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What Do Nonfiction Authors Really Want from Their Editors?

March 19, 2012 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

 by Barbara McNichol

This follows a recent post on what worries authors about the editing process. The points below reflect answers from 40 authors who sent me their thoughts about what they expect when they hire an editor for their nonfiction manuscripts. 

Specifically, they told me that . . . 

  1. They want more than a clean up; they want a major step up in clarity.
  2. They want support in thinking through the organization of the material in the first place before nitty-gritty editing begins.
  3. They want the editor to be tuned in to the author’s objectives for the book, keeping those top of mind throughout the process.
  4. They want their points made more succinctly and artistically and their stories told well. As one author said, “An unedited piece can make my point but in a less elegant way than one that’s been edited.”
  5. They want their ideas made more appealing by adding vivid words and gem phrases they didn’t think of themselves.
  6. They want insight on the effect their writing is or is not having on the reader. As a stand-in for the reader, your editor can play this role well.
  7. They want editors to catch problems that casual readers wouldn’t. In terms of content, that includes unfinished thoughts or missing steps or unclear logic or a story that falls flat. In terms of language, that means fixing grammar, spelling, agreements, redundancies, repetition, mixed modifiers, run on sentences, and more. In terms of effectiveness, it means improving the flow and tightening the writing throughout.

In your experience, do these points reflect what you want? What other factors are important to include? Please share them.

 

Filed Under: Editors and Authors Tagged With: Barbara McNichol, book editors, editors and authors, nonfiction book editing, professional book editing, Tucson Festival of Books

What Worries Authors About Editing Services?

March 12, 2012 by Barbara McNichol Leave a Comment

by Barbara McNichol

As editors, we may think we know what authors want , but how often do we test our assumptions and ask?

I did just that by sending out three questions to approximately 125 clients and 300 authors in my circle. From the 40 thoughtful responses I received, I got a much clearer sense of what worries authors when it comes to the editing process. They told me that . . . 

  1. They’re concerned about the editor changing their “voice” while editing—altering their style so much that it doesn’t come across as their own. As one person said, “Sometimes editors add their own ideas rather than helping the author express his or her own thoughts in a clearer, more concise way.”
  2. They don’t want the “juice” in the original writing to be watered down by too much word-whacking (which is a term I use).
  3. They’re concerned that an editor isn’t sensitive to subject matter, that they’ll approach editing mechanically rather than engaging with the material and delivering on the book’s objectives.
  4. One author talked about his previous editor being out of tune with his effort to convey something unique. He said, “This editor never invested in my passion and the spirit that I wanted to come out in my writing.”

 

What worries you? What would you add to these comments? (Look for more questions and answers in future blog posts.)

 

Filed Under: Editors and Authors Tagged With: Barbara McNichol, book editors, editing process, editing worries, nonfiction book authors, professional editing services

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