A Question For Authors

[Sparhawk]

What do you look for and expect from an editor?

[Gandalf Lyonn]

Honest and somepone who doesn't try to alter the story.

 

An author and his/her editor should be a team.

 

Gandalf

[Bill W]

What I look for is:

 

1. someone to catch the typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors.

 

2. someone to catch incongruities, such as having typed the wrong character name or my using the real name of the person I based the character on, rather than the name I'm using in the story.

 

3. someone will to make comments as whether he thinks there is a weakness in the storyline or possibly point out things I might have overlooked.

 

4. I want the editor to give me his suggestions, but not be offended if I don't accpet or use them all.

 

Bill

[Sparhawk]

Thanks guys that is the kind of input I was looking for.

 

I agree a editor should never change the story. He may offer ways to change some part of the story, and then it is up to the author to decide what he wants to do.

[James Bond]

Bill's point 1. and 2. is what I expect from a proofreader (and yes, an editor should proofread too). Spotting repetitive phrasings, clumsy sentences and excessive usage of clich

[Myr]

I agree with JB and I thank my current friends that are happily shredding away on my Masterpieces... it gives me a good reason to look closely at my work and write more.

[Forloyn]

you can actuly SEE this in Tale of Two Rings

 

chapters 1-6 Dr.Seuss from the Drool re wrote for me where as the rest of the chapters have only been edited by Moonfire (my normaly fanfic editor) She only fixed spelling and some structer. where are Seuss helped me flesh it out more.

 

You can tell in 1-6 there is a LOT more detail and it flows a LOT better then the rest. I should really get onto him about the 'other' chapters but he has been busy, I'm shure he hasent forgoten about me....

 

who am I kiding he has forgoten about me!

 

*Viper pouts*

[Myr]

The good Doctor is Cheif of the Newsletter

[B_O_B]

I always worry that I will hurt the author's feelings if I make plot suggestions or point out weaknesses, plot holes, or errors. After all, they are the creator not me. I also feel like a bit of a hypocrite since I don't think I could write a good novel myself Still, I will try to be more aggressive and help with ideas where I can.

 

B_O_B

[Dewey]

I look for someone who is not afraid to throw the bull***t flag if something doesn't work. I like my editors to look for continuity and characterization as well as grammatical errors. Typically the people I use know the story as well or better than I do.

 

B_O_B, if you were editing my work, I'd expect you to make suggestions. I wouldn't necessarily take them, but I like input.

[Navigator]

What I look for is:

 

1.  someone to catch the typos, misspellings, and grammatical errors.

 

2.  someone to catch incongruities, such as having typed the wrong character name or my using the real name of the person I based the character on, rather than the name I'm using in the story.

 

3.  someone will to make comments as whether he thinks there is a weakness in the storyline or possibly point out things I might have overlooked.

 

4.  I want the editor to give me his suggestions, but not be offended if I don't accpet or use them all.

 

Bill

5. Should not be afraid to tell me what works and what doesn't and should be able to adequately explain why.

 

I've done a little editing here and there including for a good portion of the first chapters of Myr's Parliment of Dreams. Myr, likewise helped edit the first two thirds of my story. (It has since been significantly overhauled but the edits remain largely intact)

 

What worked for us was the understandng that if we had a problem with a particular scene, we didn't keep it to ourselves, but we would explain why we had a problem with it, and what we thought might work better.

 

It also helped that we got second and third opinions on a regular basis.

[Myr]

well said Nav.

 

That's why the Private Workshop has helped so much

[miguelsanchez55]

I've had 2 editor's work with me on my stories. Each are good. My first editor showed me my errors and allowed me to fix them while my second and current one, Pyro does it and keeps me in line.

 

I'd say without my editors, I prolly wouldn't be around to keep myself and the others happy. I totally agree that an author and editor should work as a team and that's why I think Pyro and I work well together. Thanks bro, I love ya man.

 

My thanks to both my editors.

 

Miguel (Mike) Sanchez

[dkstories]

I'd have to agree with those who talk about editors helping by pointing out plot holes, question information that doesn't fit, and helps with the general flow of the story. In the past I've worked with editors who either just proofread, or went overboard, and a lot in between. I personally preferred those not afraid to tell me what they thought about a chapter, plot idea or issue, so long as they remember that as the author, the final decision rests with me.

 

With a lot of my dialogue, I purposefully mispell words, or use bad grammar to reflect the speech patterns of different characters. Some editors have forgotten that and tried to correct those mistakes.

 

Other times, I've gotten questions like (e/n - are you really sure you want to put this here? It chops up the flow of the narrative and contradicts what character B said in chapter 1).

 

I love those catches, especially when I purposely contradict what a character said earlier (it's a favorite tactic of mine to have characters LIE to each other, and have it be seen by the readers later in the story. I also enjoy having a character appear nice and compassionate in one chapter, and a total asshole in a later chapter. It's part of the variety of the characters. When the editor asks me "Why is so-and-so doing THIS now when, before he was doing this?" I have a chance to make sure I'm doing what I intended and to make sure my reasons for the character's actions are realistic). This is all part of what an editor does for authors in publications, not just proofreading. However, some editors don't want to do that detailed of work. The author and editor should always discuss what they are expecting from each other, and want out of the editor/author relationship before actually commencing working together. As with ANY relationship, communication is vital to a healthy interaction.

 

Now having said that, I need an editor for my new story, A New Dawn. I've had an editor working with me excellently on my HP fics, but I am actually wanting someone who can work closely on a non-HP fic.

 

One great tool I've found for editing, is the MS Word program's mark-up feature. I've never seen anything else that makes the editor's changes and comments clearer and allowed the author to approve the changes, make second recommendations or comments and return them to the editor and get their response, all in different colors and clear as a brisk spring morning. I've gotten so use to using this program that I shudder at the idea of not using the thing.

 

It's a tool that I hope to never do without.