely passed over (I'm not expected to fact check books like I did journals), except over the summer I spent two months agonizing over the biography of William E. Glasscock, so that stood out to me right away. I've had other moments like that, and they make me more confident that I can adapt to any work situation I get in. Going into the Press I didn't know much about West Virginia, but now I'm building a knowledge that's helping me edit more effectively. If I get a job in another specialized setting, I'll know that I'll learn enough eventually and won't stress about not being an expert right away.