Interview with a New Yorker copy editor  Sep 30 2009

Mary Norris works as a page O.K.'er for the New Yorker.

It's always good, before changing something, to stop and wonder if this is a mistake or if the writer did this for a reason. When you've read a piece five or more times, it is tempting to believe that it must be perfect, but you have to stay alert for anything you might have missed. Eternal vigilance!

(thx, jen)