What does a copyeditor do? Look for typos?

A copyeditor does a great deal more than that. Here's a description of the copyeditor's job, excerpted from Words into Type, a standard reference work used by many U.S. copyeditors:

After the [in-house] editor finds that the manuscript is substantially satisfactory, a second reading is necessary. . . . In this critical reading, the whole matter of expression is carefully considered.

More quickly than [will] the author, the [copyeditor] will notice a habit of using clichés, or of repeating pet expressions. [The copyeditor] will be quickly aware of an overabundance of elliptical phrases, or too frequent use of but at the beginning of sentences, of shifts from third person to second where parallel construction would be preferable. In short, the diction, grammar, and rhetoric of the writer are subject to critical inspection. The [copyeditor] has learned from experience that the possibilities of error are limitless and does not expect the author to have detected his [or her own] minor blunders.

I'm very grateful for your edits. I appreciate having this feedback [about scene endings and bits of humor] so that I can tell what works. You're ideal to work with, as you try to help the author say what she really wants to say! Your edits are very intelligent, thoughtful, and detail-oriented. Your eagle eyes don't miss a trick, and you always have a considered reason for making the edits you do. Thanks for your excellent work. You are truly a writer's best friend.
—Gen LaGreca,
author of Noble Vision

Especially in nonfiction works, the [copyeditor] must be alert at all times to inaccuracies and conflicting statements. Geographical features must be carefully checked, an exacting task in some books. Classical, historical, and literary references may be inexact and must be scrutinized. Dates and all references or statements in which there is a time element must be examined with care. At the same time, the [copyeditor] must keep printing conventions in mind. [The copyeditor's] experience with the work of many writers has shown . . . in general the sort of inaccuracies [he or she] may find. [The copyeditor] knows that tables are often not constructed to the best advantage; that footnotes and bibliographical references are often incomplete; that cross references are not always in the most desirable form. It is better, for instance, to write, "in Figure 1" than "in the illustration above," since the exact placement of figures and illustrations cannot be determined until the work is in page proof.

The editing of a work of fiction often proves trying. Unless the writing has been carefully done by an experienced author, the [copyeditor] is likely to find puzzling capitalization and misused words. The story may be full of dialect or localized words not to be found in the dictionary. It may contain slang that the author could not decide how to spell. Briticisms may be used inaccurately, or foreign words and phrases may be used to excess. Misquotations and the misspelling or misuse of common expressions are not uncommon; such expressions, for instance, as lay (not lie) of the land, whited sepulcher, to the manor born, [and] combat à outrance are often misspelled. Anachronisms may appear, and inconsistent statements: sometimes the girl who had blue eyes in the beginning of the story changes them for brown later on. In short, only by thoughtful concentration on details can fiction be satisfactorily edited.

The application of familiar expressions must be checked for correctness, since the exact meaning of such expressions is sometimes not clearly understood by authors. For example, "the devil's advocate," signifying someone who [deprecates] for a good cause, is often inaccurately used. A similar fault is often observed in the use of foreign phrases. Vice versa is a common term that needs watching; it is often used carelessly. The propriety of using non-English words is often questionable. Whenever an equally expressive English word can serve the same purpose, it should be substituted.

If illustrations are part of the manuscript, the [copyeditor] must examine them closely, since unusual and unexpected inconsistencies are often discovered in them. They must show exactly what text and legends say they show. If a children's book describes the snow "drifting slowly down, like petals of apple blossoms," the illustration should not look as if an arctic blizzard were in progress. Drawings sometimes show surprising inaccuracies, such as a violinist playing with the bow in his right hand although the text has made a point of his being left-handed. . . .

[T]he [copyeditor] must make sure that no libelous remarks have been made and that there are no infringements of copyright or trademarks. . . .

[The copyeditor] is probably the last one who will see the book as a whole until it is completed. From [the copyeditor] it will go to the printer, who may give it to several different compositors to set in type. Half a dozen typesetters and proofreaders may be assigned to work on it. . . .

The extent to which the [copyeditor] corrects punctuation, capitalization, and other details of style depends on the kind of work and the proficiency of the author. Publishers of textbooks, scientific books, and the like usually adhere strictly to house style, and the [copyeditor] is authorized to make all necessary changes to achieve uniformity. In editing literary work, [the copyeditor] is more cautious. . . .

[The copyeditor] should . . . correct or query improper capitalization, irregular compoundings, wrong paragraphing, and inconsistencies of spelling. . . .

The [copyeditor] should catch inadvertent errors in grammar: disagreement of verb with subject, failure of a pronoun to refer clearly to its antecedent, the fragmentary sentence, and so on.

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Skillin/Gay, Words into Type, 3rd ed., pp. 57–60, © 1974. Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. For permission to reproduce the above excerpt, write: Permissions Administrator, Pearson Education, One Lake Street, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458, USA.