Thursday, November 28, 2019
#FreelancerFriday #8 - Ellie Clarke, Editor
#FreelancerFriday #8 - Ellie Clarke, Editor #FreelancerFriday #8 - Ellie Clarke, Editor ââ¬Å"For a first-time author the process can be quite illuminating. For the author to have given you their work, and for you to have made alterations and made sure that theyââ¬â¢re happy about it, youââ¬â¢re the second-closest person to their project. It can be quite great ââ¬â especially if you know youââ¬â¢ve done a good job and that the client is happy.â⬠Ellie Clarke is an editor based in the south-east UK. Ellie is something of a polymath, offering services for every step in the process, from ghostwriting through to proofreading. You canà enjoy our conversation below. ââ¬â What kind of services do you offer as an editor? I do a wide range of editing and editorial work. I do everything from development editing all the way down to proofreading ââ¬â light copy edits, heavy copy-edits, structural edits. I also ghostwrite, doing things from the other side.à Basically, all the things. I used to work in-house as a project editor. I had to manage everything from end-to-end. That meant organising other people to do the different stages, and sometimes doing it myself. Iââ¬â¢ve carried on with that approach ââ¬â to be able to put myself forward for any type of editing. Once youââ¬â¢ve got the skills itââ¬â¢s important to keep practicing them. Do you often do multiple types of edit for a single client? Like a developmental edit, and then a copy edit as well? For larger clients, publishers and so on, I might do a variety of different types of editorial work on different projects. So for one Iââ¬â¢ll be structurally editing, another will be a copy-edit, and another will be a proofread. Private clients sometimes ask for a combined service, and Iââ¬â¢m happy to offer it, but usually I would recommend that if someone wants, say, a copy-edit and a proofread, I often think its better to go to someone else for the proofread. A fresh pair of eyes can really help.à Then again, it depends on the project ââ¬â if someone has specific knowledge that theyââ¬â¢ll need in order to do the proof properly, getting the original copy-editor to proofread it is a good idea. Having a fresh pair of eyes is good, but then also familiarity with a project has its own benefits. What do you think those benefits are, in your experience? One of the main ones would be if a new copy-editor comes in after a development edit has happened, they might reverse some stylistic choices previously made ââ¬â especially if there isnââ¬â¢t a good style sheet for the project. It could be any decision, even down to using double or single quotation marks. That sort of thing can end up being lost unless itââ¬â¢s been written down ââ¬â but you also canââ¬â¢t write down every single decision ââ¬â otherwise youââ¬â¢d end up with the Guardian style guide. Does the relationship between the author and the editor change over the course of a project? For a first-time author the process can be quite illuminating. For the author to have given you their work, and for you to have made alterations and made sure that theyââ¬â¢re happy about it, youââ¬â¢re the second-closest person to their project. It can be quite great ââ¬â especially if you know youââ¬â¢ve done a good job and that the client is happy. It can be difficult as well. Sometimes people think of an edit as a friend looking through your book and looking for typos. Itââ¬â¢s important to be diplomatic and understand that the project is their baby. The dynamic changes over time. At first people can be defensive. As they realise that you have their projectââ¬â¢s best interests at heart it gets a lot easier. This is especially true when youââ¬â¢re working directly with an author ââ¬â itââ¬â¢s very different to when youââ¬â¢re working through a publishing house or a project management company. Is there a difference between working directly with a publishing house verses working with the author directly? Certainly. It can be beneficial, especially if youââ¬â¢re thinking about self-publishing, in that the author retains a lot more creative control. The benefit of having direct contact with your editor is that you can feed, as we were saying, information about creative elements that you want a certain way directly to the editor. Otherwise that can sometimes get lost in translation. How does thinking about the reader affect how you work, how you set objectives for when youââ¬â¢re editing a piece? I think personally Iââ¬â¢m working for the reader. I want the reader to get a book that works for them, that they enjoy, and that is high quality. When youââ¬â¢re editing, what are you looking at? The flow of the prose, the expression of the idea? It depends on the subject matter. For fiction editing, youââ¬â¢re certainly looking at the flow of the story, youââ¬â¢re looking at character development, at whether the text is too long or too short. Line editing and copy-editing is more practical ââ¬â grammar, typos, for example. When in the writing process should an author approach an editor? You should definitely have a draft ready. Contacting someone when youââ¬â¢ve got a few chapters and a synopsis can be a good idea, and people out there are happy to look at what youââ¬â¢ve got so far to let you know if they think itââ¬â¢ll be worthwhile. In terms of actually getting into the nitty-gritty of the editorial process, you should have a draft and you should have reread that draft yourself.à Some people, quite a lot of people, recommend that before youââ¬â¢re ready to have someone else look at your manuscript you should have gone over somewhere between three and ten times. I would say be as happy as you can be with the manuscript before you send it to an editor. The better shape the manuscript is in, the less editing it will tend to need, which makes it a faster process and a cheaper process ââ¬â obviously good if youââ¬â¢re an indie author. What makes a project great to work on? Having a shared interest definitely helps. For authors itââ¬â¢s important to find an editor whoââ¬â¢s interested in what youââ¬â¢re writing. If youââ¬â¢ve written a sci-fi novel and you approach someone who generally edits gardening textbooks theyââ¬â¢re probably not the best person. Maybe they are! Maybe they also have a secret interest in sci-fi! Itââ¬â¢s good when an author is ready for the process. Some people sometimes think theyââ¬â¢re ready, but still find it quite difficult. When youââ¬â¢re being edited the fact is that some of your text will be changed. Working with someone whoââ¬â¢s easy-going and open to talking about change is good. Itââ¬â¢s about being able to have those conversations and say ââ¬Å"I would recommend this, what do you think?â⬠The author can say ââ¬Å"Yes, I agree,â⬠or ââ¬Å"No, I donââ¬â¢t agree, and this is why.â⬠Being able to have that flow of ideas with someone really helps Itââ¬â¢s also good to be clear about the expectations you have from each other. The author should know what you need from them ââ¬â in terms of the manuscript, in terms of how much time you need. As the editor, you should know what the author needs ââ¬â how heavily they want the text edited, how long they have, if they have a specific deadline, if there are certain things they donââ¬â¢t want to change. Do you dialogue with authors as well as marking up the text? In developmental editing thereââ¬â¢s often more dialogue ââ¬â you might come across something where you need to know what the author wants to do before you can really proceed. That can come up in other forms of editing as well. Iââ¬â¢ve known people who prefer to be presented with the edit and just go through the comments, and Iââ¬â¢ve also known people who want to be consulted at every stage. Itââ¬â¢s usually better if the authorââ¬â¢s prepared to not have every change discussed ââ¬â that can take a very long time, which isnââ¬â¢t useful for them. Is there anything about working with a publisher thatââ¬â¢s impossible to match working freelance? I donââ¬â¢t know that youââ¬â¢d match it exactly ââ¬â it would still be a different experience. Unless you hire a project manager as well, which you can do, you end up being the project manager for your own bookâ⬠¦ which can be quite stressful. But in terms of the book doing well, in terms of getting a good quality of finished project, I think you probably can match it.à As long as youââ¬â¢re willing to take the time with it and understand that you probably do need at least an edit and a proofread ââ¬â generally one stage isnââ¬â¢t enough to get it as a finished product ââ¬â then I think you can end up with a very good end product. Obviously, some people do very well indeed from publishing on Amazon, for example. Whether it will be different to a traditionally published book depends on what you as the author are happy to do with the book, and how many stages youââ¬â¢re happy to go through. Thank you for your time Ellie.
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