Editorial Services: Getting the Right Help from the Right Editor

BAIPA monthly meetings are now exclusively on Zoom, at least until we get through this COVID-19 crisis. The Zoom links will be provided to you via email on the Friday evening before, around 9 PM.
Therefore, all non-members MUST register in advance in order to participate. However, all current BAIPA members will get the Zoom info for the morning session automatically.

Please scroll down to the bottom of this page for the list of available tickets. Members, please log in first.

The general meeting begins at 9 am, the speaker presentation is at 11 am, after Q&A, networking time, introductions & announcements.

There is no afternoon workshop this month.

(Click here for the schedule for the day)

MORNING PRESENTATION:

Editorial Services: Getting the Right Help from the Right Editor

So you need an editor. But what kind of editor? Copyeditor? Substantive editor? Developmental editor? Proofreader? Find out how you can get the help you need.

– Barbara Fuller –

Every book benefits from the help of a good professional editor. Even books written by professional editors benefit from the help of another professional editor—someone with the objective distance to see where the writing could be stronger and with the training to improve it. But just what does this editor do? Editing is a blanket term that covers many types of work, and it’s important to know what types of work you need.

In this program, Editcetera Director Barbara Fuller discusses the different types of editing that are often part of the book-publishing process: developmental editing (work with content, organization, and tone), copyediting (attention to the finer points of grammar, spelling, and usage), and proofreading (correction of egregious errors in the text, as well as typography, in relation to design and layout). We’ll also discuss variations and distinctions in terminology such as substantive editing and line editing.

A traditional publisher would likely hire three different people to perform a developmental edit, a copyedit, and a proofread, and we’ll explore why that is. But often self-publishers bring different skills to their work, and often self-publishers work with a limited budget. So do you really need to hire three different editors? Just how many layers of editing might serve you well, and how can you choose the best editor for your project?

We’ll also talk about what you can do to keep your costs down. Proper preparation of your manuscript and clear communication with an editor can eliminate wasted time and help you work cost-effectively. Handling some tasks yourself might also cut costs. We’ll discuss options.

You care deeply about your book. Let an editor help you by making sure that you say what you want to say, how you want to say it, clearly and without embarrassing errors. A good editor wants to help you achieve your goal: a book that will make you proud.

Takeaways:
1. Learn the distinctions between types of editors: developmental editors, copyeditors, proofreaders, substantive editors.
2. Learn how to choose an editor who will best help you.
3. Learn how to communicate clearly with an editor so you get the service you want.
4. Learn what you can do to work cost-effectively with a professional.

About Our Speaker: Barbara Fuller

Barbara Fuller has worked in publishing since 1985 and currently serves as director of Editcetera, a nonprofit cooperative association that vets and refers freelance editors and writers. In nearly three decades of work with Editcetera, she has helped connect freelance publishing professionals with hundreds of clients. In addition, she has worked herself as an editor for clients including HarperSanFrancisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers, Sierra Club Books, Ten Speed Press, Ulysses Press, and many independent authors, from professors to novelists. Barbara has taught writing for UC Davis and editing for UC Berkeley Extension and for private businesses as well as for Editcetera. She is the author of How to Start a Home-Based Editorial Services Business (Globe Pequot Press, 2013).

Connect with Barbara:
Email: [email protected]