The editor is a strict and fastidious person. He always sees errors and omissions in any text. But how is the editing process? Few people know, but all stages of manuscript proofreading are based on the psychological model of any human activity.
Based on the work of psychologists, it is possible to build a scheme for studying complex forms of human activity. Its structure:
- receiving the information;
- setting goals;
- creating a pattern of behavior and a scheme of expected results;
- actions and their results.
Each point of the scheme is determined in the editorial work by specific practical steps.
The first component - the author’s work gets to the editor. If this is a work of art, the editor will read the annotation, a summary.
The second component - the editor sets the task. They depend on external circumstances and the quality of the material. At this stage, the type of editing, the volume of the manuscript, the genre and the form of contact with the reader are determined.
The third component is the editing action plan. The editor chooses the method of working on the text: independently, together with the author or sending the manuscript for revision.
The last step is editing. The process is due to the communicative relationship between the reader, author and editor. Only the editor combines creativity and analytics. Therefore, psychologists conduct research in the work of the editor when the imagination is processed by logic.
The expected result in the process of work is an awareness of the text, a serious attitude to each word, an understanding of the different shades of the narrative.
The basis of the work is control. This is the ability to look at the text from the reader. Thanks to control, the text corrects and changes shape, becomes clear and easy to read. It is important to feel the moment when editing needs to be stopped, otherwise excessive processing will lead to the simplicity of the text, which will cause only boredom.
For the author, the editor is the first reader to objectively evaluate the manuscript and begin to work on it together with the writer. The psychological model is used because thanks to it the editor maintains an active perception of the text and creates edits and recommendations for the author throughout the work on the text.
