When to seek an editor for your writing?

When to seek an editor for your writing? This is my personal opinion. But would say whenever I am at a point revising, where I feel like I’m going in circles. In other words when I feel like I’m making changes but have no idea if they are actually making my writing better.

I will even put the story aside for weeks, then look at it again. It helps, but it’s not the same as an unbiased reader. Certainly family or friends can recommend improvements or even their insight, but they are not editors.

However, I believe it’s counterproductive to hire an editor too soon. I look whenever I can no longer make improvements. Then I search online for three to four freelance editors. The best way for me to decide is find ones that offer X amount of pages of a free edit. When I did this with three services I got a range from my story was nearly perfect, to it needs some work, to it needs a major overhaul.

Guess which one I picked? Well, after getting over the criticism, I followed the advice of the harshest one. It was not easy. I pouted, grumbled, and eventually saw that they were right. It might not always be the toughest editor that fits what you want. It’s not about being mean. It’s about making the story better.

Remember that. If an editor, family member, or even a friend says hurtful things about your writing, it doesn’t mean that they are correct. Take whatever is said and really think about it. Ask yourself ‘Would this information help my story/writing?’ ‘Is there a hidden agenda from this person?’ ‘Does it make sense with everything that I know and/or have read?’

For example, it’s not wise to answer all of the readers’ questions upfront, but to open with the action and weave in answers throughout the story. If there’s lots of backstory, it drags. Think of authors whom you love to read. How do they handle this?

Finally keep in mind that editors are human. They are excellent at what they do. Look for ones who help your writing and your story improve. When working with a publisher's editor, take time to think about their suggestions. Don't get upset. Do the easy changes first. Save the ones that made you cringe for a few days later when the open sore is not bleeding as much. Try and see the difficult changes from the point of the editor-and even more so-the point of the reader.

And Good Luck. 

Andrea R. Cooper

Writing Tips

Here are some writing tips that have helped me. Perhaps they will encourage you. Take what you want and throw out the rest.

For revising:

·         Some say to read your story out loud, and while I agree with them, sometimes my mind will read a word I think is there, but is not. These can be words that are spelled similar to the word wanted, but have an entirely different meaning. I found that after I read the story out loud, then I use a software program to read my story to me. The computer/software will not change any of the words so it’s easier to spot an incorrect word that I might have missed before.

·         Read the story again. But this time, read the last sentence on the last page. Then read the one above it, and the one above that, and so on. This way it allows each sentence to be the focus rather than the paragraph or the story itself. Often when I read my writing, I get caught up in the story and unable to focus on revising. Then I must start over. This practice of reading each sentence out of sequence can also help when editing/reading another writer’s work that the attention is on editing.

·         After the above, I will print out the entire story, but space the lines either single or 1.5 (this is to avoid printing on so much paper). If you have the ability to print on both sides of the paper, even better. Then I read the story again. Something about it being on paper when re-reading works even better than the computer screen-at least for me anyway.

For character development:

·         Take a fun quiz (or several) as your character. I recommend personality tests and ‘what zodiac sign should you be?’ Even if you don’t believe in astrology, it’s a fun way to learn a list of potential character traits. It can just give you some ideas, but doesn’t need to be taken too seriously or etched in stone. Often the descriptions are fairly vague so they could apply to numerous people. However, it might open up a character’s quirk that you might not have been aware of before. For example, let’s say the test comes back as Aquarius. You read the description and it mentions free thinker, aloof, and masculine & feminine tendencies. So you can use this to let’s say make your heroine a lover of knife throwing. Maybe weave that into your story. Perhaps she thinks outside of the box and you weren’t sure why, now you have a reason. Finally, maybe the hero sees her as indifferent, but then can learn that it’s only because she’s used to ridicule from family and friends because of her beliefs, or etc.

·         Do an interview with your character. Close your eyes and imaging you are a reporter. Your character is sitting across from you (or wherever feels appropriate). See them clearly. What are they wearing? How are they sitting? Do they look happy, amused, angry? Ask them whatever questions come to mind and wait for them to answer. There are lists of character interview questions online. Some of my favorites that have helped me are: What motivates you? Why are you doing this (or not doing this)? What do you fear? What do you love? What is a secret only you know? What was your favorite thing as a child? What’s your favorite food? What irritates you?

·         When re-reading your story, find something that a character does-or better says. For example maybe your heroine always talks in complete sentences. However your hero talks in fragments. Of course this wouldn’t be 100% of the time for either, but if you find you’ve switched these idiosyncrasies, then change as many as necessary. Don’t get too repetitive. Let’s say your heroine almost always says ‘only’. Ok, so when revising you leave most of these intact when it fits the sentence. Then you notice your hero says ‘only’ way too often. Hmmm. Maybe he could drop the only or he says merely or some other word. Or rework the sentence so he doesn’t need a different word. These are subtle things and be careful not to overdue them too much. Change it up some. You don’t want an editor coming back to you saying your character always jerks on their coat for example.