Q: What is the difference between developmental editing and substantive editing? A: That depends on whom you ask. Seriously, even editors can’t agree amongst ourselves what’s what, which is why each of us has some kind of web page where we define different types of editing in our own terms. …
Tag: Editing
Edit Your Novel Like a Pro Update
When I launched the Edit Your Novel Like a Pro online course in January, I never thought it would take a year to complete. But that is fibromyalgia kicking my tail once again. The course is nearly complete now, and contains about seven and a half hours of teaching—an hour …
Tampa: How to Edit Your Novel Systematically
UPDATE: We had a great time at the Tampa workshop. If you were unable to make that event, I’ll be teaching the same workshop again in Orlando June 16. A Method for Revising Your Book Like a Pro Tampa: April 14, 2018, at 1901 S. Village Avenue, Tampa FL 33612 Writers know …
Editing Your Book with Track Changes
When you work with an editor on your book, you will probably use the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word. This can be a little daunting if you’ve never used it before, especially when you get a file back with more red on it than Sweeney Todd’s apron. First, don’t …
Where to Find Professional Editors
As I said last time, if you’re self-publishing, you need a professional editor. But where do you get one? There is no licensing standard for editors. Anyone with a fondness for reading and a bent for grammar can declare themselves an editor and start seeking clients. Many sites exist to …
Q&A: When to hire an editor
Q: I took your Elements of Fiction seminar and read the blog posts and I’ve gone through the checklist. Now what? How do I know when to hire an editor or writing coach? A: When you feel stuck, or when you’re ready to go. If you’ve worked through the …
Know when to stop editing
We’ve made our way through the whole Elements of Fiction Editing Checklist. Now there are two vastly different errors writers can fall into. The first is thinking you’re done. If you are working on your first—or even second or third—novel, one or even two passes through your manuscript will not …
Beware analysis paralysis when editing
When you look at it all at once, the Elements of Fiction Editing Checklist can be daunting. And as writers, we tend to waver between thinking we’re literary geniuses and thinking we’re hack poseurs no one will ever take seriously. The danger in self-editing is that you fall too severely on …
Simplify dialogue tags
The way writers tag dialog is often evidence of how experienced they are. New writers frequently make dialog tags more complicated than they need to me. The classic example is the flagrant use of “said bookisms,” those awkward constructions reminiscent of Tom Swift. “I love Old Faithful,” she gushed. Such …
‘Publishing 3.0’ — what is is and why it matters
Over at TechCrunch, author James Altucher has written an excellent article about the process of self-publishing his book Choose Yourself. Every entrepreneur should self-publish a book, because self-publishing is the new business card. If you want to stand out in a world of content, you need to underline your expertise.—James …