#editor advice

Alexa Donne talks about how to create interesting "pinch points" in your writing!

10) We are pretty ‘up’ on what’s popular in the entertainment industry. We’ve seen a lot of movies, tv shows, and scripts. “We know when you’ve copied an entire scene from Sons of Anarchy.”

I sort of tripped into it, to be honest! I’ve been editing just as a hobby for a very long time, as many of my friends and family are creative people who always had manuscripts and film scripts and essays and articles that needed some love. However, when I went back to school after a few years in retail management and film work (both their own little circles of Hell), I got involved with the student newspaper (mostly because they paid for writing and I needed the money very badly, and still do). Working my way up through the paper has honestly been the best and most informative learning experience in this field I could have possibly hoped for, so if you’re in school still, I HIGHLY recommend seeing what the college paper is up to, and if they’re hiring. Editing is tough to get into for sure; for in-house editing positions, they often require you to have a Masters in publishing, and given that I barely have the cash or spoons for barely full-time schooling, I’m not sure how realistic that is for me as a path. Freelancing is its own little can of worms. Establishing yourself in the field and connecting with clients takes time and energy. I’ve been very lucky in that I have friends and family who know that I edit, and who pass along work when they hear someone’s looking for an editor.My best advice is, if you are super passionate about it, try to snag that Masters in Publishing. For immediate work, students are often looking to hire editors for essays (though be warned, I have a friend who freelances and takes on student work specifically, and it can be frustrating - you might wind up with clients who just want you to do their work for them). Figure out what your skill set is - copy-editing? Structure? Story-editing? These are all different fields - and advertise yourself accordingly. I don’t know what country you’re in, but if you’re copy-editing, try to pick up Strunk’s Elements of Style if you’re editing for American English, or the corresponding texts for Canadian or UK English (they’re all different, it’s a pain in the ass). If you’re editing in a different country/different language altogether, there is likely a good grammar guide to work off of; ask your local librarian/bookstore owner.If you’re editing someone’s work for specific publications or submissions, make ABSOLUTELY SURE to check the style guide. You’d be surprised how much variance there is between outlets; it gets a bit more complicated than 12-point Times New Roman. For example, my publication uses em-dashes instead of en-dashes, and explaining the difference takes up a good chunk of our training sessions for new hires.Finally, if you’re fairly active in fandom circles, you can always look to your friendly neighbourhood fic writers for work! A lot of fic writers have their own projects on the go, and will be looking to hire an editor once they’re through. Fully-fledged and certified editors are expensive - the rate is usually 2 cents per word - so in this respect working as an up-and-comer is a bit of an advantage, in that you won’t be charging as much initially. Develop those relationships and establish yourself as an excellent personal editor, and work up from there.I hope this was helpful! I’m still very much in the early stages of editing as a career myself and it’s got a learning curve, and trying to find work is ALWAYS a struggle when you’re freelancing. It’s a lot of late nights and weird deadlines and negotiating lack of experience with quality of work; I might not have a Masters, but I’m a damn good editor, and I’m always striving to learn more about the field and about the language I’m editing.(Final word of advice: If you’re not sure about a grammar rule, google it! I have some young editors who work under me who sometimes don’t seem to remember that search engines exist. Never assume that you’re right unless you’re 100% sure that you are and even then, double-check.)

Our hero, Ellen Brock! How to fix a boring scene!

I love Ellen Brock so much, their whole channel is full of gold! Advice straight from an editor :)

Ellen Brock again with another amazing video! If there's one channel you should binge-watch every video, it's Ellen's! Her experience in the industry is invaluable. This is a great video for writing a page-turning story :)

Ellen Brock again with stellar advice on how to help your readers emotionally connect with your wonderful characters!