Sometimes we editors have to distance ourselves from a manuscript. Sometimes that happens when the scope of work requires a lighter touch from the editor than would best serve the manuscript. For example, a manuscript might be difficult to follow, sparse in its...
Editing & Editors
Food In Fiction
How many of us have favorite books in which there is a food that drives the plot or characterization or just makes the story more interesting? How many of us remember those foods fondly? Maybe those foods make the book even more memorable. Maybe we even associate the...
What Does A Book Copy Editor Do?
I can’t count the number of times a new acquaintance has learned what I do for a living and said, “Oh, I’d love to do that! I’d be great at it. I see typos in books all the time!” People who notice typos in books probably would have a knack for copy editing, and...
The Serenity Prayer for Editors
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.[1] This prayer means something different to editors. I’m not talking about what we editors mutter when we see that the manuscript...
How To Choose A Book Editor
For a year now (or two, or ten), you have been hammering away at your manuscript, revising and reworking every scene and nuance until you know the characters better than you know your spouse. You have sacrificed sleep, dinner with friends, your favorite sitcom, even...
Author-Editor-Dyad
Everyone who creates a work of art, literary or otherwise, needs an editor. Why? Because creation involves different mentalities than craft; and rare is the artist who has the left brain/right brain balance to be creator and audience at the same time. All the arts...
How Editors and Writers Work Together
In a vague sense, every author knows what an editor is there to do—make the manuscript as good as it can be. But how does this process work? And what’s the author’s role in this process? Step 1: Let’s Talk By email or on the phone, the author and the editor meet to...
How To Use Embedded Comments
Do you use Word's “embedded comments” feature? It's a tool I use every day when I am editing, but I also find it extremely handy when I am writing. I often want to leave a note to myself about a character or a plot idea or some back-story, but without stopping to find...
Why You Should Hire A Professional Book Editor
Recently, the New York Times notified their editorial staff that they were going to lay off buy out half of them. So the editorial staff published an open letter to Executive Editor Dean Baquet and Managing Editor Joe Kahn. In it, they describe some of what we editors...
Top 5 Reasons You Need A Professional Beta Reader
What is a beta reader? A beta reader, at the behest of an author, reviews and provides feedback on a work of fiction before it is submitted to agents or publishers. Beta readers, like "beta testers" in the software industry, look for inherent flaws in a product before...
7 Ways To Save Money On Your Edit
You can save money on your edit. I have received literally hundreds of manuscripts. Every one is its own universe. An edit cannot be a flat rate depending on word count (or, in the old days, page count.) Some manuscripts are submitted with, for example, a lot of...
Editing for Sport: Q&A with John Ethier, Author
John Ethier’s novel, a basketball thriller titled The Little Red Boat, was edited by Marie Valentine of Book Editing Associates. Here, she gets more information on his process. MV: Tell us about your book. JE: The Little Red Boat is the story of two friends, Jamie and Angel, who come from a small town in northern […]