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The Stages of Editing

When I tell people that I'm a freelance editor, it's quite common for people to assume that I spend my days just looking at spelling, punctuation, and grammar. I don't get this reaction from just the general public either. Many writers, especially new writers, also make this assumption. However, editing is so much more.

Editing falls into three main categories:

  • developmental, which encompasses the rewriting process and critiques;
  • copyediting, with the line-edits and, of course, the famous punctuation-and-grammar concept;
  • and proofreading, which occurs after a manuscript is typeset for publication, looking for any errors that were either missed or introduced during the typesetting process.

Each stage is necessary for the production of a publishable book.

The initial drafting of a story is a solitary practice. However, during the different editing phases, it's vital for every writer to seek out those extra sets of eyes to provide objective input. The who and the when will depend entirely on what stage your manuscript is at.

The stages of editing described in this post are the same for both traditional and self-publication. It's just the players that change.

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Writing relies on a reader’s knowledge

If you read through various blogs about writing, there is a common theme: Don't treat your readers like they're idiots. This is 100% true, because your readers will have experiences and knowledge that they bring with them, interpreting your stories with that eye. But are you taking full advantage of that preexisting knowledge?

The acclaimed science fiction writer Ray Bradbury wrote many novels and short stories that were printed in the 1950s and 1960s. His readers had survived World War II, bringing with them the knowledge and experiences they had from during the war, including the colloquial terms. Readers of today can still enjoy his stories, but there will be elements we will miss because the subtext is meaningless without the World War II experience.

Today's readers of 2001: A Space Odyssey laugh at how far off-base the predictions regarding space travel and artificial intelligence were. But it was written in 1968, one year before Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. Had the space program continued at the rate it was back in the late 1960s, not stopping at the moon, then we would likely already have a colony on Mars today, changing some of the meaning of that book and movie.

While we are hopefully crafting our stories in such a way that they are timeless, there will always be a partial reliance on preexisting knowledge to understand some subtext. It's time to look at how much hidden subtext is buried within your own writing based on the experiences and preexisting knowledge of your current readers.

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The Power of a Name

Within my writing circles, discussions about pen names have come up frequently of late. I guess it's because many of my writing buddies are turning their attention to self-publishing, and many of them have one reason or another to not want to use their real name.

In fact, if I think about it—I mean really think about it—none of my writing buddies publish under their real names. For one writer, it's because she wants to separate her publishing from her real life (so her students can't find her online). Another wants to protect her children from what could become negative backlash if other parents work out the connection between the two names. For another, it's because she wants to separate her fiction from her nonfiction. And for another, it's because their day job would be at risk if their employer ever worked out the truth about the nature of their fictional writing.

Regardless of the reason, it's always interesting to see how others come to the conclusion about what name they want to publish under.

And for me… I laughed at myself when I discovered that I had made the decision about my pen name back when I was just starting high school.

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Sample edits are at the editor’s discretion

A few months back, I was approached by a writer to do a developmental edit, which isn't anything out of the ordinary. I am a developmental editor, after all. But there was something in that initial communication that really didn't sit well with me.

Initial communications with a writer tell me what type of client you're likely to be. And this one…

The email dripped with entitlement and superiority, making me question whether this particular writer was even ready to hear criticism about their writing.

It was a random email that seemed to have come out of nowhere with a file attached (an OpenOffice file, no less). There was zero information about the manuscript—no genre, no word counts, no synopsis, no summary. Just negative commentary, saying that they were unable to find my prices on my website for developmental editing (which is odd, because I know for certain that they are there—and in an easy-to-find location too). But there were also the following lines in the email.

"After I receive my sample back, I will wait for a week until I'll let you know if I'm interested or not.

Thank you for your time, and I wish you best of luck!"

So… Zero information about the project and this underlining demand for a sample edit. To top it off, there's the attitude that suggested a person who thinks editors are just waiting around for clients to give them the privilege to edit the writer's work.

Did I mention how those initial communications can tell an editor about the type of client you're likely to be?

Had this particular writer approached things just a little differently, they would have likely gotten more than just my boiler-plate quote and the comment that I don't offer free sample edits.

There are soooo many things wrong with this particular opening communication, the most important of which is the assumption that all editors will provide a free sample edit when a client demands such.

But sample edits are at the editor's discretion. And of those editors who do offer free sample edits, not all of them will edit any old sample you send them.

It's time to get down to the realities of sample edits.

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“Am I wasting my time writing?” the client asked.

Some time ago, a prospective client reached out to me regarding their manuscript that they were still writing; they were approximately a quarter of the way through the first draft. They were seeking quotes for editing (which is hard to give without having a full manuscript to consider), but more specifically, they wanted to know if I thought their story would be good enough to get published. (They actually asked this in their initial contact email.)

Let's ignore the fact that the story wasn't written yet, because any story that isn't written can't be published. I knew what the writer was asking. They wanted to know if I thought their writing style was good enough to be published.

That particular question is incredibly difficult to answer, because there are so many factors involved—and many of those factors are subjective.

So, I evaded the specific question (yes, evaded), and carried on like I do with any other prospective client under normal circumstances. I gave my thoughts about what I saw in the writing sample and proposed a path forward.

For this writer, I suggested that they just write. I would be more than happy to work with them on any story that they wrote (I liked their natural writing voice), but unless they wanted mentoring or coaching, there wasn't much I could do to help them until they had a finished manuscript. I suggested they finish their manuscript, get some feedback from other writers and edit their story to the best of their ability, then come back to me for a manuscript assessment. It was the most cost effective option for them.

But they really wanted the answer to their question, and their persistent email trail would not let it rest. "Do I have enough to make the grade and get this [story] published or am I wasting my time?"

As a writer myself, I understand the motivation behind such a question. We spend so much time pouring our heart and soul into our writing, and we want to know if we have a shot at breaking into this business with the manuscript that we're working on.

But for the first time, I had to push back and challenge a prospective client about their motivations for writing.

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