![]() ![]() Copy edits come back to me, wherein I decide which edits to keep and which to dismiss, and often I consult with writers on those. Copy editors are vital in the process, and they’re exactly why when I have a contributor say they’re “bad at grammar and commas and stuff like that,” I always assure them there is someone specially trained to do that work. Once those edits are back in my hands, my contributors go through another round of editing my editor will make any additional suggestions and then we’ll move the book forward.Īt this point, my publisher hires a copy editor to look at the grammar, sentence-level structures, and other nitty-gritty parts of the book. The most frequent edits I’ve seen include ensuring that threads in pieces come together at the end in as clear a way as possible, that the book really speaks to teens as opposed to being YA that speaks more to adults, and some more fine-tuned edits relating to language (which have, of course, become ingrained in my own brain and are things I look for now as well). Her reading is similar to mine in terms of ensuring that the book’s overall tone-as well as the individual pieces within it-fit with the goals as proposed. Once my editing is complete, my books move on to my editor. ![]() It also allows their own writing voices to really stand out, and it doesn’t encourage writers to fit into a certain mold or to worry about fitting my personal ideal for how they share their story.įor other contributors, editing might require nothing and the piece is in such strong shape that it’s ready to move on to my own editor. ![]() I’m quite hands-off, as I think approaching editing from the point of view of a reader and asking questions allows writers to shine more strongly in their early drafts. I know my intended audience for a book, as well as the goals I have for it, and I use those as tools for asking the contributor questions in places where I’m either confused, think they could dig deeper, or feel that they’re not getting their point across in the way they hope to. My personal editing style is to look at pieces as a reader first and foremost. In the case of the book being accepted, the editing process continues with soliciting contributors and working back-and-forth with them to shine up their writing to the best of our abilities.įor some contributors, this could mean a significant amount of back-and-forth consultation on organization, structure, or cohesiveness. That proposal goes to my editor, who will either purchase the project, request a revision and resubmission, or decide it’s not something she’s interested in. My own experience looks something like this: I develop a project proposal, which my agent and I polish. The structure of how books are edited changes with each person and each book. By signing up you agree to our terms of use How To Become A Book Editor The Editing Process Thank you for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. But because the question of how to become a book editor often comes from those who really want to know the nuts and bolts of how to edit books-as in putting eyes and pens to the product itself and offering guidance for how to make the book the best it can be content and storywise-this particular guide will focus on that. There are content editors, copy editors, proofreaders, managing editors, and more. you help other people edit books independent of or as a preferred partner of a publisher or other industry professional) and you can also be an editor who works as an employee of a publishing company.Įven within editing books itself, there are a number of avenues. you work with a publisher or independently but aren’t an employee of the company for whom you’re editing) you can be a freelance book editor (i.e. There are opportunities to edit books on the side of developing an anthology (i.e. There are so many different avenues of editing books that, in order to best answer the question, I turned to a handful of experts.Įditing books can come through a variety of means. And while my own experience in how to become a book editor is one thing, it’s only my experience. Follow her on Instagram All posts by Kelly JensenĮver been curious about how to become a book editor? This is a question that I’ve gotten a number of times as I’ve gone through the process of editing three young adult anthologies. Her next book, BODY TALK, will publish in Fall 2020. She's the editor/author of (DON'T) CALL ME CRAZY: 33 VOICES START THE CONVERSATION ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH and the editor/author of HERE WE ARE: FEMINISM FOR THE REAL WORLD. Kelly is a former librarian and a long-time blogger at STACKED. ![]()
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