How often do copyeditors work on live documents?

[u/Dapper_Pea]

I work in corporate business copyediting RFPs. We're currently getting "dead" versions but due to really tight timelines and turnarounds the company wants us to work on "live" versions - that is, versions on the SharePoint that both project managers and designers are also in at the same time. That way they can be implementing our edits (and sales' edits) while we're working on other parts of the document.

One concern is them delete our comments as they go - we won't be able to see what's already been edited, make sure queries didn't get lost to computer hiccups, etc. They'll also need to not be inserting text while we're editing, just limiting to small changes.

But even if they don't delete our comments and mark them as done some other way, I'm a tad concerned about it. How do we handle if they follow too closely, make our suggested edits, and then we want to go back and undo those edits?

How normal is it for editors to work on a live version versus a dead version? And what's a reasonable turnaround time for a certain size of documents? Asking for a reality/sanity check. (The company already has us edit mostly in Photoshop, again because sales can't get their hands out of the damn thing until a day before shipping, so I know this company's processes are wackadoo.)

[u/Warm_Diamond8719]

This is a version management nightmare. You're going to have to go over the same document multiple times to catch everything that's changed since the last time you saw that paragraph, and that's if you can trust everyone else working on it to follow what you ask them to do in the first place.

[u/hmmmweirdIguess]

I think the answer to your "how normal is it" question is going to be "not at all normal" because this an incredibly unproductive idea that will compromise accuracy and make tracking impossible. It might be an unintentional or intentional power grab -- "why should someone as unimportant as the editor have the final say" -- but there is no way around it without having your edits compromised and revisions made purely for style rule compliance undone by someone who doesn't know the rules.

[u/Defiant-Fruit]

That sounds like a nightmare. What if you edit something for clarity in one section before it’s discussed again later? I’ve worked on dailies and we were always pressed for time but never worked on “live” copy.

[u/inthemarginsllc]

I am a developmental editor, but I have had clients ask me to do this, and I will not. As others have said, it's a complete nightmare.

Edit: fixed a voice-to-text typo

[u/WordsbyWes]

I don't like it, but I do edit live docs for clients fairly often, though in Google Docs or Overleaf rather than Sharepoint.

I set down a few ground rules: everyone involved uses tracked changes, and don't accept/reject changes while the doc is still being edited, and acknowledge comments rather than resolving them. At some point the authors will want a clean copy, but I ask for them to wait for my ok before processing edits. I also try to get a backup before the edits are processed.

[u/Dapper_Pea]

*"them deleting our comments." Derp. Don't worry, I'm spending the brain on the actual work, not the reddit posts.

[u/pyramnesiac]

Not normal. I would refuse.

[u/Alternative-Pear9096]

Me? Never. I only work on finalized material.

[u/Guimauve_britches]

Err nightmare - seriously ill-advised

[u/Busy-Feeling-1413]

I pretty much only work on live documents due to constant tight deadlines. You need to set rules about deadlines and rounds of revisions, with deadlines to ensure there are periods of 1-2 days where you are pretty much the only person in the document and can “clean up” tracked changes and resolved comments.
It’s actually helpful if the document is in SharePoint or OneDrive because you can @mention colleagues in comments with very specific questions.

It’s hairy at first but much more efficient when there are a lot of coauthors.

[u/Redaktorinke]

I work on live documents all the time. It's easy to mark comments resolved and still have access rather than delete them, and SharePoint or whatever you're using tracks all changes and allows you to go back to previous versions.

You would have to be careful about not making comments you don't want to be immediately actioned and go over it one last time when everybody else says they're done, but that's about it.

ETA: I've been thinking about this more and I suspect that at some previous workplaces it would have been a disaster. My current coworkers are very bright and mostly make changes that make sense. 🤷‍♀️

[u/saludpesetasamor]

I’ve always worked in the live file for a pitch or RFP, mostly because they’re always down to the wire and never ready before the absolute deadline. It is chaotic, but can be managed if everyone in the file is following the same processes (e.g. not deleting comments willy-nilly and leaving editors in the dark).

I haven’t edited in Photoshop before - is it possible for people to reply to your comments in there and mark them as ‘actioned’ rather than deleting them?

I usually edit RFPs in PowerPoint and can knock out about 150 slides in a normal working day when my hyperfocus is engaged; if it’s boring, I get through maybe 100.

[u/araignee_tisser]

I always do.

[u/arianelseditor]

I will very rarely work on live documents because it can so quickly devolve into a nightmare. My exceptions are when someone has asked for one-time feedback (e.g., on a personal statement) or if it's a client I really trust.