Editing & Proofreading

Revealing Your Genius: The Manuscript Evaluation

Joanne Sprott · September 29, 2019 ·

I've worked with self-publishing authors for several years now. They often live in an isolated writing world without that traditional publisher to guide them along. They might send their finished manuscript out to friends to "evaluate" but otherwise aren't sure if their story is a good read. The Purpose When I work with a self-publishing author, I begin by proposing a manuscript evaluation, which is the first step in developmental editing. This first pass gives the writer an overall idea …

Professional vs. Peer Editing

Joanne Sprott · August 1, 2019 ·

As a professional editor and proofreader, I am about 99% in favor of professional editing and proofreading. Not just because it's my bread and butter, though. I've been a voracious reader since age seven, and I really want good copy to make my reading experience awesome. Self-Publishing Cost Trade-Offs I do understand that indie authors who are self-publishing may find it difficult to afford professional assistance in all areas of getting their books out into the world. Do you put …

Capitalization: The Consistency Challenge

Joanne Sprott · May 3, 2019 ·

Dear Writers, I'm your reader (as well as being an editor/proofreader), and what I'm looking for is a smooth and engaging experience with your words. Inconsistent capitalizing of words that normally aren't makes me stop and wonder if this instance is different and how it relates to the rest of your story. Don't make me stop and wonder unless you really want me to pause to absorb a new idea. The Consistency Challenge This may sound like I'm being too picky, but if you're going to …

In Search of a Smooth Read

Joanne Sprott · December 4, 2018 ·

Taking a philosophical turn on the editing and proofreading thing today. There are all kinds of tools that editors use to find inconsistencies in word usage or capitalization, punctuation, etc. that make a proofreading pass, for example, go faster. Since most of these tools are not available for the Mac operating system (the one I use), I've found that I rely on keeping an old-fashioned style sheet (recording how a term was spelled or capitalized or hyphenated, etc., and then doing search). But …

The Virtue of Editorial Flexibility

Joanne Sprott · November 6, 2018 ·

When I first read this article on a conversation between novelist Donna Tartt and publisher/editor Michael Pietsch, I could definitely see Tartt's frustration in dealing with editors in the past, which pretty much solidified her wish to stand out by rebelling against "the rules." I'll bet she does write readable, comprehensive prose, though, or she wouldn't be as successful as she is. So, she's playing by some "rules." She just doesn't want to feel that rules are rigidly imposed upon her by …