aneditorsjourney

Help! What type of editing do I need?

By Editorsjourney | 23 February, 21 | Comments 0 Comment

So, the question that I have found myself answering most often during the entirety of my career as a Freelance Editor has been “What type of editor are you?”. Followed quickly by “What types of editing are there?” or “What type of editing do I need?”

These are great questions, in part because they open up an essential dialogue. As an editor, especially freelance, you typically find work doing multiple types of editing. How do you know what those are? What type does a client need? All are important questions that you, as an editor, need to have answers at the ready. Editors need to understand the standard definitions of each type of editing that they do (and even the types they don’t). When the dialogue with a client occurs, they can understand the needs.

Having a firm idea of what these terms mean to you is also crucial from an author’s viewpoint, so for all the writers reading this, you too need to do the research and find out what each term means to you.

Everyone will likely have their own spin on the main types of editing. Therefore, you, as a professional editor, need to delineate this to your clients. The core basis of the terms should be similar. But do talk it out editors/authors with each other to make sure you are using the same definitions.

Here is a very concise list of what I consider the six main types of editing. Some of the terms can be interchangeable, which makes it a little confusing, I know. That’s why I keep a copy of them on the wall next to my desk!

Developmental Editing

This edit covers everything in the developmental process. It can be done at different stages of a manuscript, and thus the focus shifts depending upon the author’s need. Developmental Edits help the author take an idea and put it into a story plan, look at a challenging chapter and help find ways to improve or advance it, or even look at an entire manuscript and help develop and fine-tune any problem areas. Pacing, Character Development, Humor, Overall readability, Research, and Scene settings are all covered in a Developmental Edit.

Copy Editing

Copy editing is where the editor fixes the technical issues of grammar, structure, spelling, and word usage, and a note of style and format. A copy edit is typically used when the development of the manuscript is complete. Depending upon the type of manuscript, a copy edit can usually be completed within a week by most editors. Often editors in good practice will review the document after the changes at no additional cost to the author.

Line Editing

While often used interchangeably with Copy Editing, Line Editing is different. The intensity of evaluation leans more toward that of a Developmental Edit. Each sentence and paragraph is examined closely to make sure it communicated your intent to your reader.

Proofreading

Usually, a minor form of editing, Proofreading does a quick look over the manuscript for any formatting issues (punctuation, capitalization, etc.), errors in grammar, and any misspellings or issues with word usage. Of all the types of editing, Proofreading should have the least amount of turnaround time. Still, for authors, you should typically allow for a couple of days once the editor has started.

Style Editing

This type of editing focuses on the pure mechanics of the manuscript. It ascertains whether a specific style guide (AP – Associated Press, APA – American Psychological Association, Chicago Manual of Style, etc.) is correctly and effectively applied. Style Editing also includes a Citation edit/check. Most often, this type of editing is used for Academic and Scientific papers. This type of editing can be done separately or as part of a copy-edit. Some editors do not consider this a different type at all and often do not include it. However, given that over half of my work is Academic papers, I often find myself doing style edits right before publication.

Substantive Editing

Substantive editing is a comprehensive read-through of your manuscript that focuses on the entire document, providing a written critique after reading it. This critique should include detailed notes on punctuation, grammar and spelling, the flow of the manuscript, and the overall style and structure. It is a comprehensive evaluation where the editor brings light to any confusing plot points, points of view, characterizations, and overall structure. Substantive edits are focused on the writing itself, helping the author fine-tune the prose.

You can take these types of editing and expound on them or add a few variations to them. Still, during my 20 plus years as a Freelance Editor, I have found that this listing gives me a solid foundation for just about anything I work on.

So, if you are out there wondering what type of editing you want to do or need for your work, I hope this helps you get a handle on the editing options available.

Have a great day!

Galen

Poetry as an Editing Niche

By Editorsjourney | 3 June, 20 | Comments 0 Comment

A few months ago, I talked about exploring and Finding your Niche in the editing world. One of those very niches that I stumbled into was editing for Poetry.

Poetry is a unique form of writing. With that incredible depth and variety comes a world of different types of editing required to produce and publish poetry successfully. Editing poetry means that you must have such a technical understanding of language and words and how to manipulate them. You need to know when to ignore all the rules. Embrace the intent of the poem and poet.

Whereas some poems have precise rules that the poet follows, other free verse poetry can ignore the rules. Often, the poets are encouraged to step as far away from them as they can. The trick here for an editor is that you can find a blend of structured, free verse, and avant-garde poems in a single book. The question, then, is how one customizes the edit to the poetry in the book.

As a poet myself, I admit that I am one of “those poets” who bounces around between genres and styles. I don’t limit myself, and for the most part, that is a strength in my life as a poet. As an editor of poetry and poetry books, I approach the relationship between myself, the editor, and my client, as a partnership. This editor/author partnership is even more true for editing poetry than other manuscripts.

To serve your client well as their editor, you must get to know them, learn from them what they want with the book. This understanding of continuity and message is not much different from what you need for any manuscript you are editing. With a book of poetry or even a poem, however, you need to understand the overall picture and each poem. Most poetry books contain somewhere between 25-60 poems. Often part of my job is to let my client know if things flow well, if the poems all fit together, and sometimes, even to help them figure out what a theme might be for them (depending upon the stage of the manuscript when I see it.)

You also need to take each poem and look at it critically to decide just how much of it you will hold to standard grammar rules. Poetry can often be perfection WITHOUT punctuation or with limited punctuation. You could easily have several poems that have no punctuation, or like E. E. Cummings, be all lowercase, and then in other poems in the same book, you’ll have poems asking to Shakespeare’s Sonnets.

When working on poetry, you must understand what the poet is trying to achieve. I find I talk more to my Poetry clients even more than I do to my Academic clients. Each experience that I have with a client is gratifying because of this.

Also, poets do prefer to have someone well versed in poetry editing their manuscripts. If you think about it, though, that’s not as strange as it seems. Academics want people to edit their work with experience in their field or with the Style Guide they use. Just so, poets need to know that the person editing their manuscripts understands the world in which they live. There is an impermanence to poetry, and that magic sometimes needs the rules to bend.

Are you a poet? Have you ever had someone edit your poetry? What are some of the things you experience?

Galen

Education vs. Experience: Knowing the balance…

By Editorsjourney | 2 February, 19 | Comments 0 Comment

So, given that I have been editing professionally for over 20 years, I have been asked what my educational background in editing is, more often than I can count. I didn’t come into this academically, however, at least not directly. Instead, my journey into the editing world started before college. My father, a Biochemistry Professor, had a grad student who asked me to examine one of her papers; it was my first academic editing experience. I was very flattered, given my age, that she asked my opinion. Meanwhile, I often read over English papers for fellow students at school.

Once I moved on to university, I continued the trend of looking over other people’s work. However, I did not consider it something I would ever do for a living. As a teenager, I had no confidence in the editing that I did of my work. I assumed that since I struggled to edit my papers, I was probably doing a piss poor job of editing the work of others. Many years later, I found out that my editing of other people’s papers was nearly flawless. Upon finding that out, I realized that there is a fundamental difference between editing your work and editing someone else’s.

During my time at university, I studied for a BA in Research Studies: Folklore and Anthropology with minors in Abnormal Psychology and English Literature. I also worked forward by taking several years of Masters Level Anthropology classes. At heart, I found myself to be a researcher, and in the field of research, I discovered a great need for editing. So, slowly, in between my day jobs, I began editing academic papers. As the years progressed, I also started writing and editing fiction too. Some years I worked more on fiction, others more on academic papers, until suddenly, in 2008, I realized I had been moonlighting as a freelance editor for well over 15 years. My husband and I talked and decided we could work out our finances in such a way as to let me retire from my day job and start working full-time as a freelancer.

So, my experience weighs much heavier than my specific editing education. For Freelance Editors, that works well, given that you tend to get most jobs in the freelance world based upon your reputation, skill, and word of mouth (networking). How many years you spent at a college or university studying to become an editor becomes less critical very quickly. Working at a large publishing company is a bit different. Often some level of educational background is required, many times with a specific focus. The professional editing world is a very competitive one. Thus most editing jobs with professional publishing companies require a BA/BS in Journalism, Communication, or English to get in the door.

As food for thought, another part of the process, no matter what area your plan to try to break into, publishing or freelance, is knowing how to market yourself.

That, however, is a post for the future; otherwise, we’d be here all day.

Galen