From Kate’s Writing Crate…
This is the second part of my post started on October 3, 2016
where I gave writing advice to an intern who also wants to be an editor.
Recap:
I
didn’t set out to become an editor. I wanted to be a successful writer working
from home. I became both by writing for years then taking a writing class where
I met the woman who just bought one of the magazines I now write for and edit.
I
started out as an unpaid intern for the magazines. I wrote articles as well as learned
about copyediting (turning press releases and items sent in by the public about
meetings and events into style copy for the magazine issue), layouts (placing
texts, ads, pull quotes, photos, and captions on each page), proofreading
(using the correct proofreaders’ marks), and the myriad of little things to
check in an effort to publish an almost perfect issue (something always goes
wrong).
A
few years later, I became the editor of two magazines—a job I love. Now I’m
working with an intern who wants to be a writer and an editor. I’m happy to
share my knowledge and experience with her; however, writing skills are more
straightforward to discuss than editing skills.
Here
is my editing advice:
Reading
is the most important editing skill. The more you read, the more you build up
your sense of words—their rhythm, flow, and tone—and expand your vocabulary. You
absorb grammar and punctuation rules. Even reading poorly written books teaches
you what doesn’t work.
Reading
widely gives you a feel for grammar, but also read grammar books like Words Fail Me and Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Conner and/or the Grammar Girl series by
Mignon Fogarty then keep them for reference. Do the same for punctuation. I
like the Merriam Webster’s Guide to
Punctuation and Style. Refer to these books often.
All
knowledge makes you a better writer and editor. I read all genres as good
writers make any genre interesting. I also read books about science and art as
well as classic novels and bestsellers.
For
writers and editors, words are our medium. Spend as much time as possible reading
and writing.
Poetry
is essential. Ray Bradbury makes this recommendation to writers on page 36 of Zen in the Art of Writing:
Read poetry every day of your life…it
flexes muscles you don’t use often enough…it expands the senses and keeps them
in prime condition.
Editors
use these muscles more often than writers. Read any poet who appeals to you
then branch out.
Read
every book by Diane Ackerman, Bill Bryson, Joseph Campbell, and their ilk, like
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
by Stephen Greenblatt, for broad-ranging knowledge.
Read
memoirs. Read philosophy. Read the classics.
“…a good editor reads omnivorously and is
interested in everything.” –from page 128 of Editing Fact and Fiction.
This
is true so it’s also essential to stay on top of the news, pop culture, and have
a wide array of interests. Articles and essays you edit (or write on assignment)
can include references to anything.
The
more information you take in through books, magazines, news outlets, TV, the
internet, movies, and conversations, the more you have in your arsenal to help
you catch errors when editing as well as to connect with readers when writing
your articles, essays, and posts.
While
the internet offers access to almost every piece of information, I also like to
dip into reference books like The New York Public Library Desk Reference; The
Dictionary of Cultural Literacy by E D Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and
James Trefil; and An Incomplete
Education: 3,684 Things You Should Have Learned But Probably Didn’t by Judy
Jones & William Wilson to learn something new every day.
TV
shows I recommend include CBS Sunday
Morning at 9am as it covers a multitude of topics that are timely,
interesting, useful, and fun. Writers and authors are often profiled. Also
watch Charlie Rose and Tavis Smiley on PBS as they interview many writers as
well as cover a variety of topics. Book TV on C-SPAN2 offers weekends full of
author discussions. Super Soul Sundays
includes many authors talking to Oprah on OWN. Authors are interviewed on Well Read on PBS. BBC America has many
shows about writers and the arts as does the Ovation channel. I also watch
NOVA, Nature, and Masterpiece Theatre on PBS. I occasionally watch shows on the
Discovery channel, Smithsonian channel, and History channel. Also, don’t
overlook the knowledge shared on Jeopardy.
Yes,
to be a good editor you need to read and watch TV as well as view movies and
listen to all kinds of music—dream job!
As
a freelance editor and writer, I never know what topics might come up. For
example, I was the editor of a Boating & Fishing magazine for years. I don’t
boat or fish so editing took more work to assign articles. Then I had to double
check facts and spellings. You don’t have to know a topic to edit, but you need
to put in the extra work to make sure errors don’t get into print.
A
magazine issue does not exist without an editor tracking down article ideas,
contacting people to be interviewed, assigning articles to writers with word
counts and deadlines. Appropriate topics depend on the magazine. Columnists decide on their topics independently.
As
these are monthly magazines, I decide and assign articles by, for example,
October 25th that are due by November 15th for the December issues. There is no
room for procrastination!
In
the same time frame, I copyedit all press releases and information sent in by the public for each issue. I also write
captions for photos with people's names left to right.
Editors have to be prepared for articles to fall through at the last minute. Be prepared to write the articles yourself or have non-timely articles ready to go like profiles of artists. If you have a specific interest, like reading, be prepared with book reviews.
Deadline
is the 15th of every month. I have to edit everything by the end of day on the
18th and send it to the Production Department. Three days is not enough time
for perfection. Hopefully, I catch most of the errors I missed earlier during
proofing on the 21st and final proof on the 22nd. However, I do not get to see
that changes were made correctly on the 22nd. If I didn't write clearly or the
Production person missed a correction or made the change incorrectly, then
there will be errors in the issue. We are all human so I just hope none of the
mistakes are embarrassing misspellings.
For
actual editing skills, train yourself by editing what you read, especially
newspapers and magazines, using proofreaders’ marks. No publication is perfect.
Also, editing is in part subjective. Cut articles you read by 50-100 words or
more without losing any content. Look for repetition, wordiness, and filler as
“every word should tell” (Strunk & White, page 23). Be concise and precise.
Most importantly, let the writer’s voice stay true; however, clarity is
essential. Please note, clarity does not mean only simple sentences.
An
internship with an editor is the easiest way to see what editors do as well as
ask why they make specific corrections and changes to pieces. Different editors
make different changes sometimes due to the style of the publication, sometimes
due to editing style.
Editors are required to check every
fact. Check spelling. Look up definitions. When in doubt, double check.
Editors
must:
change misused words;
correct misspellings, grammar, and punctuation;
double-check all names, titles, and facts;
find buried leads / reorganize paragraphs when needed;
include smooth transitions;
keep to publication’s Style Sheet;
stay consistent, i.e., U.S. or US; ten or 10;
check everything they are not absolutely sure about,
make writers’ work shine,
ensure clarity,
and meet every deadline without fail.
There
is a lot to learn to become an editor and no easy way to teach editing skills. As
I mentioned you need a sense of words, but also a discerning eye, an ear for
language, and intuition when something is wrong even if you can’t point it out
right away plus the tenacity to find and correct these errors.
Editing
for magazines doesn’t require discussing changes with writers usually; book
editing does.
Editing
takes a lot of time, but deadlines are tight generally.
You need to work well under pressure.
Fresh
eyes are essential so take breaks as needed.
Read
pieces aloud to catch mistakes.
As
the saying goes: “Editors are like goalies. No one remembers all the ones you
caught—only the ones that get by you.”
Some
mistakes will always get by you so you must have a thick skin.
Learn
from your mistakes.
Feedback
is sometimes negative.
Tact
and good people skills are important.
Do your best on
every issue or project.
Reference Books:
Good dictionaries—one everywhere you
work and read or use refdesk.com, look up every word you don’t know.
The Copyediting Handbook by Amy
Einsohn
Editing Fact and Fiction
by Leslie T. Sharpe and Irene Gunther
Oxford American Writer’s Thesaurus (reviewed on 6/9/14)
The Synonym Finder
by J I Rodale (reviewed on 6/9/14)
The Elements of Style
by Strunk & White (reviewed on 12/8/14)
Words Fail Me and Woe is I by Patricia T. O’Conner
Grammar Girl series by Mignon Fogarty
Merriam Webster’s Guide to Punctuation and Style
Style Book (AP or Chicago
Manual of Style)
