The work of editors is wonderful, beautiful, and confusing. What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing is a collection of essays describing how editors think, work, and feel. These essays come from editors around the editing world from academic editors to picture book editors and everything in between. Although every editor and every editing project is different, there are commonalities about editing and writing no matter the content genre or purpose.
As I read this book, I found most of what I was highlighting fell into one of five categories: the Author/Editor Relationship, Tips for Finding an Editor, Writing Advice, What Editing Is, and Who the Editor Is. Below I have pulled out the top top five tips from each of these categories. These tips are useful for authors, editors, and anyone wanting to learn more about the writing and publishing process.
Author/Editor Relationship
The editing of a book can take a year or longer. From Nancy S. Miller, pg. 59
Authors needs and wants are all different. Some want or need no, a little, or a lot of editing, or they just want another brain for ideas. Editors must adapt to the needs of each individual author instead of making the author adapt to them. From George Witte, pg. 98
"[I]t's necessary to build good working relationships based on clear and appropriate communication, tact, and mutual respect." From Katharine O'Moore-Klopf, pg. 244
Author must be willing to take criticism from editors. Criticism and feedback are needed to make a book readers want to read and enjoy reading. From Arielle Eckstut and David Henry Sterry, pg. 254
"The core - the heart and soul - of editing will always be the editor-author relationship." From Peter Ginna, pg. 272
Tips for Finding an Editor
If you are looking to publish traditionally, you must remember that there are not many editors acquiring for the five major publishers and they all have vastly different opinions and tastes. From Jonathan Karp, pg. 31
Look for an editor who will be passionate about your book. From Erika Goldman, pg. 155
Editors should help their authors celebrate even the smallest of victories. From Katie Henderson Adams, pg. 232
Find an editor who is continuously learning. From Katharine O'Moore-Klopf, pg. 243
Make sure you know what your editor offers and what you want from your editor. (Not everyone defines industry terms the same way). From Katharine O'Moore-Klopf, pg. 245
Writing Advice
Know your audience. From Peter Ginna, pg. 24
Knowing your genre lets the author know what the readers expect helping the author to write their book. From Susan Rabiner, pg. 80
"Every compelling book tells a story - and this is just as true for nonfiction as for fiction, even for academic works of ideas." From Susan Rabiner, pg. 82
"The reader should be getting something from every paragraph." From George Witte, pg. 100-101
Read widely in your main genre to learn about subgenres and tropes of the genre. Read widely in other genres to learn their strengths, such as world-building in sci-fi and fantasy or character development in romance. From Diana Gill, pg. 160
What Editing Is
"It's ironic that publishing, a business whose essence is words, has some of the loosest, most confusing, and most contradictory terminology of any industry I know." From Peter Ginna, pg. 2
"The art of editing lies in exercising taste and making aesthetic judgments, and in attuning oneself, in a slightly different way each time, to the sensibility and psychology of an author. The craft involves learning techniques and best practices, which range from the rules of grammar and style mastered by copyeditors to the diplomatic ways of phrasing suggestions that good line editors learn by experience." From Peter Ginna, pg. 5
Editing takes place in different levels, not stages, and they can happen all at the same time. From Peter Ginna, pg. 9
"[E]diting amounts to the quality-control phase of a product." From Carol Fisher Saller, pg. 108
The goal and point of editing "is to make the text as clear, engaging, and correct as possible." From Diana Gill, pg. 162
Who the Editor Is
"The editor also represents the reader to the author, and vice versa." From Peter Ginna, pg. 3
Editor must have empathy and be a problem-solver. From Nancy S. Miller, pg. 61
"A good editor asks the right questions, makes you better than you are, or more willing to stretch even when you resist." From Betsy Lerner, pg. 76
There is no one specific training path, certification, or education to become an editor. From George Witte, pg. 96
Good editors are clear, kind, and encouraging. From Nancy Siscoe, pg. 186
I will be sharing some more tips from this book over on my Instagram, so make sure to follow me there. If you want to really dive into the mind of an editor, check out this book. You can buy it here.
What do you think is the best tip in this list?