Some Comments About Editing

What is an editor? 

Let's do a little research. After all, part of editing is doing research and making sure you've got your facts right by going to a recognized and reputable source. With that in mind, let's go to the industry-recognized standard, Merriam-Webster. Here's what I found at Merriam-Webster.com:

editor

noun

ed·​i·​tor ˈe-də-tər 

Synonyms of editor

1

: someone who edits especially as an occupation

2

: a device used in editing motion-picture film or magnetic tape

3

: a computer program that permits the user to create or modify data (such as text or graphics) especially on a display screen

 <insert eye roll here> Dude. Seriously? An edit is someone who edits? 

Well, that's a fail.

Let's try this:

edit

verb

ed·​it

ed-ət

d-ət

1

a

: to correct, revise, and prepare for publication

edit a book of poems

b

: to assemble (as a film or tape recording) by cutting and rearranging

2

: to direct the publication of

edit a daily newspaper

 

Good Lord. This is also a fail, because the formatting of the definition of "editor" and "edit" is different even though I used the same source. C'mon, Merriam Webster. Get your act together!

 

Still, these two definitions (and their formatting issues) are a good illustration of what an editor does (or should do).

 

Whether or not they defines the word/words well is another matter altogether. 

 

Perhaps I should attempt to define it for myself (and for you) as I understand the word: In general, an editor is a person (and sometimes a program) that analyzes words as they appear, especially in print, and looks for problems to be corrected in style, voice, formatting, use, and understanding for the reader.

 

There are different kinds of editing tasks to be performed by editors; some special in one function or another, and some editors perform all tasks but charge different rates based on the tasks performed (as some tasks are more labor-intensive than others). For more information about each task and how much I charge to perform it for you, please see my page in the sidebar, or just click here.

Also, see:

nitpick

verb

nit·​pick ˈnit-ˌpik 

nitpicked; nitpicking; nitpicks

Synonyms of nitpick

intransitive verb

: to engage in nit-picking

transitive verb

: to criticize by nit-picking

nitpick noun

nitpicker noun

nitpicky

ˈnit-ˌpi-kē 

adjective

Again. Seriously? To nitpick is: to be a nitpicker? Merriam-Webster needs an editor.

 

I'm available. 

 

I'd like to mention that an editor has the capacity to be a bit curmudgeonly if not kind of a know-it-all. Unfortunately for me, a curmudgeon is also defined as "a grumpy old man"; since I'm a woman (as far as I can tell in the context/meaning of the word, whether or not some people can actually define what a woman or a man is--these days, the language is fluid and too much so for a clear definition to be possible), I am not technically a curmudgeon. Funny thing, there is no actual replacement word for the female equivalent of a curmudgeon that I've been able to find--except possibly "battle axe". 😮 

 

I don't identify as an axe of any kind, especially as one which battles. Therefore, I will eschew this definition. 

 

Fortunately, there are some sources which argue that the word should not only be applied to men, and while perhaps that is true, it's also a form of bowdlerization (see: bowdlerization. See also. Thomas Bowdler). Be that as it may, I will defer and accept the mantle of curmudgeon whether or not it's technically correct.

 

Looking for things like this are also what an editor does--not only researching particular words and their meanings (and functions) but even their etymology, the birth and growth and development of words so they can be used correctly, and if necessary, with historical accuracy and yet in a way which is (hopefully) acceptable (or at least, understandable) for the modern day reader.

 

This skill is particularly helpful in my current role as an editor for Dragonblade Publishing, a company specializing in historical romances. 

If you're wondering: Besides historical romance, I have edited contemporary romance, paranormal romance, paranormal fiction, general fiction, mysteries, suspense, sci-fi, and fantasy as well as non-fiction including essays, articles, and books. I've been editing for over twenty-five years for self-publishing authors, a variety of publishers like Lyrical Press, Decadent Publishing, and other companies under a variety of pseudonyms (because--honestly--the potential misspellings for my actual name could send this female curmudgeon into a state of apoplexy). 

 

If you'd like more information, please reach out to me at: cynthiablackburned@gmail.com. You can also follow me at https://www.instagram.com/editorburns/.

 

Why Should They Care?

 

He was sad. "I'm so sad," he said, sadly. It was a very sad unhappy situation, everyone agreed. Sadly.

It seems like almost every book I edit, I have to ask the writer to let the reader know what the character is thinking and feeling, and ask them to go deeper. So often, I feel like I'm watching (listening) to two people have a conversation, but I don't know them, and don't care about the stakes of their situation because I haven't developed empathy for them. Instead, Dear Author, I could easily close the book and walk away and NOT CARE. 

Obviously, you want your readers to care. In fact, you need them to care! That's how you keep them reading all night and looking for your next book. You hook them in with your ability to get them to care. But how?

In almost every book I edit, I end up writing a comment like this:

The reader is going to want to know what's going on underneath the surface here. In this way, a writer can connect to the reader and keep them reading. When we give them the character's thoughts and feelings, they can absorb them and experience them as their own because our synapses work to create empathy and understanding--that's how our brains are wired. So especially in a tense, high emotion place like this, give them what they need to experience the character's world. They need to care about your hero, and what he's going through. The way we writers do that is to let them into the characters heads to share emotions and thoughts. ☺️ That in turn creates empathy and that makes them live vicariously through the character and keep turning pages. 

What is s/he thinking? What emotions are sluicing through her/him? It's not enough to just tell them--you need to give them the why of what's going on. 

Dear Author: I'm really tired of writing that comment. So--here. Let me show you what I mean. I'll make up a scene. (NOTE: If I've edited your books, please know that this in no way has been lifted from anything you've written. If it seems familiar, that's because it's set in the time you may have written, and scenes with lawyers are common and secret family members have been done before. In other words, this content is completely and entirely my own. And no, you can't use it. But you can use the scenario if it stimulates a book idea.) 

This is the scene before we add the goods:

"According to the terms of the will," the solicitor said, "A third of the estate will go to your father's ward, Amigdala." 

"Excuse me. He didn't have a ward," Jason stated. "Are you reading the correct will? I'm Jason Truegood, and of recent, I am the Duke of Narwhale." He paused. "I'm certain he didn't have a ward."

The solicitor peered over the edge of the document at Jason. "Yes. I am well aware of who you are, my lord." He shook the will, written on heavy parchment; it rattled like bones in a grave. "And your late father, the Duke of Narwhale--" he added--"had a ward."

"Are you quite sure?"

"Oh yes, my lord." The solicitor cleared his throat. "May I continue?"

"Very well," Jason said, mildly.

It's not much, but it works in as far as it conveys the required information. We've learned the name of the main character, learned he's at a moment of change (he's just been made a duke), and he's just learned some shocking information which also could create more change if not add more conflict to his life. (A call to adventure!) We might even know something about Jason--apparently he's a milquetoast of a man, willing to let a know-it-all solicitor run roughshod over him.

So at first read, it's okay. We can work with this. A reader doesn't need anything else to move forward. Right?

Wrong. Let's add some reactions, and especially some thoughts and emotions.

"According to the terms of the will," the solicitor said, "A third of the estate will go to your father's ward, Amigdala." 

Wait. What? Had he misheard the man? "Excuse me. He didn't have a ward," Jason stated. "Are you reading the correct will? I'm Jason Truegood, and of recent, I am the Duke of Narwhale." Duke of Chaos, more the like. Chaos that would never end, apparently, even when his father--a term he used loosely and only for society's sake--was deep in the ground. Supposedly harmless.

The image of his father appeared in his mind's eye, grinning like a fiend and wagging his index finger at Jason, whose stomach sank even as he wished to shout at the man. Damn it, you did it again! Another mess to clean up. "I'm quite certain my father didn't have a ward." Maybe if he said it aloud, it wouldn't be true. Maybe it was a mistake. He could only hope.

The solicitor peered over the edge of the document at Jason. "Yes. I am well aware of who you are, my lord." He shook the will, written on heavy parchment; it rattled like bones in a grave. "And your late father, the Duke of Narwhale--" he added--"had a ward."

"Are you quite sure?" A sense of hopelessness settled over him like a heavy blanket. He knew, deep in his heart, that this wasn't the end of the surprises his father had bequeathed him. Though this particular surprise was the quite the topper. A ward? Amigdala?

And he'd thought the visit to the estate's book keeper had been the most surprising surprise of all--who could have imagined his father had invested in tobacco in the Americas, of all places? 

At least he'd left the coffers full; Jason had fully expected them to be empty. In fact, that had been the reason he'd gone to the bookkeeper before the solicitor--he'd wanted to get ahead of things, make a plan, and then move forward. But, of course, his father had blown up that up as well. Damn the man. 

No! I don't mean that literally, he thought, sending a prayer heavenward. I just...well. My life is not what I thought it was, and I'm fairly certain it's not going to go the way I'd expected.

"Oh yes, my lord." The solicitor cleared his throat. "May I continue?"

It didn't matter what the solicitor said. After all, it was what it was, whatever it was. "Very well," Jason said, mildly. Whatever it was, he'd handle it. 

I'm the first to admit that this isn't the best example, but in my opinion it does enough to give you an idea of what I'm recommending. Weave in thoughts, descriptions of physical reactions, and emotional reactions (which can be shown in the thoughts and physical reactions). In fact, there's kind of a formula to the whole thing that I've tried to work out (but since I'm in no way a math person, I can't get it right). Still...it goes something like this: 

stimulus+internal reaction=external action

In this case, the stimulus are the solicitor's words. Add Jason's thoughts/feelings--the reaction to the stimulus. The results is the action--in this case, the words he speaks. (Though it can be argued that his words are also a reaction. Which makes my un-mathematical mind cramp up and then, consequently, go blank. Sigh.)

My point is--whether you've thought about this or not (and whether or not it's always true), we speak, scream, or gesture (or worse) as a because of our thoughts and feelings about what someone else has said (or done). 

Of course, I'm not an expert--I just edit stuff, and write. And think. I'm not a best seller. That being said, most of the books I've edited have four star reviews and up, so I must know something. At any rate, I've done research on this, and I suggest you do too.

I feel like this, more than anything, using this technique will help you become a writer. (Keywords: emotion, writing, empathy, reader connection) 

Here are a few articles to get you started.

Live, Write, Thrive

Writers in the Storm: A blog about writing 

 

Somebody, quick. Write this book!

This is such a fascinating article. Female scribes? In the medieval era? An even more fascinating discovery. 

  Why a Medieval Woman Had Lapis Lazuli Hidden in Her Teeth

It needs to be used in a book. Anyone as intrigued as me? I can't exactly create a call for submission from my current publishing house, but if it's good, I'll recommend it to the Acquisitions Editor. Or edit it for the indie author (at a reduced price). Because it's something I've never seen before and it could be a fun read with a strong heroine. Or intrepid time-traveler. 

Either way, (any way), I want to read it! Want to write it?