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THE EDITOR’S CRAFT AND PROCESS: A behind-the-scenes look at how our editors work and what authors can expect in working with us.

What Book Editors (Really) Do A guide for authors, by Editorial Department founder Renni Browne

So in one of my favorite New Yorker cartoons by Sam Gross, we have a cat maniacally clawing an upholstered chair, obviously not for the first time, and its owner explaining to her guests: “We believe that in a former life she was an editor.”

Over the fifty-plus years I’ve been an editor, I’ve met plenty of people […]

By |2024-01-20T17:05:08+00:00|The Editor’s Craft and Process|Comments Off on What Book Editors (Really) Do A guide for authors, by Editorial Department founder Renni Browne
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Spotlight on Developmental Editing An overview of why it’s needed, how it works, and what to expect from the process

When many people think of editing, they think of arcane symbols and scribbled margin notes in red or blue pencil – move this paragraph, delete these words, add a hyphen, correct that spelling, capitalize this letter. And while that is an important part of editing, it’s only one part, and it comes last.  So let’s talk about […]

By |2024-01-07T18:07:48+00:00|The Editor’s Craft and Process|Comments Off on Spotlight on Developmental Editing An overview of why it’s needed, how it works, and what to expect from the process
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Spotlight on Sentence-Level Editing Demystifying the differences between line editing, copy editing, and proofreading

In an earlier blog post we talked about the importance of developmental editing and why the focus on big-picture stuff – structure, book-spanning issues like plot or organization, character development, dialogue, and that sort of thing – needs to come first, before you spend too much time worrying about the finer points of style and wording. This […]

By |2024-01-07T18:06:55+00:00|The Editor’s Craft and Process|Comments Off on Spotlight on Sentence-Level Editing Demystifying the differences between line editing, copy editing, and proofreading
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Still More About Our Sentence-Level Editing Services A guide for authors trying to decide which level of service is appropriate

Line editing, copy editing, and proofreading are all hands-on services where your editor works with the words on the page directly. While there is some degree of overlap in the purview of each service, these are three fundamentally different kinds of editing that serve three very specific objectives. Understanding what each service is and […]

By |2024-01-07T18:08:09+00:00|The Editor’s Craft and Process|Comments Off on Still More About Our Sentence-Level Editing Services A guide for authors trying to decide which level of service is appropriate
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Evaluating Nonfiction: A Nonfiction Editor Shares His Perspective What can set your nonfiction manuscript up for success ... or doom it to the reject pile

[by Peter Gelfan]

Fiction lives or dies by the author’s storytelling and writing skills (and perseverance and some luck). For nonfiction, then, one might assume that likewise, an interesting topic well elucidated will do the job. However, the publishing industry and readers regard nonfiction a bit differently.

One reason to hire a nonfiction editor is to make sure […]

By |2024-01-23T19:19:56+00:00|The Editor’s Craft and Process|Comments Off on Evaluating Nonfiction: A Nonfiction Editor Shares His Perspective What can set your nonfiction manuscript up for success ... or doom it to the reject pile
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The First Duty of a Manuscript Critique Why candor matters and what you can expect from your editor if your manuscript isn't very good

[by Ross Browne]

The first thing I’d put on the table in connection with how we handle very flawed manuscripts can, I hope, go without saying. And that’s that we never want to be discouraging to an author. There’s no pleasure in telling a writer that a manuscript needs deep rewriting rather than editing or that its […]

By |2024-01-07T18:07:06+00:00|The Editor’s Craft and Process|Comments Off on The First Duty of a Manuscript Critique Why candor matters and what you can expect from your editor if your manuscript isn't very good
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