--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In my experience, copy editors, like the…" description: "\"In my experience, copy editors, like the stalwart staff I've worked with and learned from in my 34 years at 'TIME,' are linguistic conservatives - the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/richard-corliss-4476_books_in-my-experience-copy-editors-like-the-s_428801.jpg" --- # In my experience, copy editors, like the stalwart staff… ![“In my experience, copy editors, like the stalwart staff I've worked with and learned from in my 34 years at 'TIME,' are linguistic conservatives - the keepers of the flame ignited by the Strunk-White 'Elements of Style,' published in full in 1957 and chosen by 'TIME' as one of the 100 most…” quote by Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/richard-corliss-4476_books_in-my-experience-copy-editors-like-the-s_428801.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/richard-corliss-4476_books_in-my-experience-copy-editors-like-the-s_428801.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e9/richard-corliss-4476_books_in-my-experience-copy-editors-like-the-s_428801.jpg) > “In my experience, copy editors, like the stalwart staff I've worked with and learned from in my 34 years at 'TIME,' are linguistic conservatives - the keepers of the flame ignited by the Strunk-White 'Elements of Style,' published in full in 1957 and chosen by 'TIME' as one of the 100 most influential nonfiction books of the past century.” [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Copy editors preserve core style rules, acting as guardians of linguistic clarity and tradition. **In simple terms:** Copy editors keep language clear and traditional. Key Takeaway Value and uphold clear style standards. Themes editing tradition clarity language journalism Mood respectful defensive Type practical historical When to use this quote - newspaper publishing - book editing - online content creation - academic proofreading Key Concepts prescriptivism communication literary heritage Questions to Reflect On - Should style guides adapt to modern usage? - When is tradition more important than innovation? A Different Perspective May resist necessary linguistic evolution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Experience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/experience/) [Flame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flame/) [Journalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalism/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [I think a lot of people have the idea of an editor being someone who comes in like a dictator, and says, "You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/i-think-a-lot-of-people-have-the-idea-of-an-editor-being-someone-who/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [“Without his even being aware that it was happening, Paul's face rearranged itself into the expression of sincere concentration he always wore while listening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/without-his-even-being-aware-that-it-was-happening-paul-s-face/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [ “\[The public intellectual\] will also describe how she can work a pop culture reference into her essay, comparing the Supreme Court to the creature… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brooks/the-public-intellectual-will-also-describe-how-she-can-work-a-pop/) [David Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brooks/) > [Great poets are great copy editors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dejan-stojanovic/great-poets-are-great-copy-editors/) [Dejan Stojanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dejan-stojanovic/) > [“He glances at the sorry trio of copy editors before him: Dave Belling, a simpleton far too cheerful to compose a decent headline; Ed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rachman/he-glances-at-the-sorry-trio-of-copy-editors-before-him-dave-belling/) [Tom Rachman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rachman/) > [“I always forget that, in the popular imagination, the copy editor is a bit of a witch, and it surprises me when someone is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-norris/i-always-forget-that-in-the-popular-imagination-the-copy-editor-is-a/) [Mary Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-norris/) > [“But what ultimately made Yates the scourge of copy editors was his simple aversion to criticism; any emendation in his manuscript, be it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blake-bailey/but-what-ultimately-made-yates-the-scourge-of-copy-editors-was-his/) [Blake Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blake-bailey/) > [The credibility of the work depends on copy editors. 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You need to be the one who steadies me to burn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nadine-gordimer/i-m-a-candle-flame-that-sways-in-currents-of-air-you-can-t-see-you/) [Nadine Gordimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nadine-gordimer/) ## More by Richard Corliss > [In his musicals with Garland, Rooney was the sparkplug for prodigious entrepreneurship - that era's predecessor of the garage band, but with Gershwin tunes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-corliss/in-his-musicals-with-garland-rooney-was-the-sparkplug-for-prodigious/) [Richard Corliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-corliss/) > [Hollywood was born schizophrenic. 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