10 Things Your Freelance Editor Might Not Tell You—But Should
Such a good post about how editors can help authors, and what the different kinds of editors can do. I just did a copy edit on a book that seemed to drag for the first half--the characters were doing things, but they seemed flat and two-dimensional to me. They didn't leap off the page, and I found myself feeling like the book was a slog. Then, after I was over halfway through, the book got a lot more engaging and I was very interested in the characters and what they were doing.
Now, here's why I'm "only" a copy editor and a proofreader: I had no idea at all how to help the author make the story better in the first half. I haven't a clue what makes me care about a character and root for him/her. I just know if I do care, or if I don't care. It either flips my switch as a reader, or it doesn't. If I hadn't been paid to read that book, it would have been a DNF and I would have missed the last part, which was quite good. So when I turned the ms back in, I included a note with my impressions and let the experts work on it from there.
So basically, I can grammar the shit out of some shit, but as far as world-building and character development and structure, I got nothing. I respect to the point of awe developmental and structural editors who can see the bones of the story and work with the author to bring life to the characters and make a story a compelling read. We all have to know our strengths, and rock them!
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