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 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 are the same for both traditional and self-publication, it's just the players that may change.

Trick from the Editor’s Hat: The Top-and-Tail Edit

It doesn't matter how you look at it, editing is a BIG job. Any little tricks to help make things flow are always handy to have.

Here is just one of the many tricks that I employ when editing both my own and clients' writing, giving me a way to examine story flow.

The Top-and-Tail Edit

The idea behind a top-and-tail edit is that you examine the transitions between chapter and sections, looking at the last paragraph(s) of one chapter and reading the first paragraph(s) of the next. Everything in the middle is ignored. This is only looking at the transitions.

This particular idea is highly effective with the development of the cliff-hanger endings.

There’s an Art to Providing Feedback

Over the last two weeks, we've been talking about feedback: how to handle feedback and how one might go about finding critique partners. But there is another aspect to this equation that also needs to be covered. I'm talking about the act of actually providing feedback to other writers.

It's all great to be given feedback, but when the tables are turned, you'll be asked to give feedback too. However, providing feedback is more than saying what it is you do and don't like about a piece. It's about more than just pointing out the grammatical errors. And there is a trick to providing that feedback, so you can stay true to yourself while providing honest, useful feedback, but avoid crushing the souls of other writers.

So, let's get started.

Critique Partner Dating

Working with critique partners and beta readers is an important part of the editing process. These are people who are looking at your manuscripts when you have become too close to them and help you identify the weak areas. There are differences between critique partners and beta readers, each having a different focus and coming in a different stages of editing.

Your critique partners tend to be involved during the early stages of editing, looking at a story's development. As such, their purpose it to help you identify weak areas of your manuscript, where the writing itself needs to develop or you need to look more into the nitty-gritty of your subject matter.

A beta reader, on the other hand, looks at the full manuscript and is there to provide you with those reader reactions. You can even employ a special breed of beta reader known as a sensitivity reader, who is one who focuses on the way in which you handled the subject matter.

Understanding what these two different types of readers do is one thing. Finding them is something entirely different.

Handling Feedback

The Real Costs of Editing. Here we go again!

Within my various editing groups, there seems to be a common complaint among editors, and it revolves around the issue of appropriate rates to charge. We editors seem to be in this "damned if we do, damned if we don't" position.

Most of us encounter those who look at our quoted rates and balk at the price — but as one said to me the other day, it's not necessarily the people we think either. (She sent out two quotes the week before, with the same rate quoted: one to a lawyer and the other to a retired gentleman. It was the lawyer who complained about the cost. The retired gentleman smiled as he paid the bill.) The flip side of this coin is that some look at our rates and compare it to the rates offered by others, and go, "Oh, you mustn't be very good. You're not charging anywhere near enough for what you say you do."

What are we editors to do?

Most of us encounter the former type of writer more than anything. Let's face it, there's this inherent nature that people have to be stingy with their finances, complaining that they can't get something for free. There's not a lot I can do about the second category, but with the first, I can educate writers about what it is they really face when working with freelance editors.

What Exactly is VOICE? A Literary Term Defined

I love your voice. You need more voice. We're seeking a strong voice.

I don't know how many times I've seen strong voice listed among the desirable traits on an agent's wish list, or comments on those critiquing blogs about lacking a distinctive voice. Meanwhile, the comments from various writers climb: What exactly is voice?

To put it simply, voice is the personality in the writing. It's about understanding how to get your personality, or that of your characters, to shine through on the page. Everything else is meaningless.

Here's the thing about voice: it's something that develops over time as you become more confident with writing. Basically, there really is only one way to develop a strong voice: write, edit, write, edit, write, edit, lather, rinse and repeat.

Is First Person Really More Intimate?

Some time ago, a writing buddy of mine received a “Revise and Resubmit” (R&R) on her crime novel, with an attached editorial note stating that the editor thought it would work better in first person.

For a moment, I want to reflect on the simple fact that she got an R&R. People, this is an awesome thing for a writer to get.

It's not a rejection.
The acquisition editor saw something in your story and writing that has great potential, but they felt the manuscript wasn't quite ready to take before the powers that be who issue and sign contracts. The editor is giving the writer another chance.

If you get an R&R, celebrate! Then take the time to look over the editorial notes and seriously consider their merits.

Okay, so after we finished celebrating the fact she got an R&R, she told a group of fellow writers about the editor wanting the manuscript in first person. There were roughly ten of us around the table that day, and several piped up quickly to say, "first-person narratives were more intimate." There I was, sitting on the other side of the table, biting my tongue. The others in the room were so adamant about their view, and nothing I could say would change their point of view. More importantly, my writing buddy agreed with them.

A Synopsis is NOT a Blurb

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been helping writing buddies prepare submissions for various writing contests. From PitchWars through to RWNZ’s Great Beginning, each of these contest required a synopsis as part of the submission packet. PitchWars required a query letter too. However, there was one thing that seemed to be a constant theme: there was confusion about the difference between a synopsis and a blurb.

To put it simply, a blurb is the short teaser that snags the interest of a reader, enticing them to read more. This is what is typically used on the back cover of a printed book. It’s a blurb that one will find in a query letter.

A synopsis is the spoiler alert, containing ALL plot points from the main thread of the story from start to finish, including the ending. It’s an editing tool that the public will never see unless you let them.

Let’s break this down a bit further.
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Using an Editorial Synopsis to Find a Story Split

So you've gotten into writing this story idea, and the word counts are steadily climbing. You're not even a third of the way through your intended plot, and already you've hit the industry accepted word count for your genre. Before you rush off to turn your manuscript into a trilogy, think this through.

As I've discussed before in the post Length matters, but story matters more, agents and editors use word counts as a first-level indication of the maturity of the writing. Going dramatically over what is considered to be an acceptable word count length could be a sign of over writing — writing that is filled with too much backstory or unnecessary description. Yet, coming under the word count could be a sign that not enough attention was given to the details — that a story is all tell and no show.

But let's say that you are the most gifted writer on the planet, and that every word in your manuscript has its purpose. (We'll ignore the fact that a professional editor will have different ideas, but we'll carry on.) There is no way that you can do your story proper justice in a single book. Or maybe you set out from the beginning to actually write a series.

The place where a novel finishes is NOT when you hit 100,000 words, but rather when a story plot arc comes to a conclusion. This is where the dreaded synopsis can help in a big way.

Writers who are heading down the traditional publication path are likely about to scream at me. Synopses are scary things — whittling that 80,000+ words into only 500. But that's a submission synopsis. What I'm talking about is an editorial synopsis.