Story Editing

[Cia]

If I sounded down on editors, sorry. (I guess I do need one!) So... what kind of editing should post #22 get? lol

You have two that struck me immediately when I first read it. Two cents is two words, but no hyphen is needed. Also, the last sentence in the paragraph is missing a word. I will say that when 'I' do, I will need ... I do this one all the time, my brain goes faster than my fingers can keep up and since I expect to see the word in the sentence, I don't miss it. That's why I have someone check over my work for me after I'm done with it. A good team is invaluable.

[MikeL]

That's why I have someone check over my work for me after I'm done with it.

 

Surely you should say "after I'm finished with it." My wife was the English teacher. If a student proclaimed that he was "done", she always responded, "I didn't realize you had been in the oven."

 

Even editors need editing.

Edited July 30, 2012 by MikeL

[Cia]

That's why I never claim to be an editor! I was all of 13 the last time someone tried to drum grammar into my head. High school shunted me directly into advanced lit classes and it was all about novels. We basically got to dissect them. I think that's where my true love of beta reading came from. I love to get into the nitty gritty of why a character acts the way they do and why the story flows the way it does. With the online community, I actually get to do that with the authors which is a lot of fun for me.

[Henry_Henry2012]

As a side note, THANK GOD FOR SPELLCHECK!

 

True indeed. I've noticed that being reliant on Microsoft Word has its drawbacks. My spelling has definitely gone awry and I could never behest the good intention of checking twice the words that is commonly misspelled by authors.

 

As for editors, most editors I've met have issues with my storyline, only because they haven't read the whole story per se. I've had a great opportunity to contact a friend who has told me that he would only edit my work after my story is done. Which makes sense.

 

My one rule, in which my professor from college has gladly given me such advise, is to never solicit an editor's advise if the story you're doing is not finished as a whole. It would be detrimental on your storyline if the editor would make changes that is limited only to the submitted part of the story, not the whole story itself.

 

Especially in this site wherein submissions are provided chapter per chapter; it's difficult to assume that an editor is following through your storyline (especially complexed ones) if and if you, as an author, have only provided parts of your story through a chapter submission.

 

As an author, I wouldn't expect an editor to provide me insights to the storyline if he has not fully read the whole story, unless it's grammatical errors he is subjecting me to correct, or spellchecks that he deemed sufficient to be changed within a given chapter.

 

It would be preposterous and absurd if an editor commissions me to change a whole paragraph plot-line that he deems would better the flow of the story, if I've only provided him two or three chapters. Editors like that would only be questionable on their ability to discern such changes that should be made, if the editor would impose big changes wherein he or she has only read a couple chapters from a story.

 

Of course, I'm not implying that editors cannot make their editing on a chapter basis, however, that should be done if the editor is fully devoted to the progression of the story. And communication plays a vital role in assuring that changes to be made on a chapter basis are considered paramount and not a hindrance to the story. I've noticed that editors prefer proof-reading or editing a completed work, instead of revising or making minor changes to a chapter.

 

There's only so much an editor can do to a story that lacks the "Oomph" factor to make a story readable. I'd rather be shunned by an editor because he/she doesn't have the time to edit my work, no matter how dreadful or absurd my lack of grammar appears to be. But I'd be devastated and morose if the editor were to inform me that my story lacks the imagination to even begin as a story itself.

 

Writing is work, after all.

[crazyfish]

I think it's a bit much to expect polished work from a free site like this. I mean, you ask why can't we all get editors, where are the free editors? Editing is work. Editing is boring grunt work. Everyone wants an editor, but no one wants to edit for someone else. All those editors you see are doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, either for the love of story, or for the love of you. So either write great stories that attract lots of attention, or be a lovely person of great (I dunno, or pay the big bucks for a professional editor.

 

On the other hand, if you take writing seriously then you really really really need to learn to self-edit. If you're thinking of submitting to mags or agents then your work needs to be polished from the get go. Pick up a grammar book. Pick up a craft book (Self-editing for fiction writers is a great book). In the end the fastest way to learn to self-edit is edit the work of strangers. Join a critique group. Better yet review stories here with a critical eye. If you're going to be writer, you need to learn to read critically anyway. I warn you, reading critically may destroy your love of reading silly stories.