requires a great deal of objectivity and meticulousness (qualities that many otherwise detail-oriented people lack when confronted with their own writing).As a self-editor, you should be prepared to make many changes to your manuscript before you complete a final draft, from the broadly conceptual cutting and pasting of structural editing to the technical refinement of the copyedit.The following pages outline some basic components of each type of revision you will need to perform in order to make your self-published book the best it can be.
Keep in mind, however, that no one should be expected to write, edit and publish a book completely alone. It’s a good idea to get some input from a potential reader before the book goes to press. If you want to publish a book that is engaging and error-free, give it to a friend or colleague you trust and ask for some objective feedback. But beware: most people are reluctant to criticize.You’ll often have to grill the reader to find out what was really wrong with the manuscript. If you find yourself in serious disagreement with a friend’s comments, give it to someone else for a second opinion. Keep in mind that each person’s sense about a piece of writing is subjective.
It’s also important to remember that, when you ask a friend to read your work, you are requesting a favour.A surefire way to predispose people to dislike your work is to behave as though it were an honour that they should be “allowed” to read it.
What is Editing?
Editing includes making a manuscript logical, entertaining, clear and consistent. It is an extended process, with several stages: Rewriting. It is often easier to give a manuscript with major problems a total rewrite rather than try to polish it. The rewriter uses the manuscript as a source of ideas and information, but writes the book again from scratch. Rewriting is EXPENSIVE! It typically takes six months to rewrite a book, so you can expect to pay the rewriter the equivalent of six months’ salary.
Substantive or structural editing. If the material is reasonably well written but needs better organization or more clarification, it requires a structural edit (also called a substantive edit.) The editor reorganizes the manuscript, querying the author on gaps in logic.
Stylistic editing. The material is well organized, but there is too much jargon, or it is written for the wrong reading level.A stylistic editor “translates” the manuscript by smoothing out the language and tone.
Copyediting. What most people call “editing” is copyediting— fixing the grammar and spelling and watching for inconsistencies. This is also called “line editing.”
Proofreading. A proofreader checks the work of the copyeditor and layout person. Many people mistakenly call the entire process “proofreading,” but most proofreaders bridle at copyediting jobs disguised as proofreading. If it hasn’t been copyedited, it isn’t ready to be sent for proofreading!
For the self-editor, these stages will naturally overlap and merge as you embark on the path of revising your book.When looking for spelling errors, you will inevitably find yourself noticing organizational problems, and vice versa. Given this, the rest of this chapter is divided according to the basic principles at the heart of the editing process: rewriting, rearranging, stylistic editing, making the text correct and consistent and checking. And as for the cherry on top? There’s also advice on how to come up with a knockout title.
Rewriting: Almost Back to Square One
The manuscript just plain doesn’t work, and you don’t know where to start fixing it.You really need help with it—but can’t afford to hire someone for the months it will take.Where do you turn?
Many freelance editors are willing to do a manuscript evaluation. They don’t actually edit the manuscript. Rather, they read it through and prepare a detailed memo outlining what works and what doesn’t.They also offer suggestions on how to fix the problems they’ve pointed out.You end up doing most of the work yourself, but you are doing it with professional guidance— and you’ve paid someone for a few days of work, not a few months.The Writers’ Union also offers a manuscript evaluation service, as do the various writers in residence at universities, colleges and libraries. (See also the Writers in Electronic Residence web page at http://www.wier.ca).
MAKING IT ENTERTAINING
Maybe you have considered making your book strictly a genealogical study containing mostly charts, names and dates. But most manuscripts need to entertain their readers in order to keep them interested. You are writing a true story, the story of your family. Think of how wonderful it would be to enrich the facts with meaningful anecdotes and details that fit into a narrative. Fiction editors use a variety of “formulae” to make books entertaining. A formula is a standard “structure”—a way of organizing the information in the book. Here is one of the most common structures: You start with a fairly interesting incident to get the reader’s attention, slowly build reader interest until the first climax, which comes about halfway through the book. That is followed by a section showing the consequences of the climax, with a slow, sustained buildup of tension until a more major climax at the end of the book. In other words, intro-duction>plot development> minor climax> more plot development>major climax> denouement. It works just as well for a family history as it does for a Harlequin.
Rearranging: The Structural Edit
Not surprisingly, a structural edit involves reorganizing the book to make sure it progresses logically from start to finish. Rearranging can involve shifting entire episodes and sections around, or cutting the manuscript up into its constituent paragraphs and shuffling them into a more logical—or entertaining— order.
A few questions to ask yourself at this is point are: Do my thoughts follow in a logical order? Do I have all of the discussions of a single topic in the same place? Each of these factors will contribute to the clarity and effect of your work as a whole.
Stylistic Editing
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