The Art of Editing...

It takes more than 'just' an author to get a novel written and published. No matter what route of publication is chosen - traditional or independent, self-published - behind every author there is a group of other people who are all playing a vital role in honing and producing that author's writing.

I know that this is certainly true for me. I have a close-knit group of people who I trust with my nervous-heart and nascent stories. Without their assitance, ongoing support and professional skills my books would be much lesser.

So I wanted to highlight a few of these valuable people - to give them their due time in whatever spotlight my 'platform' can provide for them!

First up is the wonderful Jill Merle, who runs a proofreading and editing company called Little Red Lines. Jill has edited both of my books in the Beyond Veils Series, and is super brilliant at it. She is nitpicky in exactly the right way!

So, after she had got over the workload of editing my second book, The Truth of Her, I asked her this question:

What advice would you give anyone who has written a manuscript they intend to publish?

1. The first piece of advice I would give is to set the finished article aside for a couple of weeks and then re-read it. You will be looking at your work through fresh eyes and stand a better chance of catching any plot holes, spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. Run it through a spell check – Word picks up on grammar issues, too.
2. Once you are happy you have done the best you can with it, and if you have worked in Word, make use of the ‘Speak selected text’ button (at the very top of the screen). Hide yourself away so you can’t be disturbed, highlight each paragraph, press the button, and listen to your work being spoken aloud. You will be surprised by what you discover may need amending; misplaced punctuation, clunky sentences and stilted dialogue are the main culprits. (If you have worked in a different program, print it out and read it aloud to yourself, marking up areas that just don’t sound right.)
3. If you have beta readers, send them a copy, give them a week or so to read it, and ask them to tell you what works and what doesn’t. Again, they may pick up mistakes you are blind to (all authors become blind to their own work – your brain knows what you wanted to say and reads it as though that’s what you’ve written)!
4. Send your work to a proof reader. When I proof anything, I not only check for spelling and grammar errors, I also check word usage. (For example, if you have written the word ‘compromise’ in a sentence where the word required was ‘comprehend’—please note, a spell checker won’t pick this up if you’ve spelled the original word correctly and you may have become blind to it.)
5. If you have followed all of the above advice your next step is to hire a copy editor.  Remember, the cheapest is not necessarily the best; like everything in life, you get what you pay for. Before you hire anyone, do your research. Ask those you like the sound of to complete a sample edit of a few pages and send them each a copy of the same pages (this is important because when it comes back you will then go over each proofed copy carefully). Make sure the editor you choose is the one who hasn’t missed anything, whose work is most closely aligned to your vision, and is also someone you can get along with. This is vital! Your baby is in their hands and if you are unsure of them you won’t trust their judgment. Don’t be scared of all the red marks and comments. Any editor worth their salt will make a lot of comments offering their advice on what you can do to make your manuscript fabulous. Be warned, if you receive work back that has very few comments, the editor is only paying lip service to your manuscript.
6. So, you’ve chosen your editor, sent it off, and waited with baited breath for it to come back. When it does, take a deep breath, relax, and read their suggestions carefully. It won’t surprise you to know that my next piece of advice is that you make their suggested amendments! An editor is there to make your work the best it can be. The amendments they suggest are for the good of your manuscript. If you disagree with something ask them why they have made that suggestion, and if you still disagree, you are free to make the choice to leave it as it is—ultimately, it’s your work and your decision. (However, if you find you are disagreeing with a lot of their suggestions, either you have picked the wrong editor or perhaps (sorry) you are being a wee bit precious about your work…)
7. A good editor will be sympathetic to your work. They will ask questions. They will check in with you that you are happy with what they are doing. They will worry over your work in much the same way you did when you wrote it – your work will, after all, be a reflection on them and they’ll also want repeat business and recommendations…