In Which I Blather About Process

It's been pointed out that I should maybe, possibly, talk a little about how I do what I do as far as editing goes. The short version is, I've been reading other people's writing for a very long time now, and I have a good idea about two things: what I like, and what works. I even know how to separate the two, though it's always nice when I get to work with the former. That's not a talent most people have. I can also sit down with something that's not working and list 3-5 ways to fix it, which is generally more helpful than "here's my one true way." The chances that you're coming to me for fiction editing are pretty high. There is no One True Way. There's ways that work, ways that don't, ways that lead you to a story that's not the one you thought you were writing, and ways that may be beyond your current technical skill level. Just for a few.

How I edit is, in at least one sense, very much like how I write and translate. Though it's possible for me to work on the laptop (in fact, I'm doing so right now), I prefer to do the bulk of my work at the desktop. As you can see, I've got most things to hand, and in the event that I need my foreign language dictionaries they're a hop away in the filing cabinet. (Yes, I have a filing cabinet full of language and music books. What? This isn't normal? I ran out of bookshelf space.) Squirt bottle of chastisement for when the cat decides attacking his reflection is the best way to break my concentration, assorted musical instruments when I'm chewing over a knotty problem, various things to keep warm with, external hard drive, and all the ibuprofen and Tums you can shake a stick at. I try to keep it warm enough that I'm not shivering, cool enough that I'm not sweating, and the music at a volume suitable to my mood. I take micro-breaks where I surf the internet, reply to chats or emails, and so on at completely unpredictable intervals. Longer breaks come around once every hour or two, where I make sure to stand up and stretch and do a couple rounds of PT exercises.

I usually work best in one hour blocks of time anyway, spaced out throughout the day and swapping one set of tasks for another. Ideally, I swap editing/writing/translating for something physical, be it music practice or eating a meal or doing some quick housework. Unlike a lot of people, I don't have specific times of the day I am "most" productive. My most productive times are when I plant my ass in the chair and declare I'm accomplishing something, and I do that at least twice a day, five days a week. Because breaks and regular meals are important too! Because I'm a musician by training, I tend to think of this as 'playing the rests.' Editing work occupies my analytical brain and gives my body a chance to rest; music occupies my body and my instincts (and, sometimes, a different side of analysis). Translation calls on both instincts and analysis, especially if I'm not going for a word-for-word but a more freeform translation, making it arguably the most difficult of the three. Regardless of what I'm doing, the important part is that I get to engage all my faculties each day, as well as taking short knitting or cross stitch or reading breaks, depending on what part of me feels most depleted.

Whenever I get a new work, I do an initial read-through in reader-brain. This is markedly different from editor brain, and it lets me figure out if the writer has succeeded in whatever they set out to do. Am I entertained? Am I informed? Am I moved? I make a note of it, usually for my own personal use, and go on to the second read-through. Assuming I'm doing a full round of edits on it, I start by addressing the overall structure. Weak points get shored up, places where I feel the writing has strayed get marked off, and I make a quick sketch of the outline of the piece for the benefit of the writer. (If the writer worked from an outline, it's always fascinating to know how closely these match.) For fiction, I will take special note of guns on the mantel. Then I send it all back to the writer and we get to engage in either real time or asynchronous discussion of the edits. Once the structure is hammered into something closer to a final draft, I work on grammar fixes, typos, and line edits. Sometimes a line edit will lead to revisiting the structural edits, but more often they sand the rough edges off an author's natural voice, playing to their strengths. For example, Kitty has a very noir, spare writing style for a great deal of her work. This makes finding the exact word tricky but ultimately more rewarding than using five words where one would do.

Over the years, I've read lots and lots and many blog posts over How To Be Self-Employed, but the one thing that the most successful people have in common is that they show up. Whatever it is that I'm aiming to do, I have to be there for it, and being there can be as simple as walking away from the computer and picking up my instrument or as complex as sitting and working on edits while using of the internet/books to fact-check things and not getting distracted. It's a tricky balance, to be sure, and there are days when I absolutely don't wanna. Those are the days I curl up with hot cocoa or promise myself a cold beer after finishing a certain amount of work. It's not just a good idea to reward yourself, it's vital when you're self-employed. But that's a whole other blog post.