The Editorial Process
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Developmental editing is the art of looking at a manuscript to identify big-picture concerns. For nonfiction, this would include helping an author make a clear argument; showing an author how to reorganize disorganized material; pointing out where they need to support the points they make with data, examples, and/or case histories; making sure terms are…
Back when I was active in martial arts, I used to teach a class or two a week for my instructor. He (and I) knew that one of the best ways to get better at a skill is to try to teach it. This is a humbling process because it points out all the things…
One of the curious conundrums I’ve experienced as a book editor is encountering characters that the author clearly has contempt for but expects readers to be interested in engaging with. Contempt is as poisonous in writing as it is in relationships. The goal of the author should not be to judge character but to explore…
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’ve broken my list of red flags into two. Here’s the second list: The Disappearing or Disorganized Client Clients who wander off during the early stages of discussing their project are likely to wander off during the part of the project where they’re supposed to do some work…
Recently a post popped up in my LinkedIn newsfeed describing how a business coach helped the poster think about decisions using the “pick your hard” framing. The poster used as an example of this approach the framing that “staying healthy is hard” and “having a chronic illness is hard.” The idea is that you can…
“I feel overwhelmed,” editing students tell me from time to time as they learn the craft. Mostly they’re worried that this means they’re not cut out for working as a DE. And sometimes, yes, it’s not a good match for someone’s personality, skills, and abilities. But it’s also perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed. Developmental editing…
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