This post was first published here on January 5, 2009. ~~~~~~~~~ Surrounded by all the best of/worst of lists monopolizing magazines and news programs, I couldn’t resist compiling a short list of the best and worst things about being an editor. To start, here are the five “worst” things about being editor, with input from fellow Blood-Red Pencil members, including Dani Greer . Family members won't send email because they are afraid all you’ll see is their grammar mistakes Reading the same novel for the third time in the same week It’s hard to decide what you want to eat when you’re distracted by misspelled words on the menu The urge to pick up a red pencil when you spot a typo in the book you’re reading for pleasure When clients consider corrections in grammar as “optional” or as “your opinion” What about you? Share your “worst” in the comments. ------------------------------------- A born storyteller with a gift for engaging audiences, Jesaka Long has helped ...

You may spend lots of time discovering your voice. Or you may already know your voice and just want to make it stronger. You can do these in tandem, or as phased steps. Part 2: Developing Your Voice Blog. While many, many writers have debated the merits of blogging, a personal blog gives you an opportunity to practice your writing on a regular basis. And practicing is the best way to improve your writing, which will help you develop (or even discover) your voice. Of course, whether or not you blog, you should write – and write and write. Let your voice dress up (or down). Susan Shapiro mentions her women’s magazine voice in her book Only As Good As Your Word: Writing Lessons from My Favorite Literary Gurus . Her women’s magazine voice has the same straightforwardness as her memoir, but there’s still a distinct difference from what you “hear” in the book. But both voice sound like the same person and are distinctively Susan. How do you sound when you’re hanging out with your best friend...

I have multiple personalities: writer and editor. The last few years, I’ve kept my rent paid and my cabinets stocked with corporate editing and writing gigs. It’s my editor self that landed me the first gig and that has kept me employed. Even when I take writing jobs, I bring my red pencil personality with me – it helps me adapt to in-house style guides and turn in squeaky-clean work. But, with so much emphasis on my editing muscles, some days I worry about losing my own unique writing style and voice. When I switch from marketing copy to writing my personal essays, it can take me a while to clear my mind and focus on hearing my voice. Here’s part one of a two-part piece on Discovering & Developing Your Voice. Part 1: Discovering Your Voice Read. Don’t try to write like someone else – unless you’re being paid to temporarily adopt that voice. Figure out what makes the author’s voice unique. Is it the sentence structures? Specific word choice? A certain approach to descriptions? Thin...

A full-time freelance editor-writer and owner of a.k.a writer in Denver, Jesaka Long works her word magic for small publishing houses and authors, especially non-fiction writers and memoirists. Let’s see how Jesaka answers the same questions she’s used for everyone in the “Meet the Editor” series. Afterward, you can ask some of your own in the Comments section. When did you first notice you were hung-up on typos? My first love was a typewriter – I loved it so much that I would do anything to type. My grandfather even let me type up his reports for work. It was when I started working for my high school newspaper that I realized that I had a thing for typos. I loved scrutinizing the waxed layouts, marking the last of the errors with a blue pencil that wouldn’t show up at the printer. What advice would you give someone interested in becoming an editor? Practice! I had the privilege of mentoring a few aspiring editors. It was so much fun to help them learn things like the in-house style...

Question: Would I have difficulty interesting a print publisher in my book if it has already been published as an e-book? What would be the drawback, if any? Submitted by Susan Culp, author of 50 Frogs, 5 Babes and a Bulldog Answer: Great – and very timely – question, Susan. Just recently, the blog Galley Cat announced that the previously self-published non-fiction work Notes Left Behind is scheduled for publication through William Morrow in the fall of 2009. It’s something for any author with an e-book to celebrate. As I’m sure you are very aware, self-publishing is a sizzling topic, especially on literary agents’ blogs. The general consensus: unless you've sold thousands of copies of your e-book, agents and print publishers aren’t going to be interested in your manuscript because it’s been previously published. The good news? If you have sold thousands of copies, you’ve got a publishing credit to show off to agents today. Notes Left Behind sold 8,000 copies. Of course...

Surrounded by all the best of/ worst of lists monopolizing magazines and news programs, I couldn’t resist compiling a short list of the best and worst things about being an editor. I’ve already posted the “worst of,” in the previous post, so now let’s move to the good stuff. Here are the five “best” things about being editor, with input from fellow Blood-Red Pencil members, including Dani Greer . Being one of the first people to read a book draft When a writer says “Thank you!” and you know you helped make his or her work even better Seeing your name in the book credits isn't bad either Amazing friends and family with the ability to spell words without Spell Check Fact-checking – it always feels good when you catch a mistake before the book goes into print What about you? Share why you wouldn’t trade being an editor for any other profession in the comments. ------------------------------------- A born storyteller with a gift for engaging audiences, Jesaka Long has helped authors (...

The editor-writer relationship can be many things: transactional, perfunctory, frustrating, beneficial, and inspiring are just a few descriptions used. One of my favorite yet-to-be-published novelists loves to entertain me with stories about her editor chasing her around a cabin as they argued over a short story. And she loves him for it. Something magical can occur between an editor and a writer: mentorship. When I left an in-house editing job, I was honored by the number of writers who described my approach to editing as mentorship. It is pure joy to work with people who love words, whether they are seasoned pros or beginners with sentences as wobbly as a toddler learning to walk. What can take a relationship into the mentorship-sphere? Here’s how a few authors described it to me. Developing trust. Sometimes creating trust is as easy an as editor providing a few “whys” behind the edits – without being asked. It helps to show that an editor is red-penning with the story’s best interes...

Dear Exalted Editors, So, the author-editor combination seems like a pretty good one. Now I'm wondering about a different type of author-editor connection. I know that when you editors get a look at my rough manuscript, you're going to have a whole lot to say. You will definitely come across some spelling that needs fixing. I know that I slip up from time to time - it took me years just to figure out which vowels went where in "calendar." (That's right, isn't it?) And, as mentioned in the formatting post, I'm not a whiz with grammar, so I might have made some mistakes there. I won't argue with that. But, I'm afraid of what will happen when you start digging deeper. What will I do when you start switching sentence order? When you're concerned about the motives of a particular character? When you want the character's hair to be blue instead of brown? I've written my story a certain way, and I'm kind of attached to it. I know I've ...