The most important question to ask when line editing
Plus, Coaching Writers starts tomorrow!
Editing Effectively at the Sentence Level
Sometimes you're asked to do a medium- or heavy-level copyedit on a novel manuscript, which means you'll be doing more than just the basics of ensuring the ms conforms to style and is free of typos and other errors.
You'll also be smoothing out the prose, helping the author fix problems like head-hopping, and deleting info-dumping (the overuse of exposition in a novel).
(You may also have similar goals in a line edit.)
But newer editors have a tendency to think that "there's a different way to write this" is the same thing as "there's a better way to write this."
Those are two different things.
To make sure any edit is effective it has to be both (1) an improvement and (2) intended to address an important issue.
"Improvement" means that you have identified the issue with a sentence/paragraph, not because you think your solution "sounds" better or because you heard about a rule somewhere and you're applying it without understanding it.
Take, for example, the sentence "The children ran into the house and closed the door loudly." An inexperienced editor might think, "Aha! One should reduce the use of adverbs" and therefore edit the sentence to say "The children ran into the house and closed the door."
But in that case, the editor has changed the meaning of the sentence without improving the sentence. The children didn't just close the door, they closed it in a certain way: loudly.
A more experienced editor might think, "A stronger verb would communicate the information more vividly" and edit the sentence to say "The children ran into the house and slammed the door." That's an improvement.
"Important" means your solution corrects an error, makes a detectable difference in readability, or reduces the potential for confusion.
For example, if you can't tell which character is speaking in a passage of dialogue, it's important to address that issue.
That you think "scarlet" is a better word than "crimson" for that particular shade of red is not important.
That you know the phrase is "toeing the line" and not "towing the line" is important. One is incorrect and the other is not.
When your edits include revising sentences, always ask: "Is this edit important AND does it improve the sentence?"
Editorial Toolkit: Coaching Writers
Starts Tomorrow! (Wednesday, February 19)
$330 (Members: $297) | How to coach writers | 4 weeks | Instructor-led | Intermediate
This class is designed to help you get started in offering coaching as a service to writers. Coaching can be a lucrative addition to your menu of services and can be a great way to help writers who are not ready for a developmental edit, who are stuck at the concept stage, who need to re-conceptualize their novels but don’t know how, who want someone to oversee a revision step-by-step, or who have other mentoring needs not easily contained within a traditional edit.
We’ll cover:
how coaching differs from developmental editing
developing the skills you need to offer coaching as a service
building on your current expertise to offer coaching services
marketing your services
understanding client needs
choosing the method of coaching
defining and setting expectations (parameters and limits)
setting fees and getting paid
figuring out scheduling and delivery logistics
creating small-group experiences that lead to coaching relationships
and more!
Each week includes a new lesson and a new assignment to be submitted for the instructor’s feedback along with online discussions about the lesson materials.
Student testimonial:
“After taking Club Ed’s excellent Coaching Writers course earlier this year, I came away with lots of ideas and possibilities for how coaching could be part of my editing business model. The course really helped me focus on the type of coaching (there are many!) that suited my skills and background in education. After great feedback from Jennifer, I focused on revision and generative coaching, and today, I signed up my first TWO clients. Everything takes time, but it’s worth the wait (and work!).” – Sam Keir
For more information and to register, click here.
For Members
The next marketing challenge will be held April 7 - May 2, 2025.
And don’t forget the discount on the marketing webinar replays! You’ll find that in the membership program classroom.
Upcoming Classes
Classes starting soon:
Editorial Toolkit: Coaching Writers, starts Feb 19, 2025
Editing for Character Development, starts Mar 17, 2025
Call to Adventure: Editing the Opening, starts Mar 24, 2025 (two weeks)
Beginning Line Editing for Fiction, starts Mar 24, 2025
Editorial Toolkit: Book Doctoring and Ghostwriting, starts Mar 26, 2025
About Jennifer Lawler
I help editors figure out what the hell they're doing.
If you're an aspiring, new, or established book editor or story coach, I can probably help you learn how to do the work better and more profitably.
Through Club Ed, I offer developmental editing classes, a freelance editor membership program/support group, and a slightly bony shoulder to cry on.
I've worked as an editor for more than twenty years. I learned how to edit in the trenches of traditional publishing with its insane deadlines, pitiless competition, and crushing bureaucracy. To that I added a Ph.D in English literature with a specialization in medieval literature because of a long story.
Editorial clients have included Simon & Schuster, Girl Friday Productions, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Barnes and Noble Custom Publishing, and others, along with many independent authors.
For fiction self-paced classes, click here.
For fiction instructor-led classes, click here
For nonfiction self-paced classes, click here
For nonfiction instructor-led classes, click here
For on-demand instructor-led classes, fiction and nonfiction, click here