THE WRITER/EDITOR RELATIONSHIP: PATIENCE
I’d say 95 percent of the clients I work with on book editing projects are filled with impatience. As a writer as well as a book editor, I of course understand this feeling perfectly. It makes sense. For the most part, developing writers approach me with a first or second or third draft, or even sometimes a memoir or novel they’ve worked on for years, and they have a specific plan for how they want that project to go. The problems with this attitude are many-fold. For one thi
NEED A GHOSTWRITER?
I want to talk about ghostwriting. I am considering getting in on the practice of doing it. It is far more lucrative than book editing, and far simpler in terms of 1-2 contracts per year and 1-2 clients per year, versus half a dozen or more for book editing clients. Doing research, I located an experienced ghost writer, Laura Sherman, “The Friendly Ghostwriter,” and emailed a bit with her. Based off my experience as a book editor and published writer, she said, I could reason
THE PRACTICE OF WRITING
I think one of the hardest things for a writer is discipline. If you’re serious about writing—like I am—then you’ll set a schedule for yourself. Stephen King says ‘If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have time to write.’ That’s true. You need to read a lot and write a lot and, mainly, you have to set aside time for the art and craft of writing. Many people out there, frankly, call themselves writers but don’t actually write very often. That’s fine. I’m not judging here
MY BOOK EDITING PROCESS
I want to talk about my book editing style and process. First off, here’s my background. In a sense, I have been writing my whole life. Ever since I was a kid, I’d pen poems and prose like a mad-child, bordering on obsession. My mother and I would exchange apologies via long-form letter when we fought. Etc. After landing my BA in writing from San Francisco State—and turning down an acceptance for the MA in Writing program—I decided to intern with a literary agent in the Bay A
