First Word

Not all editing is alike. Not all writing is alike either. I get calls all of the time for different kinds of writing skills. Clients often don't understand the difference between ghostwriting, editing and proofing. Ghostwriting is writing for someone else on their behalf and then making it look like they wrote it. Many people have a story to tell, but they aren't professional writers. They are either looking to professionally publish their stories or they just want something for friends and family. A ghostwriter though does most if not all of the writing. Editing is more global. The editor is looking at the overall content and the grammar and punctuation. A great editor will also do what we call book coaching. In looking at the entire story, the editor provides feedback and guidance to improve either a nonfiction or fiction book or just content for websites and marketing materials. Proofing is drill-down and specific. The proofreader AKA copy editor is looking at ever...

I run into writers who are also professional editors. I'm sure they're all very good at their jobs. These same writers often get it into their heads that they don't need an editor -- they're editors. Most of the time I can talk them out of the "I-know-how" tree and back down to the ground and their best interests. These writers are often skeptical of my intentions since they falsely believe, "Well, she's just trying to make money." I am naturally in business to make money; but I'm not telling people they need an editor because I'm trying to make money. I'm telling them what I'll just call a "flat fact," which goes like this: even the editor needs an editor . Here are the reasons why even if you're the queen or king of editing, you, too, need an editor: Snow blind AKA computer screen blindness -- I think of it as snow blindness since the screen background is white. Time and time again our minds insert words wh...

Most authors are surprised to find out the hardest part of the publishing process is not writing the book. Want to know the hardest part? It's the final proofing. Getting a book completely cleaned up and error-free is no small job. In my opinion, it is absolutely the hardest part of the job. What people generally don't understand is that there are several editorial roles on most publications. Authors generally have no idea the differences in those roles -- and the proofer has the hardest job of all. To help you understand the editing process, here are the roles you commonly see (and if you look on magazine mastheads you'll see these roles broken down): Editor in Chief -- this person decides the broad content and takes a more global role on the publication. He or she manages the scope and reach of the publication. When you see the specific stories in the publication, the editor in chief probably didn't decide on the specific stories as much as he/she approved and watc...