The Concierge (Blog)

Conflict drives narrative, as I don’t need to tell you. But a problem with the conflict is probably the number one issue I see in the manuscripts I edit. Yet it can be difficult to identify conflict problems. Outside of the most formulaic of approaches, we don’t have a lot of rules about how the…

Several times recently, colleagues have asked what to do when a manuscript isn’t in shape for a developmental edit. Maybe there are obvious issues that the author should correct before hiring an editor—a lighthearted romance that weighs in at 200,000 words, an unfinished draft, a first draft. Working with the Unready Author Basically these editors…

A while back, I was looking for an apartment to rent in Los Angeles and I found a possibility on one of the rental sites (you know, like Apartment.com or Zillow). The property described sounded like what I was looking for and the rent was about right for the age of the property, its amenities,…

I often encourage freelance editors to work with corporate clients, such as book publishers and packagers, in order to provide a more stable workflow and better-paying work. Indie authors may be great fun to work with, but one author typically won’t come to you ten or fifteen times a year with more work, the way…

Doing something for a long time does not equal expertise. I’ve been singing in the shower for years, but you would not want my tips on training your vocal cords. For years I cut my daughter’s bangs. But you don’t want me touching your hair. Experience versus Expertise I’ve met a lot of freelancers over…

Along with teaching at Club Ed, I freelance as an editor for publishing companies. And this time of year always comes with a crunch of deadlines as companies try to wrap up projects before the end of the year. And it reminds me of the perennial problem of keeping boundaries as a freelancer. I wanted…

I’m learning how to speak Spanish, and sometimes I get discouraged because it takes a while. (This is not unlike learning any important skill). One of the most helpful bits of perspective-taking I do is to consider whether I encounter the same problems when speaking in English. For example, people often interrupt me to finish…

I’m here in Málaga, Spain celebrating Thanksgiving, which isn’t a holiday here. But my daughter and I are celebrating anyway because for us this has always been a day for reflecting on what we’re thankful for. And this year? We’re thankful to be basking in the Spanish sunshine. Moving here took years of planning and…

The other day I was reading about a controversy inspired by the CEO of Salesforce. It was the usual “I once supported the values of the former president but now I support the values of the current president” kind of nonsense that owners and executives of large companies often (always?) spout in order to make…