Editors Make Or Break Your Book... Right?
If you’re an editor or a writer, have you wondered what’s going to happen when you get your stuff out there for the world to critique? Feedback is great … when it’s great. If you haven’t gotten a bad review on your book yet, great! But consider this: it’s inevitable if you’re going to make a career out of book publishing. The odds of pleasing everyone all the time are slim. So, read on.
No one has ever asked me what my qualifications are for editing. The main questions I always get asked are, “What is developmental editing?” and, “Why do I need both developmental editing AND copy-editing?”
If you’re reading this, props to you, my friend, because I do have another blog post that answers those exact questions, which you can read by clicking here if you have not done that yet. So I’m not going to go too deeply back into that. However, I will explain what developmental editing is, briefly. Developmental editing changes the overall structure of your book to improve the quality and focuses on key details such as plot, character settings, facts, and transitions. Copy editing focuses on word usage, grammar, and punctuation. (A similar but rarely used service is line-editing, but my services combine both line and copy editing.)
That being said, when someone decides one day that they want to become a developmental editor, there are key factors that qualify them to be a good one. First, you have to have a solid grasp of language, reading, writing, spelling, and punctuation. Second, you have the ability to grow, adapt, learn, and essentially, roll with the punches. And take a hit or two to your ego. Even the best editors find their books get a negative review every now and again, and if anyone says they don’t, either their head is in the sand or they’re lying.
Third, you have to have a solid grasp, or intuitive grasp, of what makes a good book outline. Remember making book outlines for Mrs. Smith in 3rd grade? Then the following week, you had to write a story within that outline. Books still follow that premise today. The concept remains the same, though the author’s voice and creative liberties give it a little flexibility.
To be a freelance developmental editor, those are the only requirements. That being said, those of us who want to be exceptional can choose to continue our education. Those who want to work for a company have to continue their education because bachelor’s and master’s degrees are often required.
Continuing education for developmental editors begins with the basic principles of proofreading, copy editing, then outlines, then, finally, developmental editing critiques. I took a proofreading course that lasted 6 months. Then I focused on a copy-editing course that lasted 3 months. Then I took a 6-week course that focused solely on developmental editing after briefly touching up on the basics of grammar, punctuation, and copy editing. Prior to, and during that, I also read several books and studied all those techniques, written by “those who went before me.” Meaning, I’d rather learn from experienced editors what works best, from first-hand knowledge.
The course I chose for developmental editing was designed for people already working as a proofreader or copy editor. I liked this course because it was a two-part course that included real-life experience and firsthand knowledge from a developmental editor who designed the course and it streamlined the same developmental editing of a 4-year-bachelor’s degree into 6 weeks by skipping weeks and weeks of redundancy that went over grammar, punctuation, and copy editing. It was self-paced, with lifetime access, and included all the same college books of the 4-year degree.
After your clients’ books come out, everyone is proud of their clients, and proud of their own efforts. And if you see very few negative reviews throughout your career, you’re, again, either not paying attention or just incredibly blessed, with the latter being a very good thing. Out of the hundreds, if not thousands of reviews on my clients’ books, I’ve seen three negative reviews, two of which were on the same book, which I thought was an excellent book. Out of those three negative reviews, two were a direct hit at the editor in question (me). It happens. If you’re in the business long enough, it’s going to happen. So here’s what you should know about your reviewers:
- There are a lot of reasons why a reviewer might point a dirty finger at your editor. First, there are two kinds of editors, which I’ll discuss further in a moment. If the reviewer is family or a friend and they didn’t really care for your book and are saying something negative about it, chances are they think if they blame your editor, it’ll take some of the heat off you. Either way you look at it, if your book is good, your editor must be good, and if your book is bad, your editor must be bad. Neither is true only because editors view all books as good, just that they need polishing and clarity. Second, maybe the book just wasn’t the reviewer’s cup of tea but the editor liked your creative choices and the book ended up a little wordy. Everyone has opinions and not everyone agrees. Editors have a vast knowledge of books and what works so they make choices every day about what is a good addition to your book and what is not. The readers don’t always know what was there before and what wasn’t. Editor’s opinions aren’t always right or wrong, and neither are reviewers because they’re just that: opinions.
- Everyone is a critic. Too many TV shows glorify critiquing people, places, and things these days. People want things right now, mostly due to social media, supermarkets, online ordering, and becoming used to instant gratification. If you took a little while to build up an action scene or describe the scenery, people are impatient. I would, instead, gauge the ratio of negative to positive reviews by percentage. If you got one bad review out of however many, I would take the negative one and see if you can learn from it. If not, just disregard it. You can’t please everybody, and your books aren’t for everybody. You shouldn’t have to change your creative voice to please the world.
The other type of editor might choose to hack your book apart and change the storylines completely. Those editors want to take your book to Hollywood and change your author’s voice and insert theirs and Hollywood’s voice. There is nothing wrong with that if that’s what you’re looking for, and often, that’s what some people want when they want their books taken to “the next level.”
When I’m chosen, it’s because my clients want their books smoothed out, edited for redundancy, missing key points, key stories, filled out when gaps are there. They want their book concise, consistent, easy-to-read, fact-checked, accurate, and knowledgeable, while their author’s voice and creativity remain intact. I believe that’s what makes me a good editor because I don’t hack my clients’ books apart and insert my own voice in there. I feel it’s unnecessary and insulting. If the book follows the basic required outlines for a good book with the highs and lows to hook readers in, then their own unique voice deserves to shine.
Additionally, in the self-publishing world, I can’t and don’t force the author to change their content. I can only make suggestions and it’s at the author’s discretion if they want to change the content of their book. It’s their intellectual property. In the end, it’s up to the author to do the writing, decide to take my suggestions or not, and if they don’t, I have no control over that. So, I take that into account based on what the client decided to do with my suggestions as well.
So what do I do when my clients receive a review saying they need a new editor?
- First, I accept the reviewer’s opinion and see if they leave any detailed feedback that can make me a better editor.
- Second, I read between the lines and see if there are any other motives behind their review.
- Then, I read all the other reviews and weigh them with the negative one.
- And, finally, every now and again, I re-read my study books and re-take my classes or add new ones.
Honestly, I think the every-now-and-again negative reviews serve as a reminder to stay humble. Nobody’s perfect so it never hurts to be reminded of that. But, on a good note, I’ve had hundreds of happy clients.
Still providing exceptional work for exceptional people.
Jeannie Culbertson ~The Noteworthy Mom
