INSTRUCTIONS FOR EDITORS

Since the range of topics covered by the Suda goes far beyond the expertise of any individual scholar, we depend on the wisdom and specialized knowledge of a diverse group of editors. We encourage our editors not only to vet translations, but also to share with us ideas for improving SOL. Please send any comments, criticisms, problems and new ideas to the senior editor (see the home page).

One area in which your help and advice will be extremely valuable is in identifying important Suda entries in your field that have not yet been translated. We would also appreciate any efforts on your part to recruit qualified people who might serve as translators or editors.

When you are ready to begin editing, log in through the SOL home page and choose the "Vet entries" option. Enter the Adler number for the entry you want to edit and you will be shown a page in which the entry appears in its current form. You may then edit and submit the entry as you would any translation. For more detailed information on the process of entering and submitting translations see the "Instructions for Translators" page.

Since you can return to the same entry as often as necessary, there is no need to do all your editing at once. There are two stages to your job:
 

1. Basic stage:

• Verify the translation against Greek text.   Standard text for SOL is Adler's Teubner edition.  The text of this edition (without apparatus) will appear on the editing page (courtesy of the good people at TLG). Please inform us if you are using a different text.
• Proofread text, notes and bibliography for basic spelling/grammatical errors and for adherence to the SOL guidelines for style and content (accessible on the "Instructions for Translators" page ).
• Improve on the word choice and style of the translation where possible.  If variant manuscript readings offer a better translation option, include the variant in the translation and explain your choice in a footnote.
• If the headword for the entry is an anthroponym, toponym, or anything else that is transliterated rather than translated, make sure that the "translated headword" field contains as many different transliterations as users are likely to employ in their searches. Separate different transliterations by commas, and put the most common transliteration first.
• Confirm that the proper "word type" button (anthroponym, toponym or other) has been selected.
• Confirm that all Web links are operative; delete or emend those that aren't
• Confirm that the proper subject keywords have been selected. This is one of the most important steps in the process, since these keywords are what will make it possible for users to search the database efficiently. The more pertinent keywords you select the better. To select multiple keywords, hold down on the control (ctrl) key (command/apple key on Macintosh) while clicking on each keyword.
• Set the editorial status as appropriate (see below).

2. Advanced stage: Any or all of the following, as needed:

• Additions to bibliography
• Listing of links to other Internet resources.
• Elaboration of notes.
• Raising the editorial status to "high", if appropriate (see below).

There is a menu on the vetting page which you should use to set the editorial status of your entry. Until you have completed all of the "basic stage" actions, leave the default designation "draft" unchanged. When you have completed the basic stage, you should change the status designation to "low". A low-status entry should offer, at the least, an accurate and well-informed translation to SOL readers. After having completed some or all of the advanced stage actions, you may, at your discretion, change the status indication to "high".  A high-status entry should have as accurate and as well-researched a translation as you can manage and as many notes and links as you think necessary and desirable for users who consult SOL as a source for professional research.  For many entries (most particularly, one-word entries), no notes, bibliography or links will really be necessary.  In such cases you can, at your discretion, move to "high" status almost immediately.

When you have reached a point where you have done all the editing that you can do on an entry, inform the Managing Editors.

Editing is never proprietary on SOL. After you have edited an entry, other editors can (and will) come by later and re-edit the same entry. Your name will remain attached to the entry as editor, however, in perpetuity.

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This document was last updated Tuesday April 28, 2009.