The Editorial Process

We’ve been having some great (written) conversations during our monthly Q&A on the Club Ed Conversations forum (second Tuesday of each month from 10 a.m. to noon Pacific time) and I wanted to build on this energy by creating slightly more focused sessions. In order to provide an opportunity for Club Ed participants to hear…

Getting work as a freelance editor is always a challenge, and my colleagues sometimes see an opportunity when a local business or other organization publishes a newsletter or blog post with errors. They ask me, “I’m thinking about pointing out the errors and offering my editorial services for pay. What do you think?” I think…

People with a growth-oriented mindset are happier and more successful than people with a fixed mindset (see Carol S. Dweck’s Mindset, among others). Growth versus Fixed Mindset People with a growth mindset are those who think they can learn and grow through hard work, persistence, and thoughtful feedback. A fixed mindset assumes that people are…

When you’re editing fiction, you’ll find that many developmental problems are interrelated: An insufficient conflict can be connected with unclear character motivation (or lack of motivation) to do something or achieve something (a goal). If the protagonist doesn’t have a goal, they can’t really come into conflict with another character who has a different goal….

Over the years, Club Ed students have asked for more nonfiction classes, and I’ve finally had a chance to create some. I’ve also organized them into a certificate program to make it easier to plan an effective course of study. More information about the certificate program can be found here. Classes include everything from how…

Recently I read a LinkedIn post from a proofreader who is interested in becoming a developmental editor (DE). They said something along the lines of, “I’ve been studying classic works of literature and although I can’t practice development on them because they can’t be improved, they do teach a lot about effective writing.” And while…