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Quick Link: What It’s Actually Like to Work With a Book Editor

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Hopefully if you have already published you know the answer to this question, but if you have never worked with a book editor at The Write Life shares his experiences.

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What It’s Actually Like to Work With a Book Editor

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Many aspiring authors often ask, “What’s it like to work with an editor?”

The short answer to this question is: It depends on which editor you’re working with.

For instance, some editors would strike that last sentence because it ends with a preposition.

Some editors would strike this entire introduction because I’m not getting to the point fast enough. In fiction, this is akin to belaboring the backstory before getting to the real action. (Free tip: unless you’re an experienced writer, you can often kill the first 10 percent of your first draft to find the real beginning of your story.)

One of the hardest characteristics to gauge when it’s your first time to work with a particular editor is knowing where they draw their editorial lines.

In other words, how severe will their edits be?

Of course, this depends on the kind of editing you’re looking for. A developmental editor, who looks at your manuscript as a whole for big problems like plot holes or poor narrative flow, may suggest massive changes. A copy editor may only ask that you delete a few commas. (You’ll be lucky if that’s all they ask of you.)

But even moving a few commas can cause an author to fight back.

This is where you, as the author, learn what your editor’s line is.

The kind of editor you want

Read the full post on The Write Life

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

Quick Link: Covers Can Make or Break a Book

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Quick links, bringing you great articles on writing from all over the web.

Yea yea yea. I know, covers are important and you have been told that many times here and other places. But Darren Beyer, at Indies Unlimited, isn’t just telling you. He is showing you with a real world example of what a great cover vs. a good cover can do. Ever hear of a little fantasy title called Game of Thrones?

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Covers Can Make or Break a Book

Guest Post by Darren Beyer

We are all visual learners. I understand the value strong visuals bring to the game. That’s why, when I launched my first novel, I decided to seek out the best cover artist, the perfect person to take my words and put them into a stunning depiction of a scene from my story. They say not to judge a book by its cover, but everyone judges a book by its cover — and that’s just human nature.

A Case Study in Cover Design

I recently began the cover process for my second book with artist Stephen Youll. I relish working with people who are at the top in their fields — Stephen fits that bill. What really got me was his story.  A number of years ago, a major publishing house came to him to take a crack at a cover for a book they were trying to bring to market. The first launch had failed, and they thought the cover had something to do with it.

The publisher knew they had a great book on their hands and gave Stephen a specific direction to follow. At the time of the launch, romance novels were among the most popular, and the publisher believed that putting a romance flare on the cover of this book would help it sell. The art shown to the right is what it went to market with — and the book met with the same lackluster response as it did in its first launch. What went wrong?

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If you liked this article, please share. If you have suggestions for further articles, articles you would like to submit, or just general comments, please contact me at paula@publetariat.com or leave a message below.

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