Wrestling with the red pen: the editing process from the editor/author perspective.

AUTHOR: I’m excited to share this blog with you as it’s something which touches on a variety of misunderstood issues in the publishing sector. I am a proofreader and editor myself, as well as an author and lecturer, yet that unique combination of roles enables me to see the individual importance of each of these. I have never officially edited my own work; I am far too involved in that work to take an objective stance and often (to my detriment) far too precious about my work to, ‘kill my darlings’ as Stephen King would say. However, that doesn’t stop me from having my work edited or proofread. Just because I am unable to take that objective approach doesn’t mean that that stance isn’t important in the development of my work. It is vital. And today, I’m pleased to introduce Emily, who has been the editor of my first ever full-length novel.

Emily’s interest in horror, willingness to take on a challenge (which you’ll definitely have with my work) and general politeness meant I immediately warmed to her. I’d like to point out that Emily was the first to read the completed version of the novel and I felt as if I was passing her my baby, so she could rearrange its face! You can imagine how nerve-wracking and terrifying that can be. I realise that it is so important to actually have a decent relationship with your editor. To be able to be honest, but as a writer to not be proud (or easily offended). As someone who is hyper sensitive, this feedback can hit quite hard, and yet, when I look at what the editor has said/done, I realise that 99% of the time they are right, and I am grateful to them for helping improve my work. Emily is not the first editor I have worked, there have been many, and all have been knowledgeable, competent and above all, friendly. My advice to any author would be: You do need an editor and proofreader; choose your professional carefully and wisely (are they registered/with experience?) and finally, listen to them and debate the comments you don’t agree with, before dismissing it entirely.

Lastly, I’d like to share Emily’s first comment to me after editing Themis:

‘It's nearly 1 AM here and all I can say is WOW!!! What an ending! Never ever ever expected that. The last chapter was so intense, I felt so sad and intrigued.’

Thank you so much, Emily - I will take that and run with it .... 😂💀☠️

EDITOR: Hello all, I had the pleasure of working with Charlotte for my very first editing project, proofreading Themis. I have been studying professional and creative writing for the past two and a half years, and have been very interested in the editing sector of my degree. As you can imagine this opportunity was extremely exciting for me yet also very daunting, with me being a total newbie working with a published author. I was truly over the moon. Charlotte was very kind, supportive and receptive throughout the entire editorial process which made my first editing gig highly enjoyable, and I loved her material too which is even better! I definitely think the only way a book/project can flourish is with a great editor-author relationship. Primarily, there needs to be a layer of trust to build on for a good relationship to grow. Like Charlotte said, she felt like she was handing me her baby to rearrange its face! This is why it’s crucial that editors remain true to the author’s creative ideas and intentions whilst editing their work, and really investing themselves in the project. And remember people, communication is KEY. Good and effective communication helps both parties and really allows the trust and professional relationship to grow.

Whilst editing Charlotte’s novel I always referred to my Style manual: sixth edition, but I tried to be as careful as possible as I know Charlotte is a UK based author, and the Style manual is an Australian style guide. But I hope me referring to this guide when I needed to put Charlotte at ease, as I wasn’t just ‘gut editing’ so to speak.

I do think every book can benefit from an editor’s input, even if it’s just a proofread or light copy edit. In saying that, I don’t think every editor is right for every project. So, for all the authors out there, choose your editors wisely. Think of it like dating, I believe you both need to have similar interests and share the same end goal, otherwise there’s no way it’s going to work.

Thank you again Charlotte for this amazing opportunity, I can’t wait to get my hands on Themis when it’s officially published 😊

Emily's page: https://emiilyferguson.wixsite.com/emilyedits

Thank you again Charlotte for this amazing opportunity, I can’t wait to get my hands on Themis when it’s officially published 😊