March 1, 2012 · 12:19 am
Bio: A late arrival on the professional scene, having edited casually for years while farming and raising children, I plunged into professional editing in 2006. I have edited novels, ad and web copy, business correspondence, and assisted with writing after dinner and political speeches as well as a report which was submitted to our provincial government.
(I can send you a one page document I call my condensed resume.)
I charge a flat $30 per hour for all services.
Strong suit is fiction, preference for historical tales, strong women characters. I shy away from anything sexually or violently explicit.
Most often do line editing, checking punctuation, spelling, grammar, sentence structure and clarity, style, continuity and consistency, trimming to make the writing tight, concise and smooth flowing.
Samples are available of published work upon receipt of authors’ permission. I am not asked as a rule.
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Slash and Burn a.k.a. The Cutting Room Floor
“I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. Demille.”
If you are old enough to remember the world of celluloid you know that editing in film used to be more complicated than merely deleting scenes digitally. Film strips were literally cut and spliced. Directors knew what to cut, and they kept the pace of the flick ticking along. Writers and actors lamented that their best work frequently did not make it into the final cut.
If you aspire to be a writer there are a few things you need to keep in mind. Less is often more. Cut all unnecessary words. Cut, trim, then trim some more. Use long sentences broken up with short ones. Paragraph length should also vary.
Don’t attempt to impress your readers with your vocabulary. If they have to look up words they will lose interest. Keep it simple. Keep it effective.
Don’t date yourself or your work by using slang. It’s old before your book goes to print.
Be CONSISTENT. Edit for continuity. If she says something in chapter two that she contradicts in chapter six you either have a character who is unbalanced or dishonest, or you have a blooper. Respect your readers. Assume they are intelligent. These things will not go unnoticed.
Edit, edit, re-edit. Rewrite. Redo. Your first draft is really just an outline. Know when the story is over. Also beware of ending abruptly. If you have a specific word count limit don’t meet it by a fizzling the climax. Don’t betray the trust of your audience. Respect, respect, respect.
Take pride in your work and believe in yourself.
***
I realize that not every editor/proofreader is perfect for every writer. This is why I am presenting the series, Editor Spotlight. If you know an editor or proofreader who would like to participate, ask them to contact me at karenselliott AT midco DOT net. The Editor Spotlight series will be presented throughout the next several months in between my regular blog posts and special theme weeks. – Karen S. Elliott
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One of my, while not a pet peeve, but an “issue” is when writers reference someone as looking liking some “famous” person who, unless they are huge icons that stand the test of time, won’t give the reader a reference. If someone writes, “She looked like Jane Doe” – and let’s just say Jane Doe is an actress or singer who was in a few movies or had a top rated song and then kind of drifted out of site. So I have no reference to who Jane Doe is and what she looks like. I’d rather no description at all than one that leave me discombobulated
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Excellent advice. Cutting and rearranging can often salvage a writing project when nothing else can.
Great advise Wendy, thanks!
Karen, many thanks for running this editor spotlight of an Indie Author’s most valuable resource–a fine editor. Wendy, I can’t wait to begin working with you in March on the line edit of Second Chance Grill!
Thanks for the comments and support, and I look forwarding to supporting you as well in your pursuits.
Karen, this is a innovative way to introduce the various professionals and their crafts. I am excited about Plum Tree Books and I live the Pay-it-forward philosophy.
Karen & Wendy: I’d like to point out something I hope will hit home with authors who read your Editor Spotlight.
In May 2011, I queried book review blogs for my debut, Treasure Me. I received an abundance of positive responses. Many book sites were happy to give an Indie author a chance.
I’ve recently returned to queries–this time for my March 2012 release, The Tree of Everlasting Knowledge. I’ve noticed a terrible change. Many sites no longer review Indie books. The dedicated folks who run those sites are tired of submissions by Indie writers that are badly conceived and poorly edited.
Quite a few of those reviewers went ahead and reviewed my 2nd release–word gets around when a given novelist produces professional prose–but I worry about the Indie Market as a whole. If debut Indie novelists don’t hire a professional editor, the odds of garnering those all-important reviews will become more difficult than ever.
And see the typo!
I love proving my own point.
Who needs an editor? We all do!
Christine, it would be a wonderful thing if every independent author could grasp the truth in what you are saying. It is the single most important factor in self-publishing. I was not aware that the reviewers had walked away in disgust, but I am not at all surprised.
(P.S. The typo was in my post, not yours. Yours just beat mine to publication.)
Wendy, I wouldn’t have known of the change in blog submissions were it not for my impending release. Some of the “Review Guidelines” are now quite discouraging. One gets the sense that many of these dedicated reviewers are simply fed up with poorly edited Indies. And so they give up, and return to reading only works produced in New York and London.
Kat – I do not like that either. If it’s someone that is an ICON, like Paul Newman, then yes, it’s okay. Duncan – I have completely re-arranged many of my stories (thanks to my editor Shawn MacKenzie) and the stories are better for it.
Unfortunately, in the indie market, it’s rather easy to pick out who had an editor/proofreader and who did not. I have put down (or deleted from Kindle) dozens of books in the last few months, many times just for typos. I’m an editor/proofreader and I hired an editor to help me with my upcoming collections. I realize, even as nit-picky as I am, I can’t see my own work with a truly critical eye.
The fact they the poorly or completely unedited novels are so easy to pick is disheartening, and I am always embarrassed for the author. When I can see so much potential it is a shame that they rushed to publication either because of impatience or lack of funds. They end up wasting every cent they spend on publication anyway.
I need to slow down, too!
No one, and I mean no one can do without an editor. That is like expecting an orchestra to breathe as one without a conductor. Editing is the most important part of my writing process. It is how I make a sentence sing. I learned about the musicality of words, the importance of phrasing when singing in recording studios and working with the best producers. Creating any form of art is a ‘process.’ I never tire of reworking a sentence, just as I never tired of finding my way inside a song. Surely this is the pure joy of any creative enterprise?
Only when what I have written sings am I ready for final edits. Then I send my creation to a carefully chosen and treasured editor.
Excellent analogy Niamh. Painters and photographers describe it as the blending of colours, shadows, perspective.
I can confidently speak for all editors I think when I say that we love an author who goes over the manuscript tweaking and polishing before submitting it for editing. It saves money, too. If we have to do the clean up we can rack up a lot of hours.
Great tips Wendy. I just finished a draft and I have a lot of edits to do, before I let a professional get a hold of my manuscript. Karen thanks for doing this series. It’s so important, especially now as many writers work on self-publish projects. Every writer’s work needs a good editor.
“Writing a book is an adventure. To begin with, it is a toy and an amusement; then it becomes a mistress, and then it becomes a master, and then a tyrant. The last phase is that just as you are about to be reconciled to your servitude, you kill the monster, and fling him out to the public.”~ Winston Churchill
He describes the process, If you take each stage as a self-edit, he did three of them. The mistress, the master and the tyrant. I am going to take the liberty of thinking that killing the monster is when you hand it over to an editor.
Niamh – love the orchestra analogy. Excellent!
Stacy – I’ll bet you are thrilled to get that first draft done – Congratulations!
This is funny and accurate so enjoy.
Super excited about this series! I would’ve laughed a whole lot more at the video, if I wasn’t so horrified by the reality of “too-close-to-my-own-boo-boos,” to be amused :-O
Barbara, I found the video strangely comforting. We all goof up, and I think poking fun at it helps authors realize that editors are not ogres who cannot wait to trash their work.
Fun video! Thanks for posting Wendy (sorry I’ve been absent – my satellite internet connection was a no-show the last 24 hours).
Isn’t it? I loved it.
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