Carol Hegberg - Self-Interview

Professional

What led you to become an editor?

I like fixing people's written words. As a child, I wrote and printed our neighborhood newspaper. (Only one copy per issue that was passed around.) My college degree and professional work is in journalism and photojournalism. Though I worked well with photography, my natural inclination is to write and edit words.

What do you like most about your job as a freelance writer/editor?

The freedom, reading stories, and meeting new people.>

How do you, as an editor, help a writer improve his or her book?

I offer professional advice and suggestions, and the client may accept and use them or disagree and not use them. That sounds obvious. Yet each manuscript is individual. With my editing, I provide reasons for my changes; therefore, the client can learn for future writings.

What kinds of authors do you enjoy working with?

Co-operative people.

What kinds of authors are difficult to work with?

People who want to control me and my work, who don't meet deadlines, and yet expect me to.

Describe the qualities of your perfect client.

What I have dealt with these past years and what I expect in myself: honesty, consideration, patience, cooperation, and presentation of the manuscript and payment on time.

Describe your nightmare client.

I have not had one. Yet I do not want to work with someone whose edit material is nothing like what was proposed in the sample edits.

Do you refer clients to literary agents, and how much do you charge for that?

No, I do not refer clients.

Do you help your clients with a book proposal?

I can make suggestions.

Do you help your clients with agent/publisher selection?

I can make publisher suggestions, but not agents.

I have wonderful material. How do I begin writing it?

1. Organize the material in some form or divide the material into sections. By folders, computer files, note cards, or whatever.

2. Devise an outline. Everything can be changed (and probably will be) later.

3. Start to mold the material on paper and see where it moves. Often what's in your head comes out foreign from your mind.

4. If you're writing a novel, and I assume it's the first time because of the question, you should stick to the third-person omniscient. Therefore, you won't be limited in viewpoints. If you don't know what third-person omniscient involves, research it.

5. Read a couple how-to books on novel writing. Don't ask which ones. Choose ones that strike your imagination and ring right for you. Novel writing is an exciting, creative process. Most writers will say the writing is the fun—but hard—part.

6. Continue to take notes and write individual stories or scenes for your book. They (or the novel) don't have to be written in sequence.

7. Don't worry about time. That's been my problem in a story's beginning. Writing and creativity should be timeless when working. Dive into your creation and enjoy. Truly, when you meet your writer self, you will find answers to how your novel will form. One novel may take years to write and hone to your perfection.

What levels of editing do you perform and what are your definitions of each level?

1) Light editing, or proofreading, corrects capitalization, punctuation, spelling, grammatical errors, hyphenation, numerals, fonts,and spacing. Many writers do not realize only one space is used between sentences now.It also includes flagging inappropriate figures of speech and ensuring key terms are consistent.

2) Medium or substantive editing includes the above plus changing passive voice to active voice if requested, suggesting changes to improve the readability and clarity of content, to eliminate repetition, and to sustain consistency in the text.

3) Heavy editing includes the above plus flagging ambiguous or incorrect statements, eliminating wordiness, triteness, and inappropriate jargon, smoothing transitions and moving sentences to improve readability, and rewriting short sections to improve pacing.

4) Developmental editing includes the above and suggests writing changes in plot and organization.

What do you think are the editor's and the writer's roles in the revision process?

The writer writes and provides the editor with material to edit. In a perfect process, the writer will give the editor his/her best writing, honed to its tightest. The editor will then provide another viewpoint and catch not only the grammar and punctuation mistakes but also provide a reader's insight, asking questions and offering advice that the writer can then reject or use to rewrite to improve his/her novel.

What's the difference between "editing" and "correcting"?

Correcting refers to mistakes, grammatical and typographical, even incorrect names, dates, and such.  Editing catches these but also offers insight into what the reader expects in a book, what the writer overlooked or forgot to include, things such as a better character and a more involved plot.

What does a writer get out have having her/his book edited?

A more perfected manuscript to offer a publisher.

Do you prefer to work with character-driven or plot-driven fiction?

Character-driven.

What is the most common piece of advice you give new authors?

Hone your writing. Delete excess adjectives, adverbs, and prepositional phrases.

Do you use fiction books as examples of great writing?

Yes. These change from time to time because I'm always reading new books. Recently I read A Grave in Gaza by Matt Beynon Rees (2008). Good, cleaning writing that gives insight into the present war.

Personal

What are your top five favorite nonfiction books?

Elizabeth George's  Write Away, Heather Sellers' Page by Page, Anne Lamont's Bird by Bird, Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke, and Walking on Alligators by Susan Shaughnessy. It's hard to limit. I use a variety of nonfiction books to encourage me at different times. (Oh, and don't forget Natalie Goldberg's Writing Down the Bones.)

What are helpful books to learn how to format and submit my manuscript, fiction and non-fiction?

A few to get you started:  Writer's Market, Novel & Short Story Writer's Market, Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market, Little Magazines & Small Presses, Writer's Market Companion, Jeff Herman's  Guide to Publishers, Editors, & Literary Agents, Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript  by editors of Writer's Digest Books, Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript by Cynthia Laufenber.

Has any book changed your life? If so, what book and how?

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle awakened my spirit to believe I could write a novel. At that time, I began to see a novel's elements. To Kill a Mockingbird touched me deeply. I wanted to write like Harper Lee about the human issues and yet bring in the beauty of the common life.  When I read The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger for the first time, I was in high school. I so identified some of my feelings with that character. I yearned to write like Salinger for whatever the situation.

Do you have a favorite author?

In my earlier days, Madeleine L'Engle challenged me to write good young adult fiction. George Eliot's passion for writing challenged me to write as a free woman today. Elizabeth George, John Le Carré, and Anne Perry provided great examples of characterization and plots. I thank earlier writers, such as Sylvia Plath and Helen Olson, for their writers' fortitude.

Addendum: Remember your local authors. We all aren't meant to be bestselling, award-winning authors, not if we're going to meet the reading needs of those about us. I enjoy John Albion (Beyond Fate), Sally Walker (Secrets of a Civil War Submarine: Solving the Mysteries of the H.L. Hunley), and Barry Schrader (DeKalb Daily Chronicle columnist).

What's your favorite movie of all time?

I like "Out of Africa" for its story of Isak Dinesen. Knowing the movie was a dramatization, I still thought, What this woman endured!

What is your kind of music?

I love most music at various times. Isn't variety great?

What do you do when you are not writing or editing?

Sew, quilt, knit, play piano and tin whistle, sing, bike, walk, care weekly for grandson Ian, and read daily. With my husband, I cheer for the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bulls.

If you could visit (or return to) any place on Earth, where would it be and why?

Ireland to sit in the western countryside as long as I want. I love that area and the poignant Irish writers like Edna O'Brien and inner-spirit ones like the late John O'Donohue.

Are you involved in community service?

Yes. Local homeless shelter, church, and Network of Nations, which works with international university students.

Do you work with any charitable organizations?

Yes. Operation Christmas Child, American Heart, Costochondritis, Invisible Disabilities, Diabetes Association.

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