S2/E3: How to Work with an Editor: A Guide for (Nervous) Authors by Jennifer McIntyre & Mark J. Dawson

This week’s book is How to Work with an Editor: A Guide for (Nervous) Authors written by Jennifer McIntyre and published in conjunction with Mark J. Dawson and his Self Publishing Formula empire in 2017.











The author is Jennifer McIntyre, an editor with twenty years of experience, more than ten of them as a freelance editor. She wrote this under the auspices of the Self Publishing Formula (SPF) line, which is Mark Dawson’s baby. SPF offers courses, a writing podcast and vlog, and a number of free and inexpensive books on writing.







The SPF‘s audience is obviously primarily independent authors, however, the advice offered by McIntyre is useful whether you choose to go the traditional or indie publishing route. Sooner or later, one way or another, if you plan to publish professionally, you’re going to be dealing with an editor.



* If you’re going the independent route, all the best advice out there urges you to hire a freelance editor to help you get your work ready before releasing it out into the world. * Even if you’re going the traditional route, you may choose to hire a freelance editor to get your work polished in an effort to increase the likelihood of landing an agent. * And if your work is accepted by a traditional publisher, you will definitely work with an editor before your work is published



So the day will come when an editor will become a part of your professional writing life. McIntyre is here to tell you that there’s no reason to dread this day. In fact, it is something you should embrace, dare I say, even look forward to?



Three Things



1 First and foremost, know what kind of edit your work needs at this juncture. There are three main types of edits: The Developmental Edit (think big picture, structural questions), the Copy Edit (consistency check, grammar, some fact-checking sorts of things), and the Proofread (the fine tune, the polish, the last punch-list check).



2 This is both a business and a personal relationship. Honor both aspects in your search for an editor. You obviously want someone who’s qualified to offer the kind of edit you need, but that person needs to be someone that you can see yourself working with on your creative “baby.” There are soft-touch editors and brutally honest editors and everything ...