Happy Weekend, WG2E-Land!
It’s time for another waaay A-mazing Ruth Harris Report!!!
Take it away, Ruth…
My first job in publishing (after a few months as a secretary) was as a copy editor in the text book division of a large NYC publisher. There, I learned two things: 1) that, generally speaking, college professors cannot write and 2) that our job was to turn their gibberish—ooops, I mean manuscripts—into something that met a variety of local educational standards & could then be profitably sold to schools.
So now you know 1) Why your textbooks were so deadly boring and 2) why editors are so crucially important. Underpaid slaves (namely the talented, experienced editors who taught me how to revise, mark & edit a ms) were the invisible & uncredited foundation of a lucrative publishing enterprise.
After I left textbooks and moved to trade publishing, I learned something else: that even in the more glamorous part of the business, gifted editors worked over the mss of top bestselling authors. In a few cases, it was an editor who, almost literally rewrote the book that would be sold to the public and eventually top bestseller lists. I’m not naming names but, if I did, you would recognize them.
I also learned that, even in ancient times when editorial departments were fully & deeply staffed, there were bestselling writers who worked with their own privately-hired editors, paid for out of their own pockets. These writers understood the value of a professional editor/alter ego and did not expose their work to public view without their editor’s input.
For this series of Reports on Editors and Editing, I’ve asked four of the best editors active and experienced in the world of high quality self-publishing to explain what they do, how they do it, what they can offer a writer & what a writer can reasonably expect. The four are Sherrie Holmes, Jodie Renner, Meghan Ward and Matt, The Edit Dude, aka David Slegg.
What, exactly, does an editor do and what difference does it make?
Meghan Ward: An editor can help to improve a book in so many ways—from deleting repetitive words, adverbs, and creative attributions to making suggestions for how to overhaul the structure of the book or add depth to the characters.
Jodie Renner: Good editors will first assess the level of editing the manuscript needs to bring it up to current industry standards, which is almost always more than the writer realizes. Some manuscripts even need a major overhaul, starting with developmental editing; others need fairly heavy content editing for “big-picture” issues; others need stylistic help to smooth out the writing and make it clearer and more powerful; and some just need a final polish, to check for typos, grammatical error, and punctuation.
Matt, The Edit Dude: Of course, an editor does do the basics of correcting spelling and grammar errors, consistency, word usage and overall readability. However, depending on the type of edits that an individual author desires, an editor might also be helping them with character speech/behavior, various plot issues.
Sherrie Holmes: An editor does basic checking for spelling, grammar, and punctuation, and also looks at plotting, character development, continuity, point of view, clarity, conciseness, believability, and even things like mixed metaphors.
Isn’t the spell or grammar check that comes with a word processing enough?
Sherrie Holmes: While an excellent aid, these programs are by no means failsafe, and often miss the most ludicrous mistakes, such as distinguishing between they’re, their, and there. Or how about the cable TV ad I recently saw that said: Up to 60 channels of paper view movies and events. And I’m sure most writers have seen the “Spell Check Poem” that begins:
Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea,
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea … . .
Also from Sherrie:
Matt, The Edit Dude: Not really. Spell check won’t find mistakes such as using a homophone of a desired word in its place. For example, you could mistakenly have a character walking into a room wearing a pair of stiletto high heals instead of heels. Spell check would be useless for this type of error.
Meghan Ward: I never use spell check or grammar check because they’re so often incorrect.
Please explain the differences between line editing, copy editing, content editing and proof reading.
Matt, The Edit Dude: I know there are differences of opinion on the specific definitions of the above roles. In my mind, I tend to group line editing and proofreading as being very similar. This would include editing basics as described above (correcting spelling and grammar errors, consistency, word usage and overall readability). I see copy editing and content editing as including the above tasks but adding to them suggestions for character and plot development, story structure, etc.
Jodie Renner: These lines are fuzzy and vary within editing associations, and each editor has her/his own take on them, but here’s a general description of the various levels of freelance fiction editing in the order that they are carried out, from most extensive and expensive to final polishing touches. These levels are often carried out by different people. Developmental editors rarely do copyediting or final proofreading, and vice-versa.
1. Developmental Editing or a Manuscript Evaluation / Critique / Analysis
Developmental editors look at the big picture and the whole structure of your novel, including whether chapters and scenes should be moved, condensed, or even deleted. A developmental edit or critique / analysis will give general advice on premise, plot, structure, point of view, characterization, character arc, pacing, style, etc., as well as specific fiction techniques such as showing rather than telling, avoiding head-hopping and info dumps, etc.
Some editors like me offer an “initial critique” of the first 10, 20 or 30 pages, which is much easier on the wallet than an evaluation of the whole book, and will catch most weaknesses, such as problems with your opening, point of view, characterization, and dialogue, or recurring style issues.
2. Heavy Copyediting / Content Editing / Stylistic Editing
For fiction, this should include “big-picture” advice on the opening, point of view, characterization, plot holes, dialogue, pacing, and fiction techniques like showing instead of telling, avoiding “info dumps” and style gaffes, etc. May also offer suggestions to improve paragraphing, sentences, and words; cut down on wordiness; smooth awkward phrasing and transitions; comment on discrepancies and inconsistencies; and help with tone and mood—all while striving to keep the author’s voice.
3. Medium Copyediting or Line Editing
Generally making the manuscript more readable. A line edit looks at the sentence structure, word choices, continuity and consistency. Often fixes awkward phrasing, smooths out rough or unclear writing, and decreases wordiness to make the writing tighter and more powerful.
4. Light Copyediting / Proofreading
For freelance editing, refers to final editing for grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, and other mechanics of style. Puts the final polish on a very well-written story or a manuscript for which all issues have already been addressed and solved.
Sherrie Holmes: Hoo-boy! Okay, here goes. There’s some overlap among these disciplines, but here are basic descriptions:
–A line editor goes through a manuscript, editing line-by-line for tone, style, and consistency.
–A copy editor checks formatting, style, and accuracy. Copy editing includes the five Cs: ensure the writing is clear, correct, concise, complete, and consistent. This also includes proofing for spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and in technical and educational works includes terminology, jargon, and semantics.
–A content editor does proof reading, fact checking, and checks to make sure the content is in the correct order or sequence, that there are no gaping holes, that point of view is consistent.
–Proof reading is checking for the basics: spelling, grammar, and punctuation. (In my experience, nobody knows the proper use of commas!)
Meghan Ward: Copy editing is correcting grammar, punctuation, spelling, and capitalization—making sure “U.S.” is spelled out as “United States” unless it’s used as an adjective, that sentences are grammatically parallel, that the use of the Oxford comma is consistent.
Proof reading is a lighter form of copy editing, mostly just running through the text to make sure there are no typographical, spelling, or punctuation errors.
Line editing is more in depth and can involve rewriting sentences or making suggestions for how to rework larger sections of the book, from paragraphs to entire chapters.
Content editing, also called developmental editing, is looking at the big picture. Does the story work? Is the protagonist compelling, is there enough dramatic tension to keep the reader interested for 300 pages?
Next time, our editors will answer questions about genre-specific editing, choosing an editor and the ins and outs of plot/character/story structure edits.
To end on a light note: Editor’s Supermarket Magazine
Links to our editor’s websites:
It’s Your Turn, WG2E-Land: What questions do you have for our Editor Panel?
The Best of The WG2E Editing Wishes — Ruth Harris
Ruth Harris
NYTimes bestselling author
I’m betting that everyone will give their comment a thorough proofread this time.
Dale—Look below for my reply to you. Don’t know why it ended up there. Pilot error? Computer glitch? Anyway, you’ll find it below Tamara’s comment.
Blame Technology First and Always! It’s tattooed on my thumb.
LOL, Dale! Including me! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve typed a comment on someone’s blog, only to spy a typo or grammar error a millisecond after hitting the “publish” button.
Thanks, Ruth! The poem and image brought a smile to my sleepy face!
Dale—lol. If only.
I’m one of the primary sinners. Never see my own typos. Until it’s too late!
Tamara—Always good to wake up with a smile! Gets the day off to a good start.
Sherrie has a great sense of humor & I want to thank her again for the poem that points out the spellcheck minefields in such a witty way. AND for the “piece of shut” image which does the same thing but in a different way!
Ruth, there are many versions of that Spell Checker Poem that have been circulating for years. Here’s a link to the full version: http://tinyurl.com/6jlg5h
Wonderful poem! Thanks for sharing the link, Sherrie.
That pjoem is a HUGE hit. #1 with a bullet????? lol
To the contrary, spell and style and grammar checkers are essential! But, the feed back on style should compare my work to big name novelists. If my style checker said I was 5% away from Stephen King or Tom Clancy I could get a publisher!
That’s what I want in a style and grammar checker. My work compared and contrasted with the work product of men who write best sellers.
Alan—Excellent idea. But don’t forget about the WOMEN who write best sellers. We count, too, & including us doubles your chance of finding an encouraging “match.” Sort of like literary dating, I suppose.
Literary dating…LMAO!!! Good one, Ruth!!!
Alan, I use my computer’s spell checker for everything, including e-mail, and it has been a valuable aid. But it is never good to rely on it solely. It has also provided me with numerous moments of hilarity by suggesting weird/funny/just wrong suggestions for misspelled words!
Alan, I misspoke when I said I “never” use spell checker. My spell checker in Word is always on, so words that are misspelled show up underlined in red, and that’s wonderful for catching typos. But if nothing is underlined, I don’t assume that everything is spelled correctly until I’ve gone over it with a fine-toothed comb.
Exactly – what gets you in trouble is the Auto-correct feature. That’s what creates the hilarity of the Poem. (My auto correct is always off.)
:} Cathryn
What a timely blog this is. I have just received the edits for my YA novella, and am working on them. My editor does the first two edits that are mentioned – line edits, where she adds, changes or deletes words/sentences to make the story flow better and sound clearer to make more sense. She also does structural edits, where she comments about a paragraph, showing me that it doesn’t make sense in today’s world, and there is a major structural edit, where I have to change a part of the story to make it more tense, and get the two characters interacting with one another throughout the story, instead of having it split into each of their povs, which she says is boring for the reader as it is repetitious. So, I have a lot of work editing to do this coming week. Mind you, she has said that my spelling and grammar are very good (my spelling at school was always v good).
Julie—Sounds like you have an excellent editor! I have always found the revision/rewriting process the most rewarding, fun & interesting. It’s an opportunity to make a ms so so much better.
Julie, as Ruth said, it sounds like your editor is great. Hang onto that person! Editing brings in an element of trust that is very important. You can have an excellent editor, but if he or she doesn’t align with your vision for your story, it can be difficult.
I strongly agree with Sherrie on this point. There’s nothing worse than having an editor who doesn’t “get” your story or, worse yet, who doesn’t like it. Good luck with your edits this week, Julie!
Great scoop here, Ruth! Thanks bunches!
And I’m totally gaga over the poem and piece of shut! What a hoot!!!
Can you imagine if we wrote a chapter on our iPhones with that damn auto-correct?! Now that could actually be waaay fun! Sort of a reverse Mad Libs!!!
Hi, D.D. Scott. As I mentioned in an earlier comment, spell check/auto correct has caused many moments of laughter for me. I wonder if there’s a book out there about humorous typos that didn’t get caught?
Hi, Ruth! Fab post. You made a teeth-gnashing subject fun! This is a post I will definitely bookmark for my reference folder.
I’d also like to add another fine freelance editor to the list – Rhonda Helms
http://rhondaedits.com/bio/
Alicia—Thanks. What can make the subject tooth-gnashing is the fact is that editing, editing rules, and editing styles differ from house to house in the world of TradPub. They also change over time and editors—like writers—each have their own particular style and strengths.
Thank you for adding Rhonda Helms to the list. I respect your judgment and hope this post will be a go-to source for writers.
Hi, Alicia. I visited Rhonda’s Web site and love her tag line: “You write it, I’ll tweak it.” An excellent rule to live by, because I’ve known writers who felt their editors were trying to rewrite their entire book. Again, this goes back to the issue of trust. It’s not the editor’s job to write your book. His or her job is to help you make it the best book possible. It’s a team effort. This is usually a painful process for the writer (imagine actually *paying* someone to point out all the errors in your perfect “baby”!)
Thanks for inviting me to join your panel of freelance editors, Ruth! I’m enjoying reading the responses of the other editors, and the comments. Looking forward to Parts II and III!
Jodie—thanks for dropping by! Your information & insights are invaluable to writers in their search for an editor.
Jodie, I enjoyed reading your commentary, as well as those of the other editors on this panel. I always love the opportunity to explain what an editor does, because in my experience most writers don’t really have a good idea of what it entails. In fact, it can be quite overwhelming for a newbie writer, or for one who has never had a professional edit. Even though I’ve been an editor since the earth was still warm, I am a long-time member of a critique group (yes, the editor gets edited!). It’s amazing how my crit group can point out problems with my story that I simply missed. Having an editor go through your manuscript with a fine-toothed comb may well be the best money a writer ever invested in his or her writing career!
Yes, Sherrie, several of my regular novelist clients are also editors, and are appreciative of things I point out that they didn’t notice. And I can get a bit wordy sometimes with my craft-of-fiction articles and have had a few writer friends trim them down a bit when I was guest posting on their blog. And with the exception of one, years ago, who trimmed it so much she sucked the life and “voice” right out of it,all the rest have made valuable suggestions and only suggested cutting where it was something I’d already stated, but in a different way. These are the types of things I notice when I’m editing for others, but sometimes miss in my own writing!
Thank you for this thoughtful post. I have a slightly different approach.
A good part of editing is subjective, and that is why an editor who does not put words in an author’s mouth is worth their weight in gold. The editor is there to draw out the creative brilliance from the author. (Think “Director” getting the actor to shine as an analogy.) Yes, some cleanup must be done, but the “crafting” is best left to the author…or the editor then becomes a co-author or ghost writer…and that’s a whole different ball game.
I say this from 35 years as a professional writer and editor. I too started in the world of “Academia” and agree with Ruth that professors and researchers are not creative writers. (We used to joke that PhD stood for “piled higher and deeper”…they laughed because they recognized their limitations.)
Monica—lol! Thanks for reminding me of PhD.
An excellent point about drawing out the author’s talent. There are lots of different authors & lots of different editors, how that process works can vary enormously & requires editor and author to be well attuned to each other.
Monica, will you marry me? *g* I heartily and loudly agree with your statement about editors not putting words in an author’s mouth! (And believe it or not, I hadn’t yet read your comment before saying essentially the same thing in my earlier comments!) Loved the PhD/piled higher and deeper!
Monica,
What I love about Tracking Changes is that I can suggest a rewrite of a sentence that is confusing and let the author decide if he/she wants to accept the change. I STRONGLY encourage authors not to “accept all changes” without reviewing them first. The work is first and foremost theirs, and they may have a stylistic reason for wording a sentence a particular way that I am not aware of (or rather, “of which I am not aware” since this is a post about editing
)
IME some of the most productive changes during the editing process occur during the “negotiation” between writer & editor. Editor suggests. Writer demurs. A third way emerges. Often, it’s the 3rd way that results in the most exciting improvement.
I agree, Monica, Sherrie, Meghan and Ruth,
I do all my editing online and on-screen, using MS Word Track Changes, with comments in the margin, and I often insert alternate wording in a comment box in the margin, starting with “Maybe…?” or “Consider…?” or “This is a bit wordy. How about rephrasing it like this…?” Or sometimes I’ll just say, “This is confusing to me,” or “This is a bit wordy,” followed by “Can you rephrase this to make it clearer?” or whatever.
And if I make a suggestion and the writer disagrees with it, I always like to hear their reason(s), as it’s possible they misunderstood my intent or suggestion, and that can get a discussion going that clarifies things, and as Ruth says, alternate ideas come up, often better than either of us started with.
Great info! Thanks everyone!
Rhonda—thank YOU! My goal was to provide information that can often be confusing—even to quite experienced authors.
As Ruth says, her goal was to provide information that would be helpful to authors. Let’s hope this post opened up some eyes!
Timely and useful, Ruth. I think a lot of newbies aren’t quite sure what an editor does, and they’ll often hand a ms. over to an editor without a clear idea of what kind of edit they want. It’s also very, very important they hire somebody with the kind o f experience these professionals have. An out of work college student may have fresh knowledge of grammar and punctuation, but not the slightest idea of how to structure a novel or create believable dialogue.
Anne—Well said. There are so many variables in the editor-author relationship, it helps for the writer to be clear about how the process works & what the goal is.
So true, Anne! And writers should always get a sample edit from the editor of the book they want edited. I offer a free sample edit of about 8-12 pages from the beginning of the book, so authors can get an idea of how I’d handle their work. That also gives me a chance to see the level of editing needed – whether it’s just a light copyedit of grammar, spelling, punctuation and sentence flow, or whether it needs more deep content or structural advice. When I return the sample edit, I always mention any “big-picture” issues I noticed, whether it’s a hovering or ping-ponging point of view, flat characters, stilted dialogue, slow pacing, or whatever.
Anne, so true! I’m sure most of us know of writers whose only “editor” is a family member or friend. While their input should not be discounted, they have little or no experience when it comes to critical issues like plotting, pacing, character development, story arc, etc. A friend or family member may enjoy your long and detailed prologue, but an editor could very well point out that it’s all backstory–a big info dump–that will have the reader impatient for the “real” story to begin. This same editor may suggest, that you could just as easily weave in bits and pieces of the backstory in a more natural way throughout your manuscript instead of one big dump. (pardon the pun)
I have a luncheon meeting to attend and will respond to the rest of the comments when I return this evening. This has been so much fun reading all your comments! You have a great group of readers on your blog, Ruth!
Sherrie, dashing off in haste and hoping I haven’t made any typos! *g*
Hi, Ruth.
Well done! Thanks so much for involving me in this project.
Hi Matt–Thanks for checking in! Matt was super busy tagging calves (that is what you were doing, isn’t it, Matt? lol) when I contacted him but he was nice enough to make time for my questions so we all owe him many thanks for his input.
Hi, Matt! (one editor waving to another) Hope you got all those calves tagged. A little physical activity after spending hours editing helps clear the head, doesn’t it? In my case, calf tagging sounds like a lot more fun than vacuuming and dusting!
I usually leave the spell check on. Sometimes it’s helpful. Sometimes it’s not. There are times when I talk back to my computer, trying to convince it that the word was NOT mistyped. Unfortunately, it does not listen, even when I yell.
Loved the spell check poem and the “piece of shut”.
Helen—Now you can call your computer a “piece of shut” next time your spell check ignores you!
Yes, I do that, too, Helen. So many times the spell check is wrong and I have to override it, and mention to my clients to ignore the wavy blue line under the word, as it is indeed correct!
Helen, I leave my spell check on at all times. Anything that can save me a little time is appreciated. I think most of us who use the spell checker are familiar with the fact that it often tries to correct things that don’t need to be corrected. Still, it is a useful aid. My problem is that I’m a fast typist, but I have old fingers. When I’m smokin’ the keyboard, my fingers sometimes slip off the keys and hit another key, or they just don’t do what I want them to (think arthritis).
This was a great, timely and eye-opening post for me! I must be really naive, but would a writer’s agent get involved in developmental consults? Or – be still my beating heart – a writer’s editor? Is there such a thing as a writer whose agent and editor act as a team, a sort of sounding board, for that writer? I read somewhere once where Mary Higgins Clark sends a chapter at a time to her editor for feedback as she writes. I know, I know. Mary Higgins Clark is not like us. But still. I dreamt that would happen to me (it did not and has not). Are all the top bestselling authors in on a secret I didn’t know? Do they all hire their own freelance editors to work with them before their agent lays eyes on it? I always thought this was part of what a good agent got 15 percent for. No? I like what you all had to say, btw. Very informative!
Margaret—thanks for the kind words. There is no single answer to your question. MHC is at a point where she gets what she wants. If sending in one ch at a time helps her, then that’s how she & her editor (Michael Korda) work. Other writers would tell MichaelK to buzz off. And in no uncertain terms, either! On bestseller levels, it’s generally the writer who determines the working system.
Some writers go ballistic when either an agent or editor starts trying to shape a ms; others accept it as part of the job. Harlequin has quite clear guidelines for writers; some editors are strict about the guidelines, others much less so.
No, there’s no secret and not ALL bestselling authors hire their own editor. Some do, some don’t, some have agents or in-house editors they work with closely. In publishing, there are no hard and fast rules. Essentially, the bottom line is “whatever works.”
Margaret, more and more authors are going the indie publishing route and hiring reputable, knowledgeable freelance editors to edit their manuscript for them. Be sure to find an editor who reads and edits your genre, check out their website and testimonials / reviews / references, and get that sample edit of at least several pages of your manuscript first. That will give you an idea of how that editor would handle your work.
Excellent answers, Ruth and Jodie! Margaret, there are as many answers to your question as there are authors. I know several best-selling authors who belong to critique groups of 3-4 trusted fellow writersin their own genre. I know of other authors who won’t let anyone see their work until it’s finished. Some authors like to discuss their WIP and get opinions/ideas from others. Other authors feel that discussing a WIP drains the energy from the story. This is why it’s so important to find an editor who is just right for you. When I get a new inquiry, I ask the client what he or she expects from me. Most of them start out by saying their piece is polished and ready for publication, and they just want me to do a quick check before they start shopping it around. Nine times out of 10 the author’s piece needs considerably more than a “quick check.” That can be alarming and upsetting to a client. It can also be a real eye opener, and an incredible learning experience for the client, making future client/editor relationships more productive and cost effective for subsequent works.
Margaret and Sherry,
I find the same thing – clients contact me saying they just need a light copyedit to check for grammar, spelling, and maybe smooth out the phrasing a bit. Then when I go to do a sample edit, I find numerous bigger issues that need to be addressed, like hovering or ping-ponging point of view, cardboard characters, stilted dialogue, lack of tension and conflict, slow pacing, and so on. And yes, that can often be shocking for the client to find out that they need to do some guided reading or get a developmental or content edit, and then roll up their sleeves and do some serious revising or even rewriting. But if they’re willing to do the work involved, not only will it increase that manuscript’s chance of getting published and selling well, but they’ll also take their own fiction-writing skills up a level or two, which will make the next novel so much easier to write well.
Jodie, I’m so glad I’m not the only one! I suspect other editors get this, too–a new client thinking their manuscript just needs a quick professional eye, when in fact it turns out to need much more than that.
I place writers in two categories:
(1) Those who want to improve as writers and approach it in a professional and dedicated manner. They work hard at it, taking writing workshops, attending seminars, reading books on the craft of writing, and attending local writing chapter meetings. They seek constructive criticism, don’t take that criticism personally, develop the hide of a rhinoceros (absolutely necessary if you want to grow!), and steadily improve as a result. They keep informed about the industry and maintain a regular writing schedule.
(2) Those who dream of being a multi-published, best-selling author, but aren’t able to take the hard knocks and dedicated effort to get there. They’re convinced their manuscript is so wonderful that no editor will find fault with it. These dear people are unprepared for editorial criticism. Writing is not easy. Getting edited is definitely not easy. Falling all to pieces after an edit or critique is (and please forgive me for saying this) a bit unprofessional.
I hope the above doesn’t sound pedantic and harsh. Well, okay, so it’s pedantic and harsh. *g* But seriously, editors work very hard for their clients, because they want to see them get published and get glowing reviews and become best sellers. It’s sometimes hard for the client to remember that their editor’s goals for that manuscript are the same as the client’s!
Apologies for this long reply, but I hope you’ll forgive me for commenting on one other aspect of Jodie’s response, where she said an editor can help the client’s fiction-writing skills improve and the next novel will be easier to write. I’ll take that a step further and say that it will also save you money. The more you improve as a writer, the less time your editor will spend on your manuscript. *g*
I’m afraid once I hit the “post comment” button I’ll run screaming for the hills when I see how long it is, but I’ve spent so much time editing and re-editing this comment that I’m just going to close my eyes and do it. Here goes . . .
Well said, Sherrie! I absolutely agree with every word you said, and I’m glad you didn’t delete a single one of them! (Good editing. LOL)
Just in case anyone STILL thinks stuff like grammar doesn’t matter, poor grammar can be the difference between getting a job and getting passed over.
http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/07/i_wont_hire_people_who_use_poo.html
Oh dear. I sooooo agree with the author of that link, Ruth! I used to be teased as a kid for correcting the grammar and punctuation on cereal boxes and newspaper ads. I used to read novels with a red pen, pouncing with glee on grammar errors. But then I’m one of those people who stands on a street corner waiting for the “walk” signal even if there isn’t a car for miles around. And God help me, I make snap judgments about people who write “alot” instead of “a lot” and who say “asterix” instead of “asterisk.” It’s a fatal gene. There’s no cure. Yet being an editor is no guarantee that I won’t make mistakes in my own writing, especially when done in haste.
Sherrie—All I can tell you is that I STILL can’t read without a pen or pencil in my hand!!!! Especially my own Random House, Macmillan, St. Martin’s Press & S&S hard cover editions. I’m still editing/revising. It’s a sickness. No diagnosis. No cure. It’s the Old Editors’ Syndrome, I guess.
Old Editors’ Syndrome, eh? Well, I’m doomed, then!
Good topic, Ruth, and an excellent breakdown of the different types of editing. They can be tough distinctions to grasp. Even in my newsroom, there are some who don’t get the distinction between content editing and copy editing. (Usually also the people with the least grasp on AP style.)
Jennie—thanks for your comment & observation. Newbies have trouble understanding the differences &, as you say, even professionals who work in newsrooms.
Jennie, I dream of a world where everyone practices good grammar and where I never ever write *it’s* when I mean *its*. Oh well, one can dream, right? I guess that’s why we have editors.
Thank you, Ruth, for including me! It’s fun to read the comments both of the readers and the other editors. I love hearing what people seek and expect in an editor and what other editors’ approaches are to taking on a new project. I look forward to the next installments!
much more interesting than expected, really neat information! thanks
looking fwd to the follow-up,
“Next time, our editors will answer questions about genre-specific editing, choosing an editor and the ins and outs of plot/character/story structure edits.”