And a special thank you to Lisa for gathering this posse of amazing editors!

Kelsey: Lisa, can you explain the difference between “book doctoring,” content editing, line editing and copyediting?

Lisa Stone Hardt: While the definition of these services will vary from editor to editor, you can expect them to look something like this:

Content Editing: Content editing, sometimes called developmental editing, addresses the big-picture construction of your manuscript. A content editor will help you make sure your story progresses logically and delivers the emotional impact readers are looking for. For example, she might comment on pacing, suggest ways to make a heroine more sympathetic or point out character inconsistencies. Some editors will simply identify aspects of the book that could be improved, while others will make specific suggestions about how to fix them.

Line Editing: Line editing is the micro-focus aspect of developmental editing. When an editor marks up a manuscript, i.e. cutting lines here and adding a quick transition there, that’s line editing. The best editors are capable of line editing without disturbing the author’s voice, such that the end result is a crisper, clearer manuscript that still sounds like the author who wrote it originally.

Book Doctor: Book doctoring is, essentially, heavy-handed content and line editing. Whatever it takes to provide an author with a polished, marketable manuscript, that’s what a book doctor does. A book doctor will take a completed (or nearly completed) manuscript, diagnose what isn’t working, and fix it. This can be as simple as adding, deleting or rearranging a couple of scenes in addition to the baseline developmental edit, or it can be a much more involved process. Be prepared to see your manuscript undergo substantial revisions when working with a book doctor; this is someone who can do the heavy lifting while you move on to your next project.

Copyediting: A copyeditor handles the nitty-gritty review of a manuscript. She’ll correct grammar and punctuation, fix typos and incorrect word usage, flag inconsistencies and highlight factual errors. Copyeditors refer to stylebooks for the “right” way to do things, so make sure you’re using one who is familiar with your genre and uses the Chicago Manual of Style, which is the most common reference for commercial fiction.

Kelsey: What are signs that it might be time for a writer to hire a freelance editor?

Lisa: If you’re pretty sure your ideas are marketable, but agents and editors aren’t biting, it might be time to start talking with freelance editors. I’d say the same if you’re able to get requests for your manuscript, but the rejections cite reasons related to execution. If an agent or editor tells you that the story she requested based on your query or pitch “wasn’t as engaging as she’d hoped,” a freelance editor might be able to help you make it sharper and more appealing.

If you’re planning to self publish, I believe a freelance editor is essential. Think of the freelance editor as a representative reader who asks the same questions that will occur to your future audience… only she does it early enough in advance of publication to allow you to clarify your point. I suggest hiring a developmental editor after you’ve finished the book and completed your initial edits yourself. Then look for a copyeditor to help you polish the manuscript before you make it available for purchase.

Deborah Nemeth: If an author is getting requests for partials based on her/his queries but no requests for full manuscripts, and agents/editors are passing despite positive feedback on the premise, this could mean the author needs to work on craft. There are many ways to do this, from studying some of the many excellent books on writing to taking classes to finding a capable and supportive critique group. Hiring a professional freelance editor is one way to get assistance with both story structure and prose style—provided the author selects an editor with the right skill set, because proofreaders and copyeditors might not have the requisite experience.

Recently, many of my clients’ goals have shifted. They’re no longer hiring an editor to polish a ms for submission to a traditional publisher but to self-publish their own manuscripts. If an author plans to self-publish and wants to put out a polished book, hiring a professional editor is essential.

Cindy Davis: If you’ve received more than 20 rejections without explanations as to why.

Rhonda Helms: Most writers know when they are ready to hire a freelance editor, but it mostly depends on what in particular you need help with. Some writers complete a manuscript and want to make sure the story’s content (plot, characterization, setting, pacing, etc). is as tight and strong as possible. Others feel confident in their story but want the grammar/syntax of their composition to be edited for highest quality. My clients typically know which one they’re in need of.

Kelsey: What are the most common problems you see in the materials people send you as a freelance editor?

Lisa: This is a really tough question to answer! I’m not sure anything qualifies as “common,” since every project is different, but I frequently see manuscripts where the author has neglected to think like a reader. These manuscripts usually need someone to nudge them into a more logical flow, sometimes on a line-by-line basis, and to pare down the text so the story shines through. On an individual level, this issue sometimes takes one or more of the following forms:

• Convoluted writing – the author overwrote the scene, skimped on transitions or tried to pack in too many unrelated ideas.
• Exclusively telling vs. showing – the author skimmed over the surface of the event and failed to describe it in a way that transports the reader.
• Backstory dumps – the author gave up too much information/explanation without allowing the story to unfold naturally.
• Technically competent but emotionally flat writing – the author lost the spark that made her want to write the story in the first place, or has lost her voice amid too many “helpful” suggestions.

Deborah: I edit genre fiction, and a common issue I see is too much exposition, which slows the pace. Another biggie is lack of conflict. Others include wordiness, repetition, telling vs. showing (or telling and showing), info-dumpy and/or unnatural-sounding dialogue, improperly structured scenes, overwriting, poorly balanced narration/action, and lack of character development. Some authors have writing tics they may not be aware of, such as repetitive syntax.

Cindy: Ho-hum beginnings, backstory, too many pronouns, too many points of view.

Rhonda: The common problems I see can depend on which type of editing a client’s looking for. In content critiques, the biggest things I see are slow pacing, characters you don’t connect with, plot holes, and the like. In line edits/proofreading, I typically see problems with comma usage, a lack of variety in sentence structure, repetition of the same character gestures, etc.

Kelsey: What are some warning signs that a freelance editor might not have the writer’s best interests at heart?

Lisa: I would watch out for any freelancer who isn’t willing to listen to her client. A freelance editor should help you realize your vision of the story, not force it to fit her own. I would also beware of anybody who makes too many promises. A good freelance editor can help you improve your work, but she can’t “get your work published.” Finally, as with any other professional relationship, it’s important to have a positive rapport with the editor you work with. Trust your gut; if you feel like your freelancer has an agenda of her own, she probably does.

Deborah: I think it’s important for an editor to guide the author, respecting her/his voice, and provide reasons for suggested revisions. It’s my hope that authors will learn from the experience and be able to identify and fix similar issues themselves next time. If an author isn’t getting an explanation for deleted or rearranged passages, and if she/he feels their voice is being changed, these could be red flags.

And there are situations when an editor might have the best of intentions but be unable to give proper guidance due to lack of experience. For instance, I wouldn’t be the best person to advise a client on her inspirational romance, because I don’t know that market.

Cindy: Untimely responses to author’s questions, slow return time on edits.

Rhonda: Writers need to be careful to make sure the editor they hire will not do more harm than good. I always suggest writers ask for a 5-page sample edit. You get a feel for how the editor works, what kinds of suggestions/changes he or she will make, and you can decide early on, BEFORE hiring, if that person can help you. Be careful the editor doesn’t try to overwrite your natural writing style. Be careful the editor doesn’t try to for his/her morality or ideology on your story. A good editor will help you strengthen your story, of course, but also remain true to your voice.

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Have you ever considered hiring a freelance editor? If so, what did you decide and what criteria did you use if you hired an editor?

Stop by Friday for another fabulous column from Theresa Stevens, editor at Star Publishing and all around great gal!

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Bios:

Lisa Stone Hardt

Lisa Stone Hardt began her career at Dell Publishing, where she learned the editorial craft from several of the best mass-market editors in the business. From 1997 to 1999, Lisa helped to launch the work of New York Times bestselling author Karen Marie Moning, USA Today bestselling author Julie Ortolon, and Sherri Browning Erwin. She spent the next ten years pursuing a legal career, first earning her law degree with honors, then practicing as a regulatory attorney with some of the top law firms in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Through it all, Lisa maintained her ties to the publishing community and volunteered her support to promising authors pursuing a career in commercial fiction. With the founding of LSH Editorial Services in September 2010, Lisa has followed her heart back to the editorial desk, where she once again helps established and aspiring authors find the sparkle in their work. Lisa specializes in romance, fantasy, women’s fiction and YA, and will consider non-fiction projects on a case-by-case basis. Learn more about Lisa at LSHEditorialServices.com.

Since Deborah Nemeth became an avid reader at age four and stops only when she absolutely has to, it was probably inevitable that she’d eventually become an editor. Over the years she’s lived in Ohio, Michigan, Chicago and Puerto Rico, although she spends most of her time in places such as nineteenth-century Bath or Middle-earth. She now lives in the Mid-Atlantic with her husband (a candidate for sainthood) and their two practically perfect daughters.

She’s been editing on a freelance basis for Carina Press since late 2009, and before that she edited for Samhain Publishing for over two years. To date she’s edited more than 150 books. She specializes in content editing and line editing genre fiction, especially mystery, fantasy, historical fiction and romance for private clients in addition to her work for Carina. You can find her on Twitter @DebNemeth.

Cindy Davis

Cindy Davis lives in southern NH where the winters are cold and summers hot–but at least they have no gators, tornados or insects the size of airplanes. She’s been a full time editor for twelve years, and loves most all genres, particularly mystery, since she’s also a mystery author.

Rhonda Helms

Rhonda Helms has a Master’s degree in English and a Bachelor’s degree in English, creative writing. She’s published in teen fiction with Simon and Schuster; check out her website (rhondastapleton.com) for info about her books. She also taught English composition at a local college for several years. Rhonda’s been a manuscript editor for several years, starting her career at Siren Publishing. Right now she’s an acquisitions/developmental editor with Harlequin’s e-publishing imprint Carina Press. She’s been freelancing for several years as well and loves taking on projects of all genres and lengths, though she specializes in romance and teen fiction. For more information about Rhonda’s services, fees and testimonials, visit rhondaedits.com.

Top Five Things I Learned From My Editors

By Inara Scott

I have a confession to make, Romance University: I don’t have an MFA. I don’t have a degree in English, either. Oh hell, I’ve never even taken a class in creative writing. Truly, I have no idea how I sold a book. I can only assume it was a temporary act of insanity on the part of my editor.

However insane it was, she did buy my book, which meant that eventually the poor thing had to edit it. In fact, since I sold my young adult series Delcroix Academy, back in 2008, I’ve inflicted myself on three different editors. (They are slippery beasts, those editors. Hard to keep in one place.) And then there were the poor, long-suffering copy editors. They had to deal with me too.

Now that I’ve been through the editing process on the first two books of my series, I believe it’s safe to say that I’ve learned more about writing from my editors than I possibly could have by suffering through years of English classes and creative writing seminars. And now, I want to share what I learned with you. This is practical stuff, folks. No big picture conflict and theme stuff here. You probably learned that doing your MFA. This is the nitty gritty.

Ready? Here goes:

1) Vary your scenes: As Editor One gently pointed out, most of the action in my book took place in the same three or four locations. I had to break it up. Send my characters outside. Create a basement for my school. Add some weather. Make the setting COUNT.

2) Add relevant blocking: We all know that we’ve got to keep our characters moving. Talking heads are boring, and adverbs are a no-no. But Editor 2 told me to add movement that also serves to develop character. A shy character shifts her skirt to cover her knees. A nervous character fiddles with a pen. This may sound easy, but now try putting this stuff on every page. Try making every gesture count. Wow. Now that’s hard.

3) Make sure readers can “see” your characters. I’m not big on describing clothes. Never have been, never will be. And that’s okay – but readers still need to see the characters. Editor 2 lamented at the beginning of several scenes that she could not remember what the characters looked like. Do you do this? Do you have a grounding visual for each character in each scene? I sure didn’t. The challenge here is not to resort to adding a mention of blue eyes, blonde hair, and broad shoulders every few pages. You need to mix it up and make it count. Don’t overwhelm the reader, ground them. And do it creatively.

Scared yet? Yeah, this writing business is much harder than I thought. But there’s more…

4) Vary your sentence structure. I will never forget how embarrassed I was when a copy editor noted in the margins that all my attribution tags seemed to be following this pattern: “He said, shifting in his seat.” “She said, pulling back her hair.” “He said, standing up and…” You get the picture. Make sentence structure something you look for in final revisions and make sure you are mixing it up. Though we have all been beaten into submission about the passive voice, you also can’t structure every sentence to read PRONOUN, VERB, CLAUSE. Variety is key.

5) Word repetition and buzz words: This is the hardest thing to fix, but so important. You need to find those nasty repeating words that show up twice in the same sentence, the same paragraph, and the same page. (See? There’s one now.) It’s so hard to catch this yourself, because we tend to tune out our own writing. I have my computer read my book to me because I find I can hear repetition better than I can see it. Then there’s the closely-related problem of buzz words. These are the annoying little writerly tics that we all have. Some of my buzz words are: just, horrible, turning, looking, and the dreaded sighing and shrugging. Your buzz words will vary. Before you inflict your book on an editor or critique partner, do a search and destroy. Your readers will thank you. 

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Now that I’ve given you my top five pieces of advice, how about you share some with me? Please, make me a better writer! And if you have questions, I’m happy to answer them. Just remember, I’m making this up as I go along. 

For your viewing pleasure, here’s the fabulous book trailer for THE CANDIDATES – DELCROIX ACADEMY.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Join us tomorrow at 8 p.m. CST for a live author chat with Lori Foster.

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Inara Scott is the author of Delcroix Academy: The Candidates, and the forthcoming sequel, Delcroix Academy: The Watchers. She tries not to take it personally that editors keep quitting after working on her books. You can find her on the web at www.inarascott.com. She is also known to hang out on Twitter (@inarascott) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/inarawrites) far more than is healthy.

On July 24 we will be launching our “Ask an Editor” column featuring Theresa Stevens, Managing Editor of Red Sage Publishing.  Theresa will be with us the third Friday of each month to answer questions sent by RU readers. 

Don’t miss this great opportunity to have your concerns addressed by a top-notch editor! 

Send questions to askaneditor@romanceuniversity.org.

*Due to volume we will only be able to answer one question per month.  We’ll make it a good one!