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When an author’s work isn’t ready for development

What do you do if an author has a manuscript isn’t ready for development—where you can’t find the plot or the ms has other really significant problems? A developmental edit is for a manuscript that generally contains a clear plot, at least somewhat developed characters, in a setting that makes sense. You typically wouldn’t perform…

Where to find good writing (and publishing) advice

One of the challenges in taking writing and publishing advice from other authors is that they usually know only what works/worked for them. An author who has only been publishing for a little while has a very limited experience to draw from. I understand why published authors want to give advice despite not having expertise…

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Setting Expectations for an Edit

A question I’m often asked is, “Authors can be confused by what kind of editing their manuscript needs. How do you handle that? Whenever an author reaches out to me, I ask them a bit about their past experience – have they published before, and if so, did they have a traditional publisher or did…

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Editorial terms and their meanings

When I talk about the author’s work of addressing areas of concern, I call it revision to distinguish it from what an editor does, which is editing. Most people writing and speaking on the subject don’t distinguish between the two but since I write a lot about the interaction between the editorial process and the authorial process, I…

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Editing for Different Stages of Ability

It’s important for editors to recognize that authors have different stages of ability: Most of our author clients are at Stage 1, 2, or 3, and how we shape the edit will depend on which it is. If we expect an author at Stage 1 to be able to spot their own errors, we aren’t…

Time for a Secondary Niche?

Editors with some experience often come to me with concerns about sustaining their business. They’re usually in a particular niche, such as copyediting mystery fiction, and they’ve stalled in some way – they don’t have quite enough clients and they’re not making quite enough money. But we know that niches are a great way to…

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How to use basic editing resources

If you’re interested in editing – whether copyediting or developmental editing – it pays to become used to a few basic editing resouces. What’s Your Style? Most of my clients have wanted me to follow The Chicago Manual of Style with some variations, and that is standard for book publishing, so it pays to become…

What to do when an edit turns into book doctoring

As a developmental editor, you’ll occasionally (maybe even frequently) encounter clients who need more than what you can offer in a developmental edit. Sometimes they don’t have the skill to do the necessary revision or they simply don’t have the time to do the writing. In these cases, instead of sending the client off to…