I didn’t start out as an editor. I began my writing career writing articles for magazines. And I’ve managed to support myself through my writing for many years. I am now also the author of 34 published books.
Along the way, other writers and authors often came to me asking questions about the big wide world of writing and publishing. I helped where I could. In the meantime, I became involved with SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) and met even more authors and freelance writers who needed guidance. And I wrote several books in response to the most common questions they asked.
Many authors also asked me to edit their works. For years, I declined. I felt I had enough of my own work to do and I certainly knew how to generate even more work. And then one day I said, “Yes.” I thoroughly enjoyed the process of editing that first book (which I did on a hardcopy manuscript). It was a true crime. Since then, I have edited dozens of books of all types—YA fantasy; novels; nonfiction how-to, self-help and informational books; children’s story books; and others. I have edited manuals for major companies and organizations. I’ve edited and consulted with regard to numerous book proposals. And I’ve learned a few things along the way.
1: You can’t make reservations for an editing job. Most authors do not get the project to you when they say they will. So if another job comes in the meantime, you’d better take it. I once waited in earnest for an author who was days away from sending me her manuscript and missed out on two other editing jobs. As it happened, life threw her a curve and she had to stop the forward motion on her book.
2: If there is more than one author involved, get a commitment from both. Partnerships are sometimes precarious. If my fee will come from both authors, I like to communicate with both of them before starting the work. An author who personally agrees to hire you is less apt to flake on you later.
3: Not every author wants to learn writing techniques. I am a teaching editor. I write a lot of notes on my clients’ manuscripts–notes designed to help them learn how to use the apostrophe, when to capitalize words like Mom, when to use Italics and when to use quotation marks, how to use single quotes, how to punctuate dialogue, how to establish credibility with your audience, etc. Those who are eager to learn and open to learning receive a huge benefit from my way of editing. But I can tell you that I often get a second or third project to edit from clients and sometimes not one of my attempts to teach them is evident in their manuscripts.
4: Good writers are better able to appreciate good editing skills. It can be a real challenge working with someone who doesn’t have a good grasp on language, grammar and punctuation because they simply do not recognize good writing when they see it. I’ve even had clients rewrite their manuscripts after I spent hours and hours cleaning up the muddy, run-on sentences and other blatant errors. And then they hire a pay-to-publish company to produce their less than acceptable books.
5: Even authors don’t always appreciate the difference an editor can make with their projects. They would rather turn their manuscripts over to a friend with a large vocabulary or the retired English teacher who lives up the street. Sure friends and professionals can sometimes offer valuable perspectives on your book project. Some of them might discover inconsistencies that need to be addressed, errors in calculations or factual errors, for example. This is important. But you need a qualified book editor to do the final edit for your project—someone with the knowledge, experience and eye for book editing.
Sign up for Patricia Fry’s self-editing online course and fine-tune your manuscript to the best of your ability before hiring a qualified book editor.
http://www.matilijapress.com/courseself-editing.htm
Learn more about Patricia Fry here: http://www.patriciafry.com