I suck at copyediting. Let me get that out there right at the beginning. I know this. My authors know this. My publishers know this. My readers know this. It’s inescapable fact. I’m hampered mentally by severe ADHD and hypersomnia, a form of narcolepsy. These are conditions that no amount of medicine can totally fix, despite years of me trying. I miss things. Mostly small things, sometimes big things. It’s hurt my reputation professionally, and there’s nothing more I can do except quit editing all together.
The first reason I don’t quit is that I’m an excellent developmental editor. I’ve studied narrative for years, researching many different plot structures. I’ve settled on Narratology as my favorite, which works well with the mosaic novels I write. I teach and tutor creative writing from 5th grade to adults. I love talking about story, and I’m continually writing and rewriting plots in my head. When editing anthologies, I see clearly where stories fall apart, and guide, with care, authors to bring out the best of their fiction without overriding their voice. I’ve received countless compliments from students, authors, and publishers. My anthologies are [mostly] well reviewed. I enjoy this part of the editing process.
Plus, there are lots of ideas I want to explore through anthologies. I carefully choose my authors to bring forth multiple POVs on any topic. Out of the 100+ authors I’ve worked with, I’ve only had issues with three, so I call that a good record [no, not naming names].
So, how do I reconcile these two aspects of editing when I excel at one and struggle with the other?
The first is to have a checklist of known weaknesses. Doing editing passes for specific issues is important. Things like looking for passive voice, typos (they’re, their, there) is common for all editors, so nothing special there. Having a style guide from the publisher is always helpful and doing a specific house style pass is very important. Going into Word options and displaying formatting marks is something all authors and editors should do. Cleaning up extra spaces, loose character returns, and finding weird punctuations before turning over to the publisher can improve your relationship with the layout & design person, for sure. I forgot this once and caught all sorts of grief from the publisher.
Building a guide to name spelling that are commonly used is paramount in working with media tie-in intellectual properties. I forgot to do this recently and missed that one of the authors had misspelled the main character’s name throughout their story. It’s right there, and I didn’t see it. That’s embarrassing to me, the publisher, and certainly to the author, but two revisions and several eyes later didn’t catch it. Nobody wins when that happens.
My goal is to edit early evening when I’m at my most alert. The hypersomnia is like being awake and asleep at the same time. To make sure I’m at my best, I allow my drugs to be at peak efficiency, that I’ve been properly caffeinated, and that I’m not distracted by other things. However, life doesn’t always allow me this luxury. Deadlines loom. Emergency edits come in. I’ve read some documents over a dozen times, and the words have all blended in my brain. This is when I make the most mistakes.
Another solution is to have a solid team around you. At Baen, for example, they’ve become acutely aware of my weaknesses so nothing I submit goes to the next stage without careful review. They’ll send me revisions specific to spelling and punctuation, with any major misses highlighted. I take no offense at this. I have no ego. I know my skill set. Baen continues to contract me because I bring them excellent stories from a diverse author pool, something Toni has complimented me on several occasions. I’ve opened new readers to the type of high adventure fiction that’s Baen’s brand. I’m proud of my work there.
Unfortunately, not all publishers can do this. Not all can afford the cost of a in-house copyeditor. I do the best I can. I wish I could do better.
What I find interesting is that society, as a whole, has lowered the bar when it comes to editing. The 20 Books to 50K model started with the idea of doing little-to-no editing, instead focusing on turning around stories quickly to feed the need of a niche audience. This has improved over the years, and yet, many rushed books filled with errors still sell well. Fans of the series often submit corrections to the author, who then incorporates them into omnibus editions. So, why don’t I get that same pass?
My audience tends to be different. My demographic tends to be older, usually other authors or editors, and/or college-educated. I’m not saying the 20b/50K reader isn’t smart, but when you’re selling that many books, you’re hitting a broader audience that cares more about story than editing. I’m okay with my readership. I prefer the higher standard. I keep improving my skills while adjusting medications to reduce my physical limitations.
I may never be a perfect editor, but dammit, I love sharing stories written by my mentors, my idols, my peers, and sometimes a complete unknown that I’m giving their first big break. I get to read these stories before anyone else, and there lies the biggest reason I love being an anthologist. When a story from Alan Dean Foster, Kevin J. Anderson, or Joe Landsdale arrives in my inbox, I’m fourteen again, bringing home a new paperback from the rack at the convenience store. I’m giddy. I’m honored.
And I don’t want give up that feeling anytime soon.