Writing Roots

Editors and authors need to have a good relationship. They need to have open communication and a mutual understanding of the goals for the book or story. That’s why the first interview or meeting needs to be for a purpose.

There are several questions you can ask an author to gauge if their book would be a good fit and if you are able to work together. In this episode, we talk about what kinds of questions to ask – and questions authors should be prepared to answer.

First aired August 24, 2023.

Even the best editors need reference guides. We all have those words we simply can’t spell (and spellcheck may not be able to fix it) or rules we just can’t remember. That’s why creating your own cheat sheet can save you from wasted time Googling everything.

In this episode, we talk about what our cheat sheets look like, how we developed them, and how this information can help you as you delve into the editing world.

First aired August 21, 2023.

You’ve probably heard of official style guides, such as Chicago or MLA. These are standardized guidelines for how to format words, punctuation, and more. Each type of writing – whether it’s fiction, non-fiction, or journalism – uses one of these standard guidelines. As an editor, you can also create or build upon a custom style guide for a book or series.

The rules found in guides like Chicago are flexible, especially when regarding fiction. To keep it consistent across a book and especially across a series, you can create a specific guide. This will hold things like character and place names so the spelling stays consistent, a timeline of events, the structure of worldbuilding, and any details of how you are using punctuation or text formatting. Listen for more on how to create your own style guide.

First aired August 17, 2023.

The work of the proofreader is the final filter for a story before it goes out into the world. These are the people whose whole purpose is to catch misspelled words, incorrect punctuation, and any other formatting issue that may arise.

More than any others, the proofreader needs to know the manual of style as well as the author’s own style guide. They also need to have a good mindset: the knowledge that they cannot catch every mistake, but they need to catch as many as possible. In this episode, we’ll break down the job of a proofreader and where it needs to be in the whole editing process.

First aired August 14, 2023.

When most people think of editing fiction novels, they often think of the line editor. This is the person looking at the sentence structure, word choices and character/narrator voices. They help keep the style consistent. They will also help as much as possible with grammar and punctuation, as well as applying style guidelines (a job sometimes also called copy editing).

This is one of the most important stages of editing, as they look at how the story is understood, that each line has purpose and intention, and that the storytelling stays consistent.

First aired August 10, 2023.

There are many kinds of roles you can take if you want to become an editor. If you like being involved early in the process, helping guide an author through the plot and past their roadblocks, you may consider the role of a developmental editor.

Developmental editors are not about the correct grammar and punctuation. Rather, they are the ones who look at the structure of a story as a whole, checking for plot holes, character arcs and the overall structure. The big picture stuff.

First aired August 7, 2023.

Editing is a vital part of the publishing process, whether you’re a self-published author or looking into traditional publishing. But what about those who want to become editors? No matter who you are in this process, there are a things you should know about editors and editing.

In this series, Ley and Leigh will be talking about the ins and outs of editing, mostly as it applies to freelance editing. They start by talking about becoming an editor, what their goals should be and what traits they should have that will best serve both the audience and the authors.

First aired August 3, 2023.

If you want to captivate your readers, a good beginning is essential. Even more so, however, is the story needs to continue to hold them. When the plot meanders and wanders from place to place without much direction or motivation for the characters. When you look at each scene, consider what purpose it has for the overall story. While not every scene needs to drive the plot itself forward, they should contribute to the development of something. That includes characters and relationships.

In this extended episode of Slow Beginnings Ruin Stories, Leigh and Ley go further into how to identify and fix a story that meanders.

Original episode aired September 22, 2022.

Picking the right name for a book is about more than what sounds good to you or what feels right for the story. It is important to look at the title as part of your marketing. Along with the cover, titles will draw in the readers at first glance. And because it’s part of marketing, you need to consider what that title says about the rest of the book, including genre and general mood.

Original episode aired August 11, 2022.

Choreography is usually something you think of in relation to plays and movies. As authors, however, having appropriate choreography as your characters move through a scene is just as important. After all, you’re creating a movie of sorts in the minds of your readers. All you’ll do is create confusion if characters hop from one spot to another or do seemingly impossible moves.

In this extended episode of The Confusion Caused by Bad Blocking, we talk about the signs to watch for and how to fix it.

Original episode aired September 2022.