There are all kinds of tools that editors use to find inconsistencies in word usage or capitalization, punctuation, etc. that make a proofreading pass, for example, go faster. But these are all mechanical helpers. In the end, the editor has something a bit more subjective to do as a service to the author: searching for interruptions in a smooth read.

That’s how I approach the editing task. I see my job as being a stand-in for the “end reader,” which is not the same as the friends and relations that authors normally give their books to for preliminary review. Friends and relations are cool, but they tend to be: 1) biased emotionally to praise rather than critique, and 2) normally without a professional grounding in effective writing techniques for the type (fiction or nonfiction) or genre (academic, memoir, fantasy, romance, etc.) of writing.

Because I do this type of critical reading for a living, I have a broad exposure to different writers and can put the current writer’s effort into a context. I know what to expect from effective writing on accounting, science fiction, sociology, and inspirational non-fiction, for example. All of these writing contexts have a different look and feel, a different flow to the text. Knowing this gives me the ultimate tool to do an effective editing job; the ability to find the places where I have to stop and scratch my head, go back a few sentences and come up with a smoother way of expressing something that works for that “story’s” context.

I get to smooth out the bumps and fill in the literary potholes in the narrative, thus serving not just the author’s writing purpose, but more importantly, the reader’s desire for a positive experience.

So, even though my immediate client is the writer/author, and they are the source of my income, I see myself as ultimately the servant of the reader, to add value to their experience of a book. And in this way, I also become a partner to the writer in providing that reader experience.

It’s one of the great satisfactions of my work.

I learned how important an emotional connection was in communicating with an audience when I was giving inspirational talks at a local Unitarian Universalist church I used to belong to in the 1990s. A minister told me all about touching head and heart in every sermon to give folks “something to take home with them.”

This philosophy also applies to writing, whether fiction or non-fiction, in my opinion, especially if you want your reader to be inspired into some change in themselves or action in the world (but even for “entertainment” purposes!).

It’s also one of the things I look for when I’m doing manuscript evaluations. When I see really cool, intelligent people focusing too much on telling us what they know without sharing how they or their characters feel, the story quickly turns “dry.” It’s easy to lose interest without that emotional “moisture.” Emotional connections are so much deeper and more long-lasting than purely intellectual/informational ones. I remember best the situations that made me laugh or cry, including in the reading of books.

Even if your primary motive for writing is informational and not necessarily inspirational or fictional storytelling, I think it’s still important to include some connection to emotion (OK, maybe not if you are explaining accounting regulations . . .).

Ask yourself why you are imparting your information: is it to change a person’s viewpoint on something, help them find a new emotional place to be, identify with a character in a story, or take some social or political action? Then look in your non-fiction piece or your fictional story and find the place where emotion is shared or added to a rational presentation. That’s where the impact will be. Your reader will remember the rational bit better if they have some appropriate emotion invested in it.

I’ve experienced this so many times with good stories, both fiction and non-fiction, since I started really loving reading in about 1964. So, if you want to succeed as a writer, don’t forget to touch my heart.

Whether it’s shorter form essay or blog writing, or your first story masterpiece of hundreds of thousands of words, it can sometimes feel like climbing a really steep mountain (with no trail, mind you) to get from beginning to end.

I’ve found myself procrastinating on writing my blogs (I know, having more than one could be part of the problem . . .) regularly. Also a book I’m working on (about physics and metaphysics).

I was reminded recently that one of the beauties of having no path is that you then have lots of choices in how you go up that writing mountain. The only important thing is to be willing and focused enough to stay in the writing mode of activity. No fair substituting knitting (or Youtube videos) for writing (drat!).

Explore All the Options

Jean said that if I’m finding myself blocked about writing something, I should explore all the different ways I can be writing. I have plenty of unfinished projects, so it’s easy to see the options (copy for my tarot deck book, poems, blog posts on editing, a single chapter in my physics/metaphysics book, etc.). If I’m just not feeling bloggable, I can work a poem or write up the description and message for a tarot card. Somehow just telling me that makes it easier to get started on . . . something writing. Small bites are so much easier.

Take a Lesson from Other Writers

And Jean’s admonition to use just the discipline to keep writing something, also reminded me of another writing lesson I learned from a writer’s group I helped with last year: find your best writing ritual or context; what works for others may not work for you. We had several dedicated writers in the group who had invested a tidy sum in this coaching effort, but it was still difficult for them to stay focused on writing. The successful storytellers have found quite different ways to keep going. One stays connected to nature to stay motivated and writes almost every day. Another gets up and writes the same time every morning when others in the family are still asleep. A third found that she had to set aside retreat time away from home to get the words down; daily discipline didn’t work for her.

So, in the spirit of The Artist’s Way, but not necessarily every morning (set your own time pattern), write something. You’ll be done before you know it. And then you can email me to see about getting your masterpiece edited.

Self-Editing as Cop-out

The issue that struck me as an editor was Sapala’s plea to NOT fall into the trap of self-editing a section of your book when you get stuck. It does sound like a bit of a cop-out: stopping the actual progression of the story (fiction or nonfiction) and thinking that editing/refining what you’ve already written will substitute for moving on.

I know there are writers who successfully write and edit as they go. If this works for you to get you to the finish line, all good. I get the impression, though, that a lot of writers do use editing to avoid moving on. I know I have that sense of wanting things to be perfect as I go, but I’m an editor! There’s a lot of wisdom in Sapala’s advice to writers to keep going to the end of your rough draft before editing.

The Developmental Editor’s View

Also, I’ve found that it more efficient to give a developmental editor a complete draft of a story to do a manuscript evaluation. I’ve evaluated both fully written drafts and drafts in pieces with some connective description as to what will fill the gaps, but I think my service is best used for a complete draft. With a partial manuscript, I do feel like I’m not able to give a complete idea of the value of the plot all the way through. Saves money for the writer in the long run, too.

So, from both me and Lauren Sapala: Keep writing through to the end of your rough draft!