Kind Fiction Editing – part 2: Editing adapted to suit you.

I believe that editing can be kind as well as honest, and in this second blog about Kinder Fiction Editing, I explain how I have adapted my editing process to suit the differing needs of the authors I work with. Also see part one of Kind Fiction Editing – Is My Writing Good Enough?

An author has probably nurtured their manuscript for months, if not years.

When I have finished editing a manuscript, and I’m returning it to the author, I always send it twice. Or rather, I send two versions of the same file.

The first version I send has all my marks on it – this includes:

• all the suggested changes that I have made directly to the text (the more definitive corrections to spelling, grammar and punctuation which I’m confident should be seriously considered by the author and don’t really need clarification). These are made using MS Word’s Track Changes.
• all my comments (any suggested changes which may either need further explanation, or have multiple possible solutions, or that may be more a matter of opinion rather than a matter of fact). These comments are contained within the comments balloons.

I’m aware that an author has often nurtured their manuscript for months, and probably for years. This is particularly true where a manuscript is in excess of 60,000 words – as is the case with most of the manuscripts that I work on. It can be hard to hand over your nurtured manuscript. I am careful to make sure that the authors I work with know my editing style.

Editing should be based on ENCOURAGEMENT and SUPPORT

My editing style is based on support and encouragement, on educating and building you up. It’s not based on judgement, or on unconstructive criticism. I also understand that my voice is NOT your voice. And that this manuscript is YOUR baby, not mine.

For this reason, I also send back a version of the manuscript that has all my suggested changes already approved. By this, I don’t mean the more subjective comments – these are in the comments balloons, and they are the same across both files. I’m talking about the red pen amendments that have been made directly to the text using MS Word Track Changes.

Why do I return two versions of the same manuscript?

Seeing your lovely, nurtured manuscript covered in red pen can be triggering for some authors. Many of us have traumatic memories of a teacher at school who didn’t provide support and encouragement, who made us feel judged or inadequate and who knocked our confidence.

For other people, although they may not have unhappy memories of their school years, they may feel uncomfortable or react badly at the thought that someone is “correcting” their manuscript.

That they’ve handed their manuscript over to an editor indicates they want help. And the second, clean version of their manuscript shows them just how good their manuscript can be. Reading through this clean file shows them how their writing, and their words, can be tweaked – sometimes only very slightly – to produce a more flowing, more accessible, more polished novel. But they can also see that the changes have not removed their voice, changed their style, or changed the meaning or impact of any of the sentences.

A bright and sparkly manuscript

The first file – what I’m calling the red-pen version – is a very, very useful tool for anyone who wants to learn from my editing. To see each and every suggested change, review it, accept it or refuse it. And that’s great – it means that an author is fully immersed in the editing process, and is engaged and open to learning.

However, many writers don’t want (or need) to know all the minutiae of the editing process, and would rather just hand their manuscript over to an editor and have it come back all bright and sparkly.

I know that different authors have different approaches, different levels of confidence, and different levels of interest in learning about spelling, grammar and punctuation. Some authors know that spelling just isn’t their thing, but they are confident in their writing, knowing that an editor down the line will help them sort it out. These authors don’t need to see the details. For these authors, the clean file is the perfect file to work on.

Reduce Editing Costs

Other authors want to reduce their editing costs for future projects, so want to learn the ins and outs of every detail of every suggested change. They want to apply their learning to future books so that the time spent on editing can be reduced (and therefore the cost will be reduced too). For these authors, the red-pen file is just perfect.

I hope that, by providing both versions, I’m catering for everyone!

To repeat, the idea is to provide you with the service that you need to make your book the best it can be, whilst retaining your voice, your message and your style.

I’m just here to help.

For more information about how editing can be kind, see Kind Fiction Editing (part 1) – What is kind fiction editing? and Kind Fiction Editing (part 3) – Is my writing good enough?