From Edie: Discover the essential stages of the publishing edit and learn how writers can work effectively with content, copy, and proof editors. Gain practical tips for meeting deadlines, improving clarity, and building strong editor partnerships to help your manuscript shine.
Understanding the Editing Process: What Every Writer Should Know About Working With Editors
by Cindy K. Sproles @CindyDevoted
They came. I wondered when they would arrive, and they finally came—my proofing edits from the publisher. Once your book is contracted and begins its journey down the publishing pipeline, you’ll meet up with several different editors.
Let’s take a second to familiarize ourselves with the types of editors (and these are just a few). The content editor will review your manuscript, identifying any plot discrepancies or areas that require clarification. They’ll note when descriptions are not working, or characters may become lost in the story. Content editors are responsible for ensuring the story flows smoothly from beginning to end and that all the plot points work together effectively.
After content, you’ll meet up with a general editor who’ll begin to clean up grammar, make sure all your sentence construction is in order, and that everything is clear.
Depending on the need, you may be assigned to a sensitivity editor whose role is to ensure that cultural and racial implications are appropriately addressed and corrected if necessary.
And finally, you’ll be assigned to a proofreading editor whose job is to proofread the work and catch those last-minute typos, clarifications, or details that were missed during the other processes. Now that you’re up to snuff on a few editors, let’s look at the difficulty found in editing.
Editors not only face continual trend changes in writing styles, but the rules are also continually being updated. What was once acceptable now becomes taboo. Simply keeping up with the rule changes can be a full-time job. A few months ago, an editor friend suggested I purchase a new version of the Chicago Manual of Style. So, I did. Not only was the cost considerable, but when the book arrived, it weighed a small ton. I later discovered that there’s an online version which would have made life easier—oh well, live and learn, right? The point is that the changes that occur weekly in the writing rules make editing a very laborious job.
Here are three things a writer can do to help make the editing process easier.
1. Never miss a deadline. Editors work on more than one manuscript at a time, and these manuscripts are tediously balanced on a timeframe. When a writer fails to meet a deadline or requests an extension, a block is removed from the timeframe balance. Things will begin to teeter. Can you see the importance of meeting deadlines? Not only is the timeframe thrown out of balance for the editor, but every remaining step in the process is affected. This is not to say that safeguards are not built into—they are—but when too many blocks become disjointed, things can be significantly affected not only for your work but for all the other manuscripts that an editor has in play.
2. Write with clarity. As writers, we assume everyone understands everything we write. For the most part, folks do understand, but then logistics, culture, and time come into play. Here’s an example. I write Appalachian historical fiction, and I cannot assume that someone who lives in the northwestern United States will understand everything about life in the Appalachian Mountains. In my first novel, I wrote about “going over the gap.” My editor contacted me asking if we could name the gaps. She couldn’t acclimate herself in the story. My first inclination was to laugh out loud. I thought everyone understood what it means to “go over the gap.” I mean, you either go over, go around, go through, or go past the gap. Right?
I learned a good lesson that day. Everyone doesn’t understand the Appalachian culture or what we mean by “going over the gap,” so naming the gaps I referred to gave the editor context—a place she could plant her feet in her imagination and understand how to get from here to there. Practice clarity, especially on the logistical and cultural side of your writing. Remember, your editor may not understand what you are trying to say. Even if it means making a side note on a particularly difficult scene to help the editor understand the concept. What may be very commonplace where you live may have no context at all to someone across the country. Editors have the job of ensuring that clarity is built into your work, so that as many readers as possible can read it as seamlessly as possible and enjoy your book. As much as I love and want to keep all the deep intricacies of the mountains alive, I have to draw a line in the dirt and not “over do” or assume the reader gets it. When the day is done, you and your editor hold the gift of clarity in your hands for the reader.
3. Your editor is your friend. It’s important to remember that your editor is your friend. Publishers are not in the habit of hiring editors to ruin work they have invested money in. Your editor should be the one person at a publishing house who “gets” what you write and who can champion you if something comes into question. The gift of an editor is to polish and shine the words you have crafted, so when you get those rounds of edits back, don’t look at them as disagreements. Look at them as tweaks to improve the clarity, enhance the story, and raise the bar. Editors spend hours on your manuscript, and they are human. You cannot expect every editor to understand every detail, no matter how hard they try. Keep in mind, this process they lead you through will be the sugar on the donut when all is said and done. After my first novel underwent the editing process, I received the final copy to review. I remember sobbing as I read the book. My editor had taken a single word here, or a line there, and added her special wordsmithing skills to turn out a beautiful, melodious symphony of words. I was taken aback. Her skill was such that I questioned whether I’d actually written the words. I had. She just added a touch of shine. Your editor is your friend.
When disagreements arise—and they will, because we are a group of people working together. Rather than digging down and refusing to hear what an editor says, place a phone call. Email lacks so much, and inflection is its biggest enemy. Sometimes the easiest way to solve an issue is simply to talk ear-to-ear and hear what your editor is saying. Often, it just takes talking to help one another understand. There may be times when you are passionate about certain changes, but you may find yourself at a stalemate. I would say first, choose your battles, and secondly, contact your agent. Your agent is the intermediary person who will plead your case to the editor. If you involve your agent, step aside and let them do their job. They will negotiate an acceptable edit. But again, choose your battles. You never want to be so hard to work with that you have a label attached to you called “problem author.” As I mentioned, 99% of misunderstandings regarding edits can be resolved with a simple phone call to the editor. Make it a goal NOT to have to include your agent.
Writing is a give-and-take craft. It’s also subjective, which makes it challenging for an editor as well. What one editor gets, another won’t, but it’s important to remember that your editor is your team member and when a book is complete, sitting on a shelf, they take great pride in having a hand in making your work shine.
Develop good working relationships with your editors. Utilize them to make your work its very best.
TWEETABLE
No comments:
Post a Comment