Quote:
Originally Posted by Catlady
The advantage of using a different person is that you get a fresh set of eyes. This is particularly important if there've been any major changes or revamping. Both the author and the developmental editor may be so familiar with the material that they lose their awareness of what's been cut or altered--their brains are filling in what used to be there, not seeing what actually is there.
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This is absolutely correct. When I am hired to do both a developmental edit and a copyedit on a project, I assign one function to one editor and the other to another editor. No matter how good an editor is, the editor will miss things and make mistakes. Like authors, we see what we expect to see.
I recommend these articles from my blog:
Great Expectations: A Recipe for Disappointment and
The WYSIWYG Conundrum: The Solid Cloud. The second article, in particular, addresses the seeing-what-we-expect phenomenon.