I’m sharing some thoughts on the characteristics of satire, including the message, characters, and plots—helpful to authors and editors! Characteristics of Satire: The Message Matters Most I have previously mentioned how some of our assumptions about fiction don’t always hold, and I gave an example of the anti-hero of a comic novel. Which made me…
Setting client expectations at the very beginning of a working relationship is necessary to provide the best editing services when working with authors. Setting Client Expectations: What Does the Client Want? Because editorial functions can go by different names, the first rule of freelance editing (whether developmental or otherwise) is to figure out what your…
Understanding the differences in the various types of book editing will help editors fine-tune their craft. Types of Book Editing It’s important to distinguish the different types of book editing—an edit that is largely intended to deal with big-picture problems (the developmental edit) and one that is meant to catch sentence-level problems (a copyedit). It’s…
If you’re an author hoping to have your work published, it helps to know how publishers acquire novels so you can navigate the process. The Basics of How Publishers Acquire Novels I shared some basic information in this post on traditional publication, but I wanted to share some thoughts from the perspective of an acquisitions…
Whether you’re a developmental editor, a copyeditor, or a line editor, avoiding scope creep is necessary so you can deliver your best work to clients. Avoiding Scope Creep for Editors When we edit novels, much of our work involves evaluating the problems in the manuscript and suggesting possible revisions for the author. If Joe’s character…
As a developmental editor, you won’t be copyediting, but you do need to be familiar with the authoritative editing style guides copy editors use. Basic Editing Style Guides Most of my clients have wanted me to follow The Chicago Manual of Style with some variations. That is standard for book publishing, so it pays to…
If you’re determined to become a successful author and earn income from your writing, here are some tried and true tips for building a writing career. My Tips for Building a Writing Career Coaching clients sometimes ask me about how to continue a promising writing career. You can’t throw a rock without hitting someone who…
Starting and running a freelance business costs money, and you need to know how to build your editing business on a budget. This is an unfortunate irony at a time when many people have lost their jobs and would like to freelance to earn income but don’t have much spare change to invest in it….
As a developmental editor, you need to know how to create defensible edits of a manuscript to help authors put out their best work. Tips for How to Create Defensible Edits When you’re doing a developmental edit—looking at the big-picture overview of a novel—you’ll generally be expected to provide two main services: The editing on…
Both authors and editors have the same question at some point in the book writing / publishing process: When is a book ready for editing? So When IS a Book Ready for Editing? The creative process is not timely and linear, which is why, as an editor, I don’t book edits before an author’s manuscript…