Why Providing Clear Guidance Matters for Editors
In the Club Ed membership group, we were discussing a (published) how-to book aimed at writers. One of the editors mentioned how the information was presented in a confusing way and that this made it difficult for her to continue reading. Then she remarked, “My mind is generally in a state of burden.”
I don’t know a single one of us who didn’t feel that remark in their bones. Everyone is in a state of burden.
Why Providing Clear Guidance Matters for Editors
THIS is why I harp so much on making your queries and guidance crystal clear and easy to understand when you’re editing. This is why providing clear guidance matters for editors because your clients are in a state of mental burden. If they have to decode your cryptic comments in order to understand your edit, they’re probably not going to do so. They may not even reach out for clarification. See: “My mind is generally in a state of burden.”
Keep this in mind from your first encounter with a potential client to the receipt of your final payment from them.
Help your clients succeed by checking that they understand your policies and expectations, remind them when a booked edit is coming up, ensure that your edit outlines a doable and cohesive revision (rather than overwhelming the AU with a laundry list of a hundred things going wrong), and include the next steps when you deliver your edit even if you’ve already described them previously.
This isn’t hand-holding and “doesn’t anyone know how to adult anymore?” This is recognizing that we are all dealing with a lot, all the time, and a little understanding goes a long way. The ability to show your best self (and work) to authors and clients is why providing clear guidance matters for editors.
Tips for Editors & Writers
-
Evaluating Your Own Work
One of the challenges writers often face is not knowing whether their work is on the right track. How do you know if your novel is any good? We often only vaguely understand what we mean by “Is my work any good?” And we often ask others for input – friends, family, beta readers, freelance…
-
How to Edit: Less Is More
My best book editing tip is just three words: Less is more. The deliverables for a developmental edit are (1) an edited manuscript and (2) a revision letter. It doesn’t get any more basic than that! Basics of Book Editing Deliver an edited manuscript and a revision letter. That’s it. Sometimes newer editors also add…
-
How to show a story
We often talk about telling stories, but how to tell a story is something of a misnomer for novelists. A novelist needs to show the story. Undoubtedly you’ve heard the old advice, “Show, don’t tell.” And you may have heard that yes, indeed, you can and should sometimes tell. For example, you don’t need to…
