Thursday, 12 June 2014

Guest post: On Freelance Editing

First of all, I would like to thank Zoe for the opportunity to speak a little bit about freelance editing. Thanks!

I never planned on going into editing or freelance editing in particular. When I was asked by the owners of Creeping Hemlock Press to help proofread one of their titles in 2008 (Children of the New Disorder by Tim Lebbon & Lindy Moore) I was more than happy to jump into the editing realm with both feet. Lebbon has long been one of my favorite authors, so it was pretty much a dream job. In 2010, I helped with another Creeping Hemlock title (Campus Tramp by Lawrence Block, yes, that Lawrence Block).

What I thought would be a couple of fun gigs opened my eyes to something I now truly love—helping authors make the most of their stories. What does that mean? Well, I tell my clients that I don't just edit to correct proper grammar and spelling. Basically, if there is a way to improve a sentence I make note of it. I start at the sentence level and work my way up to the paragraph and chapter levels. Beyond the basics of a good proofreading, some of the things I look for that can greatly improve a manuscript include: