editing – Page 4

The Ultimate Fiction Editing Checklist

Baking is messy. You’ve got a ton of ingredients swirling around your kitchen. There’s flour exploding against the marble countertop, and now there’s some sort of sticky substance on your ceiling. And you could have sworn there was some baking soda at the back of the cupboard, but it’s nowhere to be found. Your non-stick spray is missing, you can’t remember how many cups of sugar you’ve already scooped into the mixing bowl, and you’re so hungry you’re thinking about going to the café down the street and enjoying their pastries instead. You’ll never get your delicious dessert into the oven at this rate, anyway.

You know how they say to never trust a skinny chef? Well, never trust a stress-free writer.

Writing can be as chaotic as baking, and this frenzy often consumes writers, old and new. But, once those ingredients are in the bowl, you’ve fought half the battle! Everything is on the page, and now you just have to make sure it all belongs there and decide what’s missing.

It’s not too late.

It’s time to scrape that goop off the ceiling and get your delicious dessert finished. This fiction-editing checklist contains the last steps to completing your recipe. While you already did all the mixing, it’s time to cook this bad boy.

Checking off all of these items will help you to create something scrumptious from a half-baked draft in no time.

Run an automated spellchecker. You’ll be surprised how many typos you catch from nights when seven cups of coffee just wasn’t enough.
Then, do all the boring stuff. Changing the font type can help you catch errors you missed before. Don’t just fix typos, but also improve scene transitions and strange word choices (we promise, your character didn’t “chuckle darkly”) and ensure consistency for place and character names. In addition, eliminate redundancy, like instances where a character “thinks to themselves.”
Speaking of word choice—keep your character and narrator’s voice in mind. If you’re writing a horror novel, keep that spooky tone rolling throughout, and don’t break reader focus. The line “I must be the color of the Communist Manifesto” should not appear in a romance novel (we can’t make this stuff up).
Fact check, but not your momma’s fact check. Okay, so fairies don’t exist in the real world, but let’s say they do in your story. Let’s say you wrote a fantasy story in which these fairies buy their petal skirts with caterpillar legs. Make sure Flutter Feather didn’t accidentally buy her sweet garb with a coin in Chapter 3.
Make sure your point of view never falters. This is a mistake that breaks reader attention. When we’re in first-person point of view, John Radley shouldn’t know that his buddy had a doughnut for breakfast unless he was there. Or he’s psychic.
If your first sentence couldn’t appear on a poster, rewrite it. Most of the best novels meet this criterion. I have a mug at home covered in the best lines from famous novels, and I always think of this mug when I’m writing. Thomas Pynchon’s “A screaming comes across the sky” comes to mind.
On that note, ensure that your story starts in the right place. We need to get a feel for a character’s main routine before we see how their entire life changes. But don’t start your story with your character waking up. That is how you know you started your story too early.
Don”t drown your reader in a torrential downpour of character appearance. Ditto for backstory. I can learn that Roberta has blue eyes and blonde hair and thin fingers and large feet and huge eyelashes and a dead dog and two brothers and once had her hair pulled in the third grade (you get the point) throughout your story. Introduce more information when it feels natural, but please don’t let your readers sink before they even get to Chapter 2.
Kill your epithets. Epithets can work only when your character doesn’t know the person yet. Let’s say Suzy sees Greg across the room. She doesn’t know his name yet, so Greg is referred to as “the man with the angular cheeks.” Once Suzy learns Greg’s name, there is no reason to use this description in place of his name. None. Destroy it.
Your character has to have some kind of redeeming quality if the story ends well for him/her and if we’re supposed to be happy about it. Even if your reader is a serial killer, he/she had better be a vegetarian or have a house that just burned down. If we don’t like them, we should feel sorry for them. If we don’t feel sorry for them, then there had better be something really, really interesting or unique about them.
Ensure that you have enough conflict that your story could appear on reality television. There needs to be a minor conflict and resolution in every scene. It’s all about cause and effect. So, if your character hasn’t faced an emotional change in the chapter, then you have to do some rewriting.
Make sure your dialogue is believable. Your characters should never say, “You should know where I’ve been—you’re my protective sister!” Please give us cues instead.
Every character you introduce by name has to change somehow. They all need stories. If you have to cut characters out, do it. It’s important that even the annoying barista at the coffee shop has undergone some sort of transformation, even if it’s learning that it’s okay for customers to have an empty mug now and again.
Fill those plot holes! Does every conflict come to a resolution by the end of the novel? Are there any logical inconsistencies that need to be addressed? Is the order of events consistent? Make sure that all of this is totally taken care of, and you and your reader can both breathe a sigh of relief.
Cut anything that doesn’t contribute something to the story. That beautiful prose you wrote for a dream sequence that has no influence on the plot and doesn’t contribute to the characterization? Cut it. Even if you love it, cut it. Maybe you can use it in another project!
Be certain that all of your characters have unique voices. Take the phrase “Hello, how are you?” and make sure your characters would all say the same sentence differently. “Hey, how’s it goin’?”, “Hello, is there anything new we need to discuss?”, and “What’s up?” all demonstrate the use of voice to characterize for your benefit. It’s an opportunity that shouldn’t be wasted!
If it’s convenient, it needs to be cut. The protagonist should never stumble upon an answer. As an active character, he/she needs to discover information for themselves, always working hard to seek it out.
See that your characters are well rounded. Sure, everyone’s always talking about Marvelous Mindy, but nobody’s ever talking about Loser Larry, the guy with all the odds stacked against him and no strengths whatsoever. Loser Larry is a victim in every situation. Don’t let your character be that guy. Yes, you want the reader to feel sorry for Larry, and yes, Larry has a lot of obstacles to overcome. But everyone has strengths and weaknesses, even Loser Larry. Maybe Larry’s overly optimistic about his situation, or he always takes his dog for a walk, every night, even though he’s tired. See that? Loser Larry just became Loveable Larry.
Everyone should have a defining characteristic. Whether it’s Jerry with the greasy hair, Tina with the big chin, or Amanda with the walnut hair, everyone should have at least one thing that sets them apart from the others. Take anyone you know around you. How would you describe your friends to a stranger? “The one with the doe eyes,” “the one with the small head,” or “the one who always looks tired” are all valid answers.
There’s nothing wrong with using the word “said” repeatedly. Use other words like “shouted” and “whispered” sparingly. There’s nothing worse than a sea of “deliberateds” and “emphasizeds.” If you write your dialogue well, then we’ll know that the bus driver is shouting, even if you use “said.”
Avoid the passive voice when it’s not intentional and deliberate. If the word “was” is frequently found within your piece, you’ve probably slipped into the passive voice. “The bowl of fruit was knocked over by Mary” is passive, while “Mary knocked over the bowl” is active.
Your antagonist needs to be at least as strong as your protagonist. Strive to make your villain scarier. Making the antagonist the baddest bad guy will have your audience cheering once he’s defeated.
Making us happy that your character won means making them suffer first. Yes, it’s hard to hurt your babies. But they have to suffer. They have to be teetering at the breaking point. Only then should you let them win. Treat them to a chocolate cake only after they’ve finished their Brussels sprouts.
Ask for a fresh pair of eyes. While you may be embarrassed to ask a friend to look over your piece, it really can make all the difference in taking your story from good to spectacular. You’d be amazed by the questions others can come up with. From “Whatever happened to Lucy? I thought she was your most interesting character,” to “I wish you’d expanded on the mechanics more, because it’s hard to understand the rest of the piece without knowing how this works,” they’ll likely offer considerations you might never have come up with on your own. After the baking is done, it’s all about sharing the sweets anyway, so you’d might as well ask your friends to wash the dishes once the dessert is in the oven.

There you have it: the Ultimate Fiction Editing Checklist. Now that you’ve gone through this list, it’s time to march back into the kitchen. You may have already licked the raw batter from the bowl (it’s okay, we’re not judging), but now you can share your freshly baked sweets with the world!

Cooperation in Writing and Editing Jobs

Writing is a creative pursuit that can earn you an income for expressing yourself. Editing is a precise activity entailing control and imagination. The difference in requirements between writing and editing jobs is clearly definable: the writer must be aware of the editorial requirements for each project, and the editor must know what style conventions the publisher prefers. Editing requires a strict conformity to the rules, and writing demands originality. And yet, both the writer and editor have a common goal: to produce great writing people will enjoy reading. And both must keep this in mind, or the finished piece could fall short of expectations.

Creative writing

Creativity is an important part of all writing and editing jobs. Writers must express a given theme in a manner that speaks to a piece’s target audience. Meanwhile, editors must be aware of publishers’ requirements to ensure a finished piece fits the brief. As editors usually have the final word on a published work, they have the power to alter the article to fit their opinions and style. However, should editors’ standards and aims differ tremendously from writers’, both will have to spend a considerable amount of time rewriting. A publisher, therefore, has to ensure the writer and editor are both working under the same set of rules. Writing and editing jobs both require conformity to rules as well as creativity.

Mutual dependency

Both writers and editors are committed to making each piece publishable. Writing and editing jobs dovetail. However, these jobs only pay if the writer and editor understand each other. Thus, editors are usually selected for their experience in a particular genre, such as romance, poetry, technical papers, medical articles, or news stories. Usually, the writer must also specialize in a particular genre to get hired. Editors must understand each piece’s audience and mediate between the writer’s output and a sophisticated readership. Writing and editing jobs are only commercially viable if the end products sell, and that will only happen if the style and language of each published work are appropriate to its target readership.

Finding writing and editing jobs

As you forge a career in writing or editing, you should focus on one particular type of writing. Although you might find work writing in a range of genres, you stand a better chance of getting hired if you can exploit your natural style and specialize in the genre it leans toward. Most writing and editing jobs today are in the field of copywriting, rather than in the production of novels. If you don’t get the job you want, don’t automatically assume you missed out because your resume wasn’t strong enough. The hiring manager might have thought that your writing style and personality wouldn’t mesh with the writer or editor you would be working with in that position. Specializing in a particular field will help you find colleagues whose style you can complement.

Work together

Writing and editing jobs can be enjoyable, or they can be a real drag. As a general rule, writers and editors should always have a common outlook or worldview. Randomly paired writers and editors can fight, making it a struggle for them to produce anything coherent; writing and editing jobs are fraught with emotion if there’s no camaraderie or respect between those involved. Your career prospects depend on both your experience and your perceived image. If you don’t get a job you hoped for, don’t take it personally. There are so many opportunities out there; just move on and apply for another position. Sooner or later, you’ll land a job that suits both your experience and your style.

What Different Book Editing Jobs Are Available?

Book editing jobs don’t all have the same job description

If you like to read books and want to pursue a career in editing, it makes sense to consider book editing jobs. When you start to look into this career path, you will find there are many kinds of book editing jobs. A book is written by its author, of course, but it is also the result of the work of many different editors. Take a moment to read through the different descriptions of book editing jobs to decide which specific position to aim for.

Acquisitions Editor

Among all the different types of book editing jobs, acquisitions editor is probably the cream of the crop. This is the job people may think of when the term “book editor” is used. The acquisitions editor is sometimes called the acquiring editor or developmental editor. Editors in these positions get to commission new books for the publishing houses they work for. This gives them a lot of power, and they can make or break writing careers. The acquisitions editor works closely with the author to develop a book. For nonfiction books, this involves outlining the topics that the book should cover as well as defining the chapters, establishing the order of those chapters, and working with the writer to specify the requirements for each chapter. In fiction, the acquisitions editor may ask for changes in the book’s plot or character development. Despite all the power and glamour, this can be the most stressful of book editing jobs. If a new book fails, the acquisitions editor’s job and reputation are at risk.

Line Editor

Someone working as a line editor is probably on his or her way up. This is the next step down from the acquisitions editor’s job and involves a lot of the more mundane tasks of editing a book, without the power and influence enjoyed by acquisitions editors. A line editor also has one of the least defined of book editing jobs. In some publishing houses, the line editor’s and acquisitions editor’s jobs are merged into one position. In larger companies, the acquisitions editor commissions books and deals with the authors, while the line editor is involved in behind-the-scenes work involving the requirements for the book and the assessment of the results.

Copy Editor

Copy editing is probably the best way for non–book editors to get a foot in the door when looking for book editing jobs, and there are many resources available to help copy editors build their skillset and establish themselves in the industry. Copy editing for a book is not that different from copy editing for a magazine, newspaper, or website, so if you want to leverage your previous copy-editing experience, this is the position to aim for. As a copy editor, you will be checking the spelling, grammar, and consistency of the writing. You will also be looking for duplication and irrelevant passages that you can remove to tighten up the book.

Other book editing jobs

Typesetting and proofreading are two book editing jobs through which the publishing house has a last chance to see that errors get caught. Typesetters sometimes need to adjust text slightly in response to the layout. Proofreaders have to catch spelling and other mistakes in the final version of the book before it is sent to the printer.