Basics to Know About Working with an Editor

[A. E. Lowan]

Cranky old man alert. He's not wrong, but also tired and cranky and cussing. I'm amused, but we all also know I'm bent.

 

[Karlin]

cute, but long winded

 

[A. E. Lowan]

cute, but long winded

Very, but he's thorough and I like thorough. He doesn't cuss as much as I do, but everyone needs room to grow.

 

[Mad Swede]

In between all the muttering what he really asking for is that your story be in what William Shunn called

Proper Manuscript Format

Yes, my publisher insists on this too - and on correct spelling and grammar. There is no excuse for not getting those right, not even for someone as severely dyslexic as I am.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

In between all the muttering what he really asking for is that your story be in what William Shunn called

Proper Manuscript Format

Yes, my publisher insists on this too - and on correct spelling and grammar. There is no excuse for not getting those right, not even for someone as severely dyslexic as I am.

My editor - also oh, so very dyslexic - sits on the couch and makes fun of my typos. She also makes me look smart, so I think the little hottie deserves a giggle. And oh wow, if I ever submitted a rough draft, my mother would pop up out of that pretty urn my sister put her in, and she'd hit me so hard a Hugo'd pop out.

On the other hand...

 

[xena]

It is part of being human xD

 

[pmmg]

Looking at the way this dude presents, i suspect he would not like my politics. But… hes not bad at giving useful advice.

I plan on covering some of this in one of my portfolio entries, but really, if what he is encountering is as bad as he makes it sound, he should return it to sender and kindly say clean it up so i dont have to charge you for it.

I was going to discuss this in terms of tiers of writing ability and concerns. If your stuff is full of tier one errors (grammar, spelling, a lack of basic english skills), its not ready to pay someone to edit it.

I dont know who first said two spaces after a period, but that has always seemed wrong to me.

 

[pmmg]

I like that he thinks a creative writing degree is useless.

Id like to have one to list myself as an editor on reedsy. But…these things prepare you for entry level jobs, or more schooling. I too wonder at their value.

 

[A. E. Lowan]

I like that he thinks a creative writing degree is useless.

Id like to have one to list myself as an editor on reedsy. But…these things prepare you for entry level jobs, or more schooling. I too wonder at their value.

I went all the way to grad school, was presenting papers at conferences and my mentor was introducing me around the discipline - Interdisciplinarian in Medieval Lang and Lit in Historic Context (I swear, this is a real thing. ) - and it was... not as great as I'd hoped. I was 25 and in a whole new world, but I had hands to guide me.

So, one day I let my mentor read one of my stories, and this amazing woman who I still follow around like the little lost puppy I was, 3 PhD's from Berkely, and she looks up and says, "What the hell are you doing here?"

And the answer was I didn't know.

I didn't need any of the epicly cool experiences to come with a degree to write. It helped, in that I did a lot of growing during that time. And I lean on the history I studied and all that Lang and Lit every single day. But I didn't need it to just write.

And there was a tiny voice in my head that asked if I was going to finish the degree. And the answer was, "And do what?"

And that changed everything.

 

[pmmg]

Id still like the piece of paper. But…not all degrees are worth the expense.

I have many degrees. Electronics, philosophy, poly sci, gen studies, and most recently computer networking and cyber security.

But…none of them matter more than what i know just by doing. They are just paper.