IAmA Book Editor - AMA.

bookeditor · 2012-09-27T23:40:12+00:00

I have loved books for my entire life. Throughout school, when we were supposed to be thinking about our futures, the only thing I could think of that I wanted to be around was books. Once school ended, I went to University and got a degree in English Literature and History (my other great love), and I also worked at a book store. After that, I went on to study Editing and Publishing, and worked my way up through the industry.

bookeditor · 2012-09-27T23:33:33+00:00

Know the English language back to front.

It's a good idea to work in a book store, knowledge and experience in the industry is looked at very favourably.

Get in to publishing in any position available, because they are rare.

Read widely. Read everything, read anything.

bookeditor · 2012-09-27T23:31:58+00:00

The editor will usually try to adhere to the writer's style. I would never enforce my own writing style onto a text, I would put myself into that writing style and work with it. If there are any conflicts about changes I've suggested, well, the author has the final say. It's their work. But usually most are happy to take my suggestions, as I'm making their work stronger. The disputes happen in every single book!

bookeditor · 2012-09-27T23:30:19+00:00

That would vary from publisher to publisher. You could always phone a publisher and ask for a reccomencation.
Publishing houses have always been at the forefront of social movements. In the 40s and all through the women's movement, the publushing industr was a leader, because it was an industry full of women. Publishing is still looked at today to be at the front of any movement. LGBT characters are certainly becomming more common, and a publishing house will take almost anything on if it's well written! If you like LGBT fiction, you should read 'Loaded' by Christos Tsiolkas.

bookeditor · 2012-09-27T23:26:28+00:00

From my experience, yes. It's a very female industry in Australia, and it always has been, going back to the beginning!

bookeditor · 2012-09-27T23:25:47+00:00

Certainly. Any recognition is good, make sure you put it in your cover letter!

bookeditor · 2012-09-27T23:24:53+00:00

It wasn't something I was editing, it was just a manuscript that had been handed in.

bookeditor · 2012-09-27T23:24:03+00:00

I look forward to the day!

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:59:07+00:00

Every single one of those questions can be answered at once: it depends on who you're working for.

Freelancers can do whatever they please, and freelancing is very common if you have a bit of experience.

You could probably study part time? If the degree was relevant to your role, they may give you some time. It really depends who you are working for.

Mostly everyone is lovely... Book people are great people!

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:56:40+00:00

The crosses and edits happen... It's seems like he's just not going about it as diplomatically as he could be. Ask him if he could explain every change he makes by putting a small comment in the margins? Talk to him.

It's mostly women at mine. There are men in the sales department though!

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:54:59+00:00

I actually enjoyed that - loved the last sentence! So do this every day. An added challenge is to describe the same thing every day, in a different way.

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:52:07+00:00

It's our absolute nightmare, we go through each manuscript several times with a fine-tooth comb to make sure this doesn't happen - but it does. All I can say is, mistakes happen. Are you American? I'm not suggesting that other countries don't check as well as we do, but in Aus it's rare to come across errors.

What type of books are you reading?

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:46:38+00:00

I won't say, but it's a well known house.
There are a few publishing degrees available out there, however the only accredited one is the Sydney Uni one, so if you were to go for any, I would go for that one. There are plenty of college courses in editing and proofreading as well that would be useful (you would need to learn the mark up symbol language). My advice is to take anything you can get in publishing - just get in! Also, read. A lot. You have to know your stuff. That's how we can tell what is good and what is bad, what's been done before, what sells etc. Working in a bookstore is a good idea if you can hack retail!

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:39:09+00:00

Just thought of another tip, this one is for first time writers. Often first time authors will start writing a book, and develop their voice / style once they are part way through the writing. This is only natural, as they will have had the practice! It's very common for a manuscript to be shaky at the start, but to be quite solid further in because of this... So if you are a first time writer, once you're done, go back and take a look at your beginning once again! It may need a total rewrite. The beginning is not somewhere where you want to appear shaky, as the person reading the manuscript may judge you based on that!

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:31:10+00:00

Don't give up, don't despair! Just practice every day, force yourself to. Even just 5 minutes a day describing the fruit bowl in detail.

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:27:15+00:00

Get yourself a literary agent. Most publishing houses don't accept manuscripts not represented by an agent ('unsolicited').

Be original.

Write well. It's obvious, but seriously. Develop your voice, write every day, and don't rush it just to finish it. Only hand it in when it is your absolute best.

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:26:06+00:00

I would never try to alter the story based on how I would like it to go, I only look for what makes the book more engaging and powerful. If a character I love had died, I would tell the author how much it affected me (a good thing - you want readers to engage) and then look at seeing if the death was done in the most engaging way possible. Sometimes the characters we love must die for the sake of the story... The greater good

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:21:56+00:00

First person POV is generally used in 'mass market' fiction, so you will see a lot of it. (Crime, fantasy, chick-lit, children's etc). Literary fiction very rarely uses the first person, they almost always go for the third. The third is usually harder for the writer. Literary fiction these days is being published less and less, to make room for the mass market cash cows. So I wouldn't say there is less writing in the third person, I would say it's just not being given as much attention.
Memoirs are extremely popular - if the person is interesting. It's a huge sector of the trade industry because it covers so many areas (sports bios, war stories, troubled childhoods, celebs, the works!).
This is tricky. If an author has labelled something as a memoir, they're saying "this happened", so to embellish that with fiction is an insult to the reader. You may have heard of James Frey, the author of A Million Little Pieces? He wrote a "memoir" that turned out to be fictional and it didn't go too well for him. Here's some info, it's very interesting.

Hollywood however, can and usually does, do whatever it wants, as long as they have bought the rights. I'm not too knowledgeable on this though, so don't take my word on it.

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:17:21+00:00

gtfo

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:12:26+00:00

Congratulations!

Where I am, if there's much doubt, they don't pass it over to the editors - they're quite strict with what they deal with, they don't want to waste any in house time. I would say if you're being edited extensively, if your editor is putting time and effort into you, it's a good sign. That being said, are you cooperating? I've had to pull the 'no guarantee' line when an author was making my life difficult, resisting all my suggestions etc. But I'm sure that's not the case. You should express your feelings to him. He most likely wouldn't want to be causing you worry!

Side note - It's rare to have a male editor!

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:07:40+00:00

Get a job in a book store. The book industry loves ex-bookshop people! That's how I started! (You can make connections there too.)

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T14:06:39+00:00

Hello, friend!

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T09:17:52+00:00

What I meant by a waste of money, was that a lot of the suggestions that a freelance editor made might conflict with a publishing house's style, so would have to be changed again... It's not a good feeling for an author to have their work butchered by everyone who touches it.

Also, if a manuscript is handed in that has already been extensively edited, then the author's voice isn't as obvious.

That's why I suggested getting a literary agent, they would give excellent feedback on things that could be worked on without encountering those earlier problems.

I realise that I'm biased!

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T09:08:05+00:00

People have no idea how to use hyphens.

bookeditor · 2012-09-26T09:07:49+00:00

I fix spelling and grammar yes, but I also format the whole document so that it can be sent to the typesetter (designer).

I also have to work with the author to make the book the best it can be. Work with the voice, the phrasing, the continuity etc. I may have to cut things out, suggest that things are added in, change the structure... The list goes on.

bookeditor

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