I saved this post as a 'draft' about a year ago with very little content - since then I've edited about a dozen novels, books, fiction and non-fiction manuscripts, including several science fiction, fantasy, self-help, spiritual, and dissertations.
Whether you're a writer or an editor of any kind of book, you're going to be called upon to make it as good as can be. As a writer, you simply cannot avoid the task of self-editing. As an editor or proofreader, it is of course your job - your reputation is on the line.
This post will describe what I find to be the most useful, and most necessary, tricks and tips for properly editing a very large manuscript (50k+).
1) Focus on the forest, not the trees!! Far too often I've gone through a manuscript, fine-tuning every sentence, clarifying the writing, the spelling, the grammar and punctuation, only to find out at the end that the author has said very little, the organization is poor, the whole project, in fact, stinks. There's nothing at all wrong with this; many book ideas start out bad... the trick is how to make them good. But why waste time and money fixing all the little things - the big things are much more important!! Ask the author if they would be willing to undergo a 2 stage process, or at least warn them that the big things are in more dire need or attention that the little things.
The best way to edit a book or manuscript is to skim through for ideas and content, repetition, organization, main points, etc. Get a feel for what the author is trying to say; the story they want to tell; they idea. Is the book, in itself, successful? Why or what not? What needs to be fixed? Be very critical in addressing these needs, for if the forest doesn't work, the trees don't matter.
2) Once the author has been given time to reflect on these big ideas, has rewritten it several times, skim again and see if the book is in fact better. Ideally it should all hold together; it should 'hold water'. Individual words, bad writing, cliches, can all be fixed once the book is strong in itself. Hopefully, by now, it is.
The next step is simply to clean it up. If you've taken care of the big issues, this part should be time-consuming but also much easier, as you're dealing with simple things like spelling and grammar instead of major rewriting or content (proofreading, not editing).
3) Finally, and very last, polish it to make it look good visually. This means checking font text and size consistency, spacing, title headings, etc. If you're editing a manuscript to submit to a publisher or agent, keep in mind that they will have their own specific requirements (12pt Times New Roman, double spaced, etc.)
Following this order will produce a much more profound manuscript, guaranteed for success.
For more editing and proofreading tips or services, visit http://www.paper-perfect-editing.com.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Thesis and Dissertation Editing and Proofreading
Most people who contact with with a thesis or dissertation to edit are concerned with price and time. Thus is the nature of the game: theses and dissertations invariably have a deadline, and just as invariably, students and postgraduates will put off the work until just before the paper is due, and suddenly seek out an editor hastily.
There's nothing necessarily wrong with this; if you're an editor, you've got to be prepared to work long and hard on a moment's notice. I'll often be pleasantly surprised with 20,000 word paper that needs to be finished ASAP.
Even so - don't lose track of what's important in a thesis or dissertation. Sure, punctuation, grammar, spelling should all be flawless. However, at the same time and probably much more important is the content, that also needs to be checked. A few careful remarks by a capable editor can catch mistakes in logic or reasoning that would otherwise sink a thesis or dissertation.
Do it right! It's actually pretty simple.
1) The thesis or dissertation should have ONE main focus or topic, called the 'thesis statement' or main claim. It should be in the introduction, hopefully within the first couple of pages. It should be one sentence long, one paragraph at most. Often I've found bits and pieces of statements strewn throughout a dissertation - it must be all together, tight and focused, in the beginning. Find it, flag it, suggest a relocation if necessary.
2) Hopefully there will be a nice clean outline in the introduction, along the lines of "This is what we will argue. This is how we will argue it. First...then...next...after that...finally". It should be there; it's called the chapter outline and is usually required. If it's missing, flag it. It's easy to write, especially when the rest is finished.
3) Each chapter should have a focus. Each chapter should be introduced along the lines of "in the last chapter, we found/discovered/argued.... In this chapter, we will X, by A, B and C". Always provide a map. Tell readers what you want to do, how you're going to do it, and then DO it. This way your argument will be so much more powerful and convincing (even if it isn't really, it will seem as if it is.)
4) Include and cite references correctly, using the format you are required to use (tell the editor what it is; editors you should ask). MLA, Chicago, APA... they're all unique. Editors honestly don't have time to fix everything, so writers make sure they're pretty close to good - ie you tried your best. We'll catch little things, but can't completely rework everything.
5) CONCLUDE. Too many theses or dissertations simply die off quietly (probably because students secretly hope their advisors won't actually read the whole thing).
Even if they don't read your paper word-for-word, you can bet that they'll flip to the conclusion, which should recap your entire argument, paraphrase your main argument and evidences, and very definitively reiterate how and why you've actually proved what you set out to prove (or, been surprised by the results which suggested something you didn't set out to find.)
The conclusion is very important - a lot of the paper can be fluff. It's hard to be perfect everywhere. Make sure your very best and strongest writing is in the introduction and conclusion, make sure the rest sticks to the basic outline you proposed, and you'll be fine.
For thesis or dissertation editing services, visit http://www.paper-perfect-editing.com
There's nothing necessarily wrong with this; if you're an editor, you've got to be prepared to work long and hard on a moment's notice. I'll often be pleasantly surprised with 20,000 word paper that needs to be finished ASAP.
Even so - don't lose track of what's important in a thesis or dissertation. Sure, punctuation, grammar, spelling should all be flawless. However, at the same time and probably much more important is the content, that also needs to be checked. A few careful remarks by a capable editor can catch mistakes in logic or reasoning that would otherwise sink a thesis or dissertation.
Do it right! It's actually pretty simple.
1) The thesis or dissertation should have ONE main focus or topic, called the 'thesis statement' or main claim. It should be in the introduction, hopefully within the first couple of pages. It should be one sentence long, one paragraph at most. Often I've found bits and pieces of statements strewn throughout a dissertation - it must be all together, tight and focused, in the beginning. Find it, flag it, suggest a relocation if necessary.
2) Hopefully there will be a nice clean outline in the introduction, along the lines of "This is what we will argue. This is how we will argue it. First...then...next...after that...finally". It should be there; it's called the chapter outline and is usually required. If it's missing, flag it. It's easy to write, especially when the rest is finished.
3) Each chapter should have a focus. Each chapter should be introduced along the lines of "in the last chapter, we found/discovered/argued.... In this chapter, we will X, by A, B and C". Always provide a map. Tell readers what you want to do, how you're going to do it, and then DO it. This way your argument will be so much more powerful and convincing (even if it isn't really, it will seem as if it is.)
4) Include and cite references correctly, using the format you are required to use (tell the editor what it is; editors you should ask). MLA, Chicago, APA... they're all unique. Editors honestly don't have time to fix everything, so writers make sure they're pretty close to good - ie you tried your best. We'll catch little things, but can't completely rework everything.
5) CONCLUDE. Too many theses or dissertations simply die off quietly (probably because students secretly hope their advisors won't actually read the whole thing).
Even if they don't read your paper word-for-word, you can bet that they'll flip to the conclusion, which should recap your entire argument, paraphrase your main argument and evidences, and very definitively reiterate how and why you've actually proved what you set out to prove (or, been surprised by the results which suggested something you didn't set out to find.)
The conclusion is very important - a lot of the paper can be fluff. It's hard to be perfect everywhere. Make sure your very best and strongest writing is in the introduction and conclusion, make sure the rest sticks to the basic outline you proposed, and you'll be fine.
For thesis or dissertation editing services, visit http://www.paper-perfect-editing.com
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