Getting On An Editor's Good Side

September is "Be Kind to Editors and Writers Month." I'm not sure Hallmark has a card for that one, so what can you do?
 

I don't think I've ever been unkind to my editors or fellow writers, but I have been working diligently on my current WIP in order to turn it in to my editor on time. I know she's got a schedule to keep, and if I'm late, the domino effect can make her life miserable. I also owe it to her to turn in the cleanest possible manuscript, and that means not simply hitting send immediately after writing The End.

What I do after I type The End is save the document in a different font. I type in Times New Roman, which is more or less industry standard. TNR is a serif font (has the little squiggles on the edges of the letters). My eyes have been staring at that font for months as I work on the manuscript, so I'll choose a sans serif font for my final printout. Two good examples are Arial and Calibri.

Next, I change  the format to two columns. I narrow the margins and reduce the font to a readable, yet small enough size to conserve paper. I'll print it out on both sides of the page, again to conserve paper. My goal is to be reading the manuscript like a book, because although I don't want to have my editor deal with typos and technical errors, I'm more concerned in not turning in something with glaring plot holes or continuity errors that will end up requiring major revisions. Those are the time-killers.

I mark the manuscript using my trusty red pen (I don't have any negative feelings about red—my teachers back in the day used red for good comments, too!). Although I want to read the story I'll circle repeated words and other technical issues. If there's something that looks like a plot or continuity problem, I'll make a note in the margin or attach a sticky. I also keep a notepad handy for jotting down things I'll need to search the manuscript for later.

I try to read about five chapters at a sitting. Enough to remember what the story's about, but not so much that I get caught up in the story and forget that I'm supposed to be editing.

Once I finish, I go back to the original manuscript on the computer and deal with my edits and revisions. Since I'm a firm believer in editing as I write, for this process, I started with what I'd hoped was a relatively clean document and can usually have the official draft ready to send to my editor in less than a week.

As for being nice to writers—author Nancy Cohen blogged about that not long ago, and she's summed it up perfectly. I hope you'll all pop over there to see what you can do to support them. 

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Terry Odell is the author of the popular Pine Hills Police Series and the Blackthorne, Inc. Series. You can find out more about them, as well as her stand-alone romantic suspense novels HERE.  Her newest release, Nowhere to Hide, can be found here.  You can find her at her Web site. If you've followed her blog (or want to start!), note that it's moved and is now HERE. You can follow her on Twitter, or visit her Facebook page.