I'm very excited to be interviewing a couple of editors this May at Writing Belle. As a professional writer, editing is something that I can do myself. However, as any author knows, you need more than one set of eyes on a novel. Editors are there to make our work shine, sparkle, and sing. Different editors may look for different elements or errors. Each editor brings their own unique expertise and experience to the table. Today, we're visiting with Elzevera Koenderink, owner of Willow Editing. If you're a writer or an aspiring editor, maybe you'll find the information here useful!
Interview with Ms. Koenderink
They say that most of writing is
actually editing. Do you think that's true?
I’d actually say it’s the other way
around. As far as I’m concerned, writing and editing are definitely both part
of the same process, which I refer to as the writing process.
The editing process happens within the
writing process, but within the editing process there is writing. Let me
explain.
If ‘writing a book’ didn’t require
editing, we’d write a first draft and be done with it. As we all know, that’s
not how it works. Many people I meet see editing as something separate from
writing. The next step, as it were. But the way I see it, writing and editing
interact with each other as steps within the writing process. You write, you
edit, you rewrite, you re-edit and so on until you’re happy with the result.
I’ve come to realise that many writers
consider editing as a sort of necessary evil, because they’re told editing is
needed to improve the quality of their writing, but apart from correcting
spelling and grammar mistakes, they don’t see the upside of it.
Part of the reason I believe writers
feel this way is they think they’re done writing once they start editing.
Nothing could be further from the truth. If you ask me, the real writing starts after the first
draft. It starts with editing. You take the time to get to know your
characters, your world, your plot… you gather knowledge to improve the bare
bones you wrote in the first draft. You add scenes, you add richness in details…
This allows you to make your novel or story come alive in a way you wouldn’t
have been able to when you first wrote it. There is plenty of room for creativity and coming up with new material in
the editing process.
So, to get back to the question: I believe
writing and editing are both steps within the writing process that are quite
intertwined. Writing is as much a part of editing as editing is a part of
writing.
As an editor, what do you think are the
hallmarks of a good or high-quality manuscript?
Every manuscript is different, and what
makes each manuscript good or high-quality will be different as well. Something
that will help a manuscript shine and set it apart from others, however, is
whether or not it’s been self-edited. A self-edited manuscript will come across
much stronger than a first draft. It will show the editor, be it an editor that
you hired or an editor at a publisher, that you care enough about your writing
to put in the time to polish it to the best of your ability.
How many times do you think a book
should be edited before it's published?
As far as I’m concerned, there’s no
maximum to the amount of drafts your book should go through before publication.
In order to make your novel the best it can be, I would suggest several self-editing
rounds:
-
The
big picture. Focus on plot/three-dimensional characters/worldbuilding/pacing
and make sure to ask the help of beta readers once you’ve edited as much as you
can by yourself.
-
Line
editing. Go into detail with your characters, your world and your writing
style. Again, ask the help of beta readers once you’ve exhausted your own
resources.
-
Proofreading.
Writing communities like Scribophile are great places to find help with
spelling and grammar if that’s something you struggle with.
After these rounds of self-editing, you
should have a manuscript that’s quite polished. All for free, I’d like to add!
Yes, it takes time, but we write because it’s something we love to do, right?
No need to rush.
Once you’re done with self-editing, I’d
say your next step depends on your plans. If you want to self-publish, I highly
recommend you hire a professional editor at this stage. Because you’ve spent
time polishing your manuscript, you’ll be paying for someone who knows what
they’re doing to help you take your novel to the next level. I like to compare
editing to tending a garden. Say you have an overgrown garden (your first
draft). You can pay a professional gardener to pull out the weeds, but that’s
something you can do yourself as well. If you pull out the weeds yourself and then hire a professional gardener, he
can help you with details that will make your garden extraordinary. That is the
added value of self-editing.
If you want to publish the traditional
way, I’d recommend not hiring a
professional editor. Spend time on creating kick-butt queries, synopses and
cover letters and maybe even pay someone to help you create those, but don’t
spend money on a professional editor just yet. If you get a book deal,
professional editing should be included.
What type of errors do look for when
you are editing?
I like to
think of editing as more than simply looking for errors. As I mentioned in the
previous question, I like to compare editing to tending a garden. Yes, you look
for weeds and stones to remove, but you also look for things to add that will
enhance and enrich the garden. You look for elements to move: a specific plant
may do better in the shadow than in the sun, for example.
What I look
for depends on the kind of editing I’m doing. When I do a developmental or a
structural edit, I look for the big things: plot and character inconsistencies,
pacing… When I do a line edit, I look more for ways to make the writing
stronger. Fix spelling and grammar mistakes, note places where a
character’s voice could be made stronger, remove unnecessary words, avoid
repetition… When I proofread, I only look for actual mistakes: typos,
grammatical errors, punctuation errors...
What are your tips for writers who are
learning how to self-edit their work? I know everybody has a different method,
and of course all books should be professionally edited before publication. But
how can writers learn to avoid making the same errors over and over again?
As you’ve probably gathered by now, I
am a huge self-editing advocate. Many writers seem unaware of how much they can
improve the quality of their writing before
hiring a professional editor. I’m currently developing an online course that
takes the writer through every step of the self-editing process because I think
it’s important writers learn to see their own worth and to see that editing
doesn’t have to be a chore. That would be my first tip: Look at self-editing as
writing.
Another important tip is to separate
the different steps. Many writers have negative feelings toward self-editing
because they feel they have to do the same thing over and over again, which
makes them get sick of their story. Bringing back the garden analogy: If you
start working in the garden without a clear idea of what you’re going to do,
you’ll get overwhelmed really fast. There’s just so much work, and pulling some
weeds here and there isn’t making much of a difference, so what’s the point?
You start doubting yourself. Why did you ever think you could do this? Stupid
garden.
If you outline several steps for
yourself and follow them, you’ll see improvement much faster. First get rid of
all the rocks, then all the weeds. Check which plants you want to keep and
which ones you should buy. Plant the new plants, maybe move existing ones. Add
some finishing touches. Every step has a clear purpose. After finishing every
step, you feel good about yourself. You see improvement.
Something I want to emphasize when it
comes to the different editing stages is the importance of following them in
order. You can spend hours on end fixing spelling and grammar in your first
draft, but when the time comes to look at the plot you may decide some scenes
need to go. Not only will you feel frustrated at the amount of time, you’ll
also have a much harder time actually deleting the scene in question because you put so much time into it. My
advice: work from big to small. Don’t start line editing until you’ve fixed the
plot, and don’t start proofreading until everything else is done. This will
save you a lot of time in the end. Plus, it’ll combat those feelings of
overwhelm and self-doubt I mentioned before.
Are you currently available as an
editor? If so, how can writers/authors get in touch with you?
Yes, I am currently available! I edit
both fiction and non-fiction. Writers/authors can email me at info@willowediting.com or use the contact form at www.willowediting.com. Willow Editing can also be found on Instagram
and Pinterest.
Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions, to request a free sample edit (up
to 1500 words) or simply to say hi :)
What is your favorite part about the
editing process?
My favourite part about editing is
making the characters and the story come alive. I strongly believe character
development and world building are crucial to the editing process, and I enjoy
both of those very much. I love looking for the right turns of phrase and
editing the same passage several times, making it a little better each time.
What I also really like about the editing process is that it takes time to get
to the end result. Taking things one step at a time is an inherent part of the
process. I believe editing helps you grow as a person. You learn to give
yourself time.
Thank you for visiting with us today.
Happy editing!
Thank you for this opportunity, you
asked some great questions!
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Get fictional - it's fun! Thanks for stopping by, and I hope to see you again soon!