Bookmaking Part One: Editing

Since Bonjour 40 was released, I’ve had some inquiries about the process of taking my story from blog to EBook. Aside from writing it, the process included working with two editors. Why two, you ask? Editors do different things.

The first editor I worked with, Kristen Weber, is a developmental editor. As Kristen says, she “addresses the overall structure and organization of a manuscript.” She ensures the story is going somewhere and all the author’s decisions are getting it there. Kristen helped me keep Bonjour 40 both personal and insightful about Paris, without sounding like a travel guide.

The other editor, April Michelle Davis of Editorial Inspirations, was my copy editor. She looked at the grammar, spelling, appropriate use of writing standards, and formatted it for publication.

Now I know t0 bring in Kristen when I have a partial manuscript. I wrote a whole manuscript a few years ago, and with issues on page ten, overhauling it became too daunting. It resides on a shelf in my office, crying. Also, April’s copy editing comes after the work with Kristen, so I don’t pay for it twice.

Many writers fear the editor, afraid their story will be changed rather than bettered. That’s not how editors work, and changes are ultimately the author’s decision. In the end, I feel I’ve become a better writer because of what I’ve learned from them, and isn’t that an end to which writers aspire? Yes (exclamation point)!