Editing

I can help you shape your finished or in-process material to accomplish your goals while meeting generally accepted language norms. I can also help you with Ghost Writing. (Your subject mastery plus my writing skills = finished product that you didn’t have to write.)

There are three levels of editing.

You can do any of them yourself, but keep in mind that it is very very unlikely that you can find an example of a published work that was not edited at least once.  This may not be the rule in self publishing, but that is more of a have money will print scenario.  You may not be interested in publishing a book, but rather content on your website or some other print material.  The same principle apply across the board.

• Level One: Grammar. This is usually what we think of when we talk about editing.  “Where the heck do you put the commas?” Verb-tense agreement; Subject, Verb, Object versus verb, object, subject (or writing in the active voice); and typo eradication.   (Etc.)

  This is the level that people will notice only so long as the errors interfere with the context. By and large NO ONE knows where the commas actually belong.  Translation: yes, this is important but it is only one (small) part of good editing.

• Level Two: Internal Order. Each sentence should flow naturally to the next to form a coherent paragraph and eventually chapter.   Another word for this type of editing is “Flow.”

• Level Three: Strategy. This asks the tough questions of an author.  Most importantly “So what?”  It brings into focus exactly what you’re trying to accomplish.  This third level of editing is really developing your Communication Strategy.  There is no question in my mind that this is the absolute most important level of editing. When the communication strategy is clear the other levels of editing become easy.

Rules of Editing

1. Write Hot, Edit Cold. Always give yourself a break or outsource the editing process.  If you just wrote it, you can’t edit it.  It’s that simple.
2. Get a good guide book. English is complicated and it is unlikely you will remember all the rules.  I recommend The Elements of Style.
3. Read a lot. Read anything and anything. It will help you to see what it ought to look like and sound like.
4. Read your material out loud. You will be able to hear right away when your piece has awkward construction when you read it out loud.
5. Read Stephen King’s On Writing. Whether you like his writing or not or think you don’t because it’s horror this book is a MUST READ.  Stephen King is one of the greatest writers of our time and this book is as inspirational as they come.

Rules of Editing

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