#romance editor

(My new superpower revealed.)

Have you ever wondered about that mysterious part of a writing journey between story development and fixing your grammar? A magical place exists called line editingorsubstantive editing, in which an editor goes through your writing line by line to make your writing stronger, clearer, more elegant, with flow and rhythm and shine.

It’s rewording a description, switching a sentence around, eliminating wordiness, creating emphasis, fixing the tone, and trying to find the perfect word choice. It’s half technical and half creativity.

Simply put, it’s a case ofwrite what you mean. 

And this becomes quite difficult when words have shades of meaning. “Cheap” doesn’t have the same elegance as “affordable.” “Scream” has a startling effect compared to “shout.” It can be problematic to write “I reached out my hand to the side” which could mean anything but in the context it really means “I took my son’s hand.”

Writing doesn’t always get clarified and tightened properly through regular grammar fixes. Or worse, you don’t even realize you have a writing issue until someone brings it up. Like bad breath. (Shit. Does anybody have a mint? Or an editor?)

What do some of these sentence-level issues actually look like? And how does line editing help?

The Implausible Action Sequence

“Opening the door, I clicked on my seatbelt.”

I like to think of this as the rubbing your belly and patting your head game. There are some things you can do at the same time, and there are many things you can’t do at the same time.

First you open the door, then you put on your seatbelt. The change may seem insignificant, but the difference is characters who move awkwardly, and having seamless action.

Backing into the Sentence

“Running down the stairs, grabbing lunch, and opening the door, I smiled.”

This type of structure can be difficult for readers to get through. They don’t know who is doing all of these actions until they get to the end. And it feels like your brain is losing oxygen. This is a real clarity issue and messes with the flow of storytelling.

Objective Descriptions/Ambiguous Intentions

“He brought his arm up, with his palm open toward the front of the classroom.”

We aren’t aliens studying the human species on planet Earth. Maybe I am. But because I’m trying to blend in with the human race, I’d simply say, “He raised his hand in class.”

And this provides an intention to the action—he has a question. We don’t get that intention in the first example.

Again, seems silly, but I see it quite often in books. This issue puts a barrier between the character and the reader. Micro-actions feel murky and we miss the opportunity for rich characterization on the page (intention).

Turn-by-Turn Action

“I splashed water on my face. Then I put on my apron and got out the cutting board and knife. I took out the ingredients of lemon, fish, and herbs. Then I started heating up the pan. I salted and peppered the fish and sliced the lemon into wedges. Myra called and asked what she should bring. I told her a bottle of white wine. When the fish was prepped, I added a few sprigs of rosemary to the pan. Then I sautéed the fish. After two minutes, I flipped it.”

There’s a more elegant way to handle these lines. We need to examine what’s relevant for readers to know and what goes without saying. This issue lags the story pacing and may cause readers to lose interest. In the meantime, we should leave the turn-by-turn account to a GPS.

That’s why I’m offering a line editing service.It’s a beefier level of attention to your words that surpasses grammar editing and makes you a better writer. You can strengthen not only your manuscript but your skill—and take it with you for the next book. And the next book. And the book after that.

Because words aren’t just words. They orchestrate an entire reading experience.

This blog post is a little bit different than my others. I was discussing this subject with a writer friend, and I realized this isn’t really talked about enough (at least on my radar). When choosing a developmental editor (DE), there are a bazillion articles and posts about what to look for: experience, skill, rates. And while all of that is important, a writer-editor relationship is so much more than that. 

It’s more intimate than most people might think. It requires not only a level of skill and professionalism, but support, honesty, and trust (and not being a psycho, how about that?). 

I work predominantly with fiction and romance authors, a VERY intimate, VERY creative subject matter in developmental editing, where anything can go wrong. So that’s what this post focuses on.  

Here’s the problem: Many times authors stick with editors who bully them, maybe because they aren’t confident about their work, and think editors know everything. On the other end, editors may stick with poorly behaved authors just because they need the job. 

*Note: I don’t mean situations where authors secretly hoped for praise and can’t handle any feedback. I’m talking about writers and editors who make an effort but may not be good for each other.

How do you know if you’ve found The One? Here’s what to look for in a good developmental editor:

Skill

A good DE has a trained eye for storytelling (different than good writing), story structure, writing techniques, content editing, and the ability to generate new ideas or solutions. It’s mentally intensive and the editor is deeply invested in your characters. (More so than any critique group ever, trust me.) 

After you know that a DE has mad skills, she must also be able to communicate her findings. If she loves a part of your story, she needs to provide a reason why, so YOU know why it’s working and what you’re doing right.

Meh: "This is good.“

Better: "I love Miranda’s thoughts about her body issues, how she struggles with her appearance and feels awkward around other women. Readers can relate to this insecurity and feel sympathy for the main character." 

If the DE points out an issue that can be improved, she can’t just say "This character needs more development.” Why? How? What is this *dramatic air quotes* development you speak of?

Better: “Readers may like to know where Miranda’s body issues come from, if they were created by a harsh, unforgiving parent; or maybe she had an emotional incident at school. This will help deepen her character and backstory, which relates to her present outlook.”

With every piece of feedback, a good DE needs to diagnose the issue and, if possible, brainstorm a suggestion for the author. Otherwise, what are we all doing here? 

Professionalism

If you wouldn’t say it to your mother, don’t say it to your client. I’ve actually heard authors confess that their editors yelled at them or sounded impatient with them. All I have to say to that is NOPE. 

Okay, I have more to say. 

A good DE will never let personal pet peeves interfere with her work—whether she’s pointing out a story issue or communicating with an author.

Eeeep: “I don’t like your main character because I was a victim of kids throwing their barbies at me when I was a child.” or “I told you to watch your cliches!” NOPE.

A good DE will express her suggestions from a constructive viewpoint (that’s the skill part) or on behalf of future readers (knowing the target audience and anticipating its reaction). 

Better: “As a reader I was a little confused about Miranda’s childhood. On p. 2 she says she’s an orphan, but on p. 102, she mentions her mother’s role in her life.” or “That sex scene was a level ten hot with a whopping side of dirty, and very well written. However, this is a sweet romance, and readers might not be prepared for this scene. Let’s discuss this more.”

A good DE will also communicate with an author in a clear and supportive manner.

Nice: “I love Miranda’s fierce reaction to Kevin in Chapter 3 (adds great chemistry), but throughout the rest of the story, she feels passive and subdued. Maybe add a turning moment before Chapter 5 for why her personality changed, or you can add more of that fierceness into her character. For instance, on p. 47, when Kevin comes to her rescue by the cliff, instead of mumbling her thanks and fainting in his arms, maybe she’s clutching his shirt and arguing with him about not showing up sooner. Certain reactions like that may help keep her character more consistent.”

A bad DE might say:

Blech: “Once again, Miranda is simpering and sighing and completely out of character. She needs more development.”

NOPE.

Empathy

This isn’t always the first thought when it comes to the writer-editor relationship, but it’s an important one. The fact is, writers and editors will disagree about something, whether it’s about a plot point or the ending, or whatever. A DE can suggest a lot of solutions, but only the author can pick the one that feels right for them and their book. That’s basically a non-issue for healthy, professional partnerships.

But a writer and editor must share the same goal. That means the DE will understand what the writer is trying to do or bring up questions for the writer to consider.

A bad DE will try to change the writer’s entire book without prior discussion or thought. 

The only way for two highly creative people to understand each other is through empathy.

One more thing: Having empathy is basically another skill set for editing fiction and romance. A DE needs to be able to understand the intricacies of human nature.

Trust

All of these qualities amount to Trust, capital T. A good DE proves their storytelling knowledge and editorial prowess, communicates in a productive way with the author, and works to understand the author/project in order to share the same goals.

And they lived happily ever after. 

Bonus Tip (because that sounds cool). 

If you love yourself enough, you’ll recognize when someone treats you the wrong way.

Before we all spiral into writerly self-loathing…. 

With any relationship, pay close attention to your gut and show yourself some compassion. Like you’re giving advice to a friend, “Girl, he said what to you? Oh, no. I think you should dump his ass. You deserve better.” If you would tell your friend that, then tell yourself that. 

I think you know what I mean.

For editors: If you’re feeling anxiety and stress from an author, feeling like the author isn’t receptive to your good sense or continuously misunderstands your intentions; or you’re sensing a lawsuit down the road, it’s probably time to end that relationship. 

For writers: If you’re feeling distressed, scared, or humiliated; you feel a constant need to satisfy an editor (or she’ll spit fire at you); you’re not getting productive help with your work; you don’t feel like you’re becoming a better writer in the long run; or you feel like the editor is always suggesting story ideas way off base from your goals…it’s time to find a better developmental editor.

Disclaimer:

Finding the right DE may give you heart eyes, a sense of accomplishment, tools to revise your story for the better, and the realization that you never want to publish another book without her. (The love is mutual.)

Need help with your story? Check out my editing services.