Managing multiple priorities is one of the biggest challenges for freelancers, especially ones who are just starting their careers. In this month's blog post, Sandra D. (Embark editor emeritus) explains how she juggles the demands of her home life and new career. I AM A WORD NERD, a girl who loves the quiet space that books, editing, reading, and writing provide. I also happen to live in a very small, loud house with four young kids whom I am attempting to mother. The irony is not lost on me. As a parent, I sometimes find it difficult to juggle my kids’ needs alongside the demands of my editing and writing career. In all honesty, I find it far too easy to lose my equilibrium, to loosen my grip on professional aspirations, and to stuff away my desire to balance both of these (very) good things. Yet, I am also resolutely stubborn—I get this endearing trait from my dear dad—and when the chaos subsides each night, I take fresh stock and refuse to submit to anyone’s limitations, much less my own.
I’m sure I’m not alone in finding the work-life balance hard to achieve. But, in defense of a robust, well-rounded life and livelihood, I want to reassure my fellow editors that personal and professional balance is possible and offer some tips that I use for staying sane under siege. Use these strategies to find your way to a happier balance between your first love (editing, of course!) and all your other loves, whatever they may be. Tip #1: Trust in Your Training & Stay Positive Believe in your ability to continue to grow professionally throughout your career. Challenge yourself by editing varying types of copy. Go to conferences. Get newly published books or pick up classic texts on the art and practice of the editing craft. Read the newspaper, do crossword puzzles for fun, and find intriguing reads at the local bookshop downtown. Those of you at Embark have the benefit of excellent resources to aid you as you build your experience. You have the opportunity to receive honest, collaborative feedback from both your fellow editors and the Embark staff and clients. Make the most of the support. Embrace the process of absorbing the lingo and methods of your craft into your psyche. Allow it time to take root and become second nature. Enjoy what you do! Tip #2: Take Time for Self-Care Find the daily or weekly balance you need to feel healthy and thrive. For me, that’s finding time for exercise and being with adult friends. I regularly take a break from the intensity of my editing-and-parenting juggle and step away for awhile. I come back feeling invigorated and renewed. Find that thing that renews you and make it a part of your regular routine. Cultivate your hobbies and find time to take a vacation. Tip #3: Take Criticism Well You will make mistakes. You will make stupid mistakes. You will turn in less-than-polished product because of some life emergency (or not!). Even if you have a legitimate excuse for the lapse, you must own your errors. Be humble and professional enough to admit where you went wrong. And then, next time, be professional enough to work hard to avoid those errors again. Turn in work you are proud of. Tip #4: Set Healthy Boundaries Give time to your children, your partner, your other loves, but remember to ask for what you need in return. Be direct. Be kind. Be fair. Identify and evaluate the expectations others place on you alongside your own goals and needs. Be a team player but protect the boundaries you mutually agree upon. Tip #5: Take Your Life Seriously And finally, I want to remind you that you have only one life: Make it count and do what you love. For me, my personal life (raising all these kids!) is valuable and precious, but it’s just one dimension of who I am and what I’m interested in. The kids do grow older and seasons of life do change! I take my career seriously because I love my own life and value all aspects of who I am. In other words, take into account both your head and your heart as you chart your career course. These are some strategies I use to keep my sanity as I parent and write and edit and read and live my life well. I hope you may find that balance, too, in ways that work for you. Happy editing! Do you have some coping strategies to share? If so, write them in the comment box below, or share them on the Embark Network Facebook page!
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In this month's blog, Eva Hartmann (www.yourfictioneditor.com) contributes her unique perspective on a very important topic that recurs throughout The New Blue Pencil blog: the writer-editor relationship. Find out more about Eva at the end of this post! M Y EDITOR WILL TELL ME IF THE STORY WORKS, RIGHT? My editor is going to transform my book into a breakout bestseller, right? Wrong. Many authors look to editors to tell them if their writing is good and if the book is going to make a lot of money once it gets released. I, for one, wish I had a crystal ball. But though I am not able to predict a writer’s literary future, it is within my power to dispel a few myths about what editors actually do and try to explain away the disconnect that lies between them and some of their clients. Editors Are Industry Experts, Aren’t They? To some authors, editors seem to be strange creatures who toil alone doing something mysterious with words on a computer and who have potent magical powers because they are often the ones who screen submissions and decide whether they are worthy of their publishing house. Doesn’t that mean they are experts in the subject matter? They must KNOW what readers want; why else would they be in that position? Why, indeed? The thing is, unless an editor has expert experience in storytelling, like Michael Hauge (Hollywood story and script consultant) or Donald Maass (literary agent and author of The Breakout Novelist), they really don’t have license to tell an author what is great or not. Mostly, an editor can point to elements that make great writing and story weaving, but at the end of the day, it is the readers who really decide if a book is any good. Trying to predict how anyone will react is nearly impossible. Publishers do try to follow reading trends by accepting more books that are similar to what’s hot right now, which is why some otherwise very good books are rejected by publishers. There are times when the industry may say that vampires aren’t selling anymore or that shifter stories are dead, but the truth is that genres go around in continual cycles. And, sooner or later, a novel breaks out that leads publishing in an entirely unexpected direction. Aren’t Editors Just Grammar Trolls? Authors are also thrown for a loop when editors send back manuscripts with way more corrections than authors are expecting. How can there be so much to correct? English is my native language! The process is kind of like taking your car to the mechanic and trusting them when they tell you the engine needs to be completely rebuilt. How do you really know if the mechanic is telling the truth? You don’t. You just have to trust training and experience. For most mechanical issues in a manuscript, the editor should be able to point to a style guide or other reference to show the rationale behind the corrections. But it is not an editor’s job to teach an author how to edit. Does It Really Matter Who Edits My Manuscript? Yes! It matters. A problem can arise in the relationship because authors don’t understand the editing process and often don’t know what kind of editing they need. Aren’t all editors the same? If we return to the mechanic example, should a driver of a vintage VW bus send it to a Mini dealership to be fixed? Of course the answer is: “No, not really; it is best to have a specialist, someone best suited for the task at hand.” Some editors want to edit a variety of work at a variety of levels, others do not. There are those who prefer to stick with developmental editing, others with copyediting or proofreading. Some editors are authors themselves and have additional training in the craft of writing, but not all do. (And it’s important to note that the craft of writing is actually very different from editing.) This is why it is important from the outset that expectations for the assigned project are clear to both parties. And this is when a sample edit comes in handy. In only three to five pages, an editor can get a feel for what level of edit is needed and the author will get a glimpse of what to expect. It’s kind of like a first date: both parties can see if they will get along. Aren’t All Editors Merely Frustrated Writers? Developmental editing is where the lines can become very blurred with the job of the writer, and there can be times when an editor oversteps the mark. As an author myself, I have experienced this issue twice. In one case, I had completed a novel, and by the time the editor got done giving “feedback,” she had outlined a completely different book than the one I had just finished writing. Editors are supposed to help authors tell their story, not the story the editor thinks it should be. We should be able to go in and point out what needs strengthening or what needs to be cut because it is going down a rabbit hole. But to tear an author’s work apart and completely rewrite it is not what we get hired to do. Those types of things are the domain of coauthors and ghostwriters, not developmental editors. It can be a little tricky for editors to keep to their side, but it is critical to stay on task. Some authors, especially first-time authors, are very close to their work. It was a journey of faith for them, and they can often feel vulnerable and exposed when showing their beloved book to others. After all, no one wants you to tell them that their baby is less than cute. And so, as complex as it may seem, authors and editors can make a great team and have fun together, provided that they find the right partner and are careful not to step on each other’s toes. If, as a writer or editor, you have come across other kinds of misunderstandings, share your experience in the comment box below! If you enjoyed this post, read Writers & Editors: Are they on the same page? and Why Even The Best Writers Need Editors, and Beyond Copy: Adventures in content editing. About the Author Eva Hartmann is a voracious reader and a fan of all genres of fiction. She is also a multi-published bestselling author of contemporary romance and paranormal romance novels (find her work at jewelquinlan.com). As an editor, her focus is also fiction (yourfictioneditor.com), and helping authors polish their manuscripts until they shine. She also has the additional goal of helping authors develop their online platforms through easy video workshops. Eva does pro bono copyediting work for nonprofits via the Embark Editorial Agency. In a previous post, Lorna talked about attending a Chamber of Commerce networking breakfast at which she was forced to give an off-the-cuff presentation. Now she has begun to deliver free one-hour presentations to writers, something that requires an extra level of confidence. I AM NOT SHY, EXACTLY. But I do not particularly enjoy being the focus of attention, and I hate having my photo taken. But over the past year of running my editorial business, I’ve been forced to dig deep and overcome my introvert tendencies, because I know that visibility is essential to building a client base for both my own business and the Embark Editorial Agency. Having attended many writing groups as a writer, I found one that has a guest-speaker program and decided to offer to give a presentation about copyediting. When the offer was gladly accepted, I was committed, and I was determined not to chicken out. The Presentation I created a 60-minute presentation entitled “Copy Editors: Nitpickers or Lifesavers?” The objective is to show writers that copyediting is about so much more than spelling and grammar. The agenda of the presentation looks like this:
Being an introvert, I want to do as little talking as possible, but I also feel that it is important that I don't simply give a lecture. So, at every point in the agenda, I ask plenty of questions to draw as much information out of the writers as possible. I also break up the presentation midway through with a pop quiz consisting of 10 sentences that contain a hard-to-spot error. The fact that nobody (yet) has got anywhere close to getting all 10 correct helps to show them they need a copy editor more than they thought! Presentation Tips If you’re thinking about doing a presentation of your own, you might want to consider the following:
Worth the Effort? My first presentation took place in December. It wasn’t the best time of year (too close to the holiday) or the best time (Friday, 6:30 p.m.); nevertheless, there were 15 people in attendance. As a result, two writers followed up on the offer of a free 5000-word edit from Embark Editorial Agency. And one of those subsequently contracted me to do a developmental edit on his novel. And 15 writers now know about the range of editorial services I offer, and they might think of me for future projects. The second presentation (to another group) happened on March 18. Although 10 people had signed up, only 3 attended. I adapted the previous presentation on the spot and delivered a more intimate, conversational event. Was I disappointed? No. As an introvert, I was a bit relieved! Besides, nothing is a waste of time. On this occasion, I talked to three wonderful writers and got another opportunity to build my confidence, and the organizer was very keen to get me back again. I’ve only done two presentations so far, but I aim to offer them to more writers’ groups in the Los Angeles area, of which there are many, including groups for memoirists, bloggers, and fiction writers. I encourage you all to try this, even if you only do it once. If you’re a writer, you’ll probably be involved in writers groups already. If you’re not, check out Meetup.com for groups in your area and make an effort to join them. I know from experience that it’s hard for introverts, but we all have to put the needs of our fledgling editing careers first by getting ourselves out there. And who knows? Perhaps you might even enjoy it! For those of you who need some more advice about how to network, check out this blog post from Copyediting.com: Networking for Introverts: 9 Tips To Use at Your Next Event. In this blog post, former Embarker Shayna Keyles tells us what she's been doing since she left the Agency. Thanks for sharing your insights, Shayna! A FEW MONTHS AGO, I LEFT THE CHAOTIC WORLD OF CONTRACTING TO WORK FULL TIME FOR AN INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER. I’ve learned a lot of things in my new position, but above all, I learned that there’s no such thing as a full-time copy editor. It’s true that my contract with the company says “full-time copy editor,” and it’s true that The Copy Editor’s Handbook and CMS 16 both sit on my shelf at the office, but copyediting takes maybe half my time. This post is about what I really do at work. Managing Projects This vague term, which covers everything from tracking timelines to searching for photos to performing developmental edits, accounts for a significant portion of my time. We aim to publish twenty books each season, and each season, I see three to five books from conception to production. As our sole in-house editor, I also take on the developmental responsibilities of more challenging manuscripts. Some days are fully dedicated to project management: I’ll email all of my authors to check up on deadlines, review the progress of newly submitted drafts and offer suggestions, hunt down missing citation details and do some fact checking, and then spend a few hours talking with the sales and marketing team about cover and catalog copy. Abiding By Rules When I started my job, I already knew that editing was about following the rules. What I didn’t know was exactly how many rules there would be for me to follow, and how many rules I would forget on an almost daily basis. I’ve learned the rules for writing a good transliteration (converting script), listing ingredients for a cookbook, citing military field manuals, discussing volume measurements versus construction measurements, and using the metric system in books for US print. However, I’ve forgotten everything I’ve ever learned about commas and hyphens, sentence style capitalization, and how to spell. But it’s okay—that’s why we have sticky notes. Making Things Fit Not all manuscripts are complete when they make it to the copyediting stage. Usually, the publisher sends them back to the author, but in special cases we might try our own hand at making things work. Because of this, you might find me with a crime scene-like configuration on my desk, trying to put together pieces from seemingly different puzzles. After a few grueling hours, I’m usually successful, but sometimes an author disappears or a project breaks down before it can be fixed. You’ll probably encounter projects like these. Placating Authors You love some authors, others not so much. Fortunately, most times, you only have to deal directly with those authors whose projects you manage, but even when you don’t have to communicate directly with authors, they read your queries. You will encounter that author who doesn’t believe in deadlines and sends a manuscript back for a fourth, fifth, or sixth pass. You will have an author who doesn’t believe in science or fighting sexism, or something else fundamental to your worldview. You will have to suck it up and do a good job, because as an in-house editor you don’t have the freedom to choose your clients. Designing Though I don’t use Adobe InDesign or Adobe Photoshop day to day, it’s important for me to understand how layout works, because when I finish my job, it’s time for the designers to push the book through production. Once I’ve finished an edit and finalized all author queries, I produce a production file for the design team. In this file, I label or tag every formatting choice that will affect the final document. This means that instead of working with bulleted lists, A-heads (primary headings), or indentations, I have to manually enter any of those features. I do not work with any images, but I create tags for the design team that indicate where an image should be inserted. After I create a production file, I review it with the designer to make sure the features look good where I placed them. At this stage if necessary, we also change headers, update lists, reposition charts, and otherwise modify the formatting for an easier read. The entire point of this process is to make the text visually appealing for the reader. I don’t have any say in what fonts are used, but I do have a hand in the proofing process to help resolve outstanding issues of readability before anything goes to print (see Proofing & Production below). Copyediting I didn’t say I never copyedit. And when I do, I’m often working on three to five full manuscripts at a time, with some smaller documents thrown in for good measure. This is the work that I’m most likely to do remotely, though I rarely work from home. The long hours of sitting that’s required for copyediting is the reason I got a standing desk rig for the office, and why I can often be found during breaks pacing back and forth. Of all the things I miss about contracting, it’s the daily hour-long walks I’d take around the city. However, my new bosses are incredibly flexible and accommodating, so it’s been a worthwhile trade. Proofing & Production My eye for detail has been put to the test since I became a copy editor. I review manuscripts in their final stages by searching word by word and line by line; seeking out kerning errors (which relate to the spacing of letters) or bad line breaks; double checking hyperlinks; spotting misplaced periods; and suffering through the often faulty Adobe Acrobat DC application. Though, after a week of heavy copyediting and developmental editing, a pile of proofs is a welcome relief. Text aside, I also look at design proofs, copyright proofs, cover proofs, and other production-related processes that might need a trained eye. Reading Reading is the reason I became an editor, and it is still one of the things I love most about my job. Despite the fact that at the end of the day my eyes aren’t usually in the mood to let me enjoy a book of my choosing, I’ve learned more than enough in my job to make up for my pleasure-reading glut. Through editing, I’ve (theoretically) learned how to rig a solar array, build an igloo and survive in it, construct a built-in wardrobe and a Murphy bed, and pressure-can a year’s worth of food; I also learned that zebras kick to kill, beeswax comes in five forms, and lavender can be good for your lungs . . . Overall, I’ve come a long way from freelance to in-house editing, and I’m still learning and evolving. By working in-house, I get to work with a great team of editors, designers, and other knowledgeable professionals, and the formerly far-off world of publishing has been opened up to me. I wish you all luck on the rest of your editing journey! Each January 1, I feel enormously optimistic. Any personal or professional disappointments can be written off as last year’s failures, and the neatness of the date 01/01 helps me reset all aspects of my life. This optimism always inspires a long list of resolutions, usually too many to keep. But this year, I’m keeping it simple with a few well-defined goals, which I’m sharing with you in this post. Happy New Year, everyone! LOOKING BACK ON 2016, I'M SATISFIED THAT I NOT ONLY MET MY PROFESSIONAL GOALS BUT ALSO EXCEEDED THEM. At the beginning of 2016, I hadn’t yet completed the UCBX Professional Sequence in Editing, and I had no idea if an editing career was feasible. However, less than 12 months later, the Embark Agency is doing well, and I have regular paid editing work from not one but two publishers. But I’ve much more to do. Being SMART In a previous professional life, I was a nonprofit consultant, specializing in program evaluation. As any evaluator worth her salt will tell you, objectives must be SMART—meaning Specific, Measureable, Achievable/Realistic, and Timed—or you risk failure and the demotivation that follows. My three new goals are simple yet, hopefully, powerful enough to enable me to build on the foundation I laid last year. Resolutions 1. Join the Editorial Freelancers Association and attend the 2017 Conference Professional affiliations are essential once you’re a working editor. They add credibility and, more important, they help you develop your skills and network. The EFA website is horrible (I’m hoping the EFA’s 2017 resolution is to improve it), but keep an eye on it for news of the next conference (August), and I hope to see some of you there! 2. Double my income Having budgeted for 2017, I know my overheads will amount to at least $1,700. I made approximately $5,000 in 2016, and I hope to earn $10K during the next twelve months. I'll not be rich any time soon, but building a business takes time. I get regular work now that I'm a contractor for two publishers, but I'd like one more publisher to complete the set. I also need to grow my private client list, which I aim to do by giving copyediting presentations at various writers groups in the Los Angeles area (more on this in a later blog). 3. Read for at least one hour every day Because reading is such a pleasure, I often feel guilty spending time reading when I have a long list of other things to do. But as an editor, reading is essential and should be a part of every working day. Books on editing feature heavily on my reading list this year, and I’ll let you know what I think of them in this blog. Three resolutions are enough, because each involves multiple mini objectives, which will keep me busy. And, of course, I have to set additional goals for the Embark Editorial Agency, which I will reveal more about in the coming weeks. I’m excited about the career opportunities that lie ahead not only for me but also all Embark’s editors, and I wish everyone huge success. I would love to hear what professional goals you might have made this year, so don’t be shy: share your resolutions by posting a comment and inspire others to make 2017 a great year! |
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November 2017
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