So, You Want to Be an Editor, Part 2
- Jul
- 28
- 2012
- Posted by Tammy Ditmore
- Posted in Editing, Publishing, Writing
When I decided to take my editing skills and go home, I thought I was headed out into uncharted territory. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long to discover that I didn’t need to hack a path all on my own; I could simply tap a few keys and tap into the wisdom and experience of people all over the world who had been living my dream for years. Amazingly, many of these people are not only willing but actually eager to share what they have learned. So, whenever someone asks me about how to become an editor or proofreader, I tell them to explore the vast terrains of the Internet for helpful advice, time-saving tips, and welcome (although digital) companionship. Although there are many, many other sites out there, here are the websites, blogs and discussion lists that have been most helpful to me in the past couple of years.
Editing and Publishing Organizations
Editorial Freelancers, Association, the-efa.org
Christian Editor Network, www.christianeditor.com
Freelance Switch, freelanceswitch.com
Media Bistro, mediabistro.com
Copyediting, copyediting.com
Communication Central, communication-central.com
Small Publishers, Artists, and Writers Network, spawn.org
Independent Book Publishers Association, ibpa-online.org
Individual Blogs
The best place to start is with Katharine O’Moore-Klopf, who has put together an incredible list of resources, which she calls The Copyeditors’ Knowledge Base, at kokedit.com/ckb.php. She offers additional tips in her blog at the same site.
Louise Harnby dishes up many very practical tips about proofreading and editing at louiseharnbyproofreader.com/blog.
Liz Broomfield provides editing tips and also intriguing interviews with independent business owners each week at libroediting.com/blog.
Meg E. Cox has just recently started blogging about how how to stay fat while freelancing, freelancefeast.com.
Carol Saller is the rock star of the copyediting world: subversivecopyeditor.com/blog.
Rich Adin offers insights about editing and publishing at americaneditor.wordpress.com.
Discussion Lists
Copyediting-L is a list for copy editors and other defenders of the English language who want to discuss anything related to editing. It is monitored and frequented by very serious and very knowledgeable editors who share advice on everything from dangling modifiers to billing practices: copyediting-l.info/
McEdit is a list for editors who work on Macintosh: groups.yahoo.com/group/McEdit
As an added bonus, all of these sites and blogs will point you to other resources and places to find editing information. And you can follow many of these organizations and individuals on Twitter and/or in LinkedIn or other editing discussion lists.
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She worked with me chapter-by-chapter over the course of nearly a year to hone my writing through attention to style, organization, and mechanics. Her close reading and keen eye have been invaluable during my revision process. I learned important guidelines about preparing my manuscript for its final review through this pleasant experience of working with her.
I highly recommend Tammy Ditmore to you. She has edited three of my books in the past two years. Each time, I have been impressed with her professionalism, and pleased with her ability to provide a polished text.
Tammy is sensitive to my work and does a great job to maintain the integrity of my writing and my voice!
I appreciate Tammy’s willingness to ask questions when appropriate, flex on deadlines, offer sound advice, and rewrite sentences or sections as needed. Her command of substantive and copy editing make Tammy an asset to any project.
I had a book manuscript that had a thorough edit by a copy editor, but there were many changes made and I wanted another set of eyes to look at it carefully. So I hired Tammy Ditmore to do a “final” proofread and flag anything that she found awkward, confusing or ill-fitting. That is a difficult job—to look both for errors and to comment, but that is what I needed. Tammy took it on and did a great job. Tammy also understands a schedule and finished the work on time—even ahead of time. Thank … Read more
Tammy has helped me become a better writer. I always look forward to seeing her email pop into my inbox. As I open the email and double click on the Microsoft Word file, I look forward with anticipation to reviewing her edits. Like a used target at a shooting range there are red marks riddled throughout the page. And the right column is full of thoughtful comments. I appreciate her precision and thoroughness. Because I know every word she cuts, every crooked sentence she straightens, and every p… Read more
Tammy Ditmore is an excellent editor. My writing improved grammatically, in structure, and clarity under her skilled eye.
Tammy Ditmore’s timely, thorough, detailed and accurate proofreading made my book print ready. She delivers high quality work on schedule and is a pleasure to work with.
Tammy’s approach to editing was like telling a story to someone who listens very well and offers suggestions only when something is confusing or grammatically incorrect (or embarrassing).
I can’t believe my good fortune to have found Tammy to edit my nonfiction book. I had narrowed down my editor search to ten; then I took advantage of their free sample offers. Nine of the editors were okay. Tammy’s edit, however, really showed her strength for detail and content development. I was absolutely wowed. She suggested, for example, how to improve the Introduction’s hook, added sentences that clarified a paragraph’s thought better, and deleted unnecessary words. She also mentio… Read more