Syndication and editing

Well, howdy there folks. Looks like my work is going to be syndicated on the official blog of the agency I work at. Some of you may have already noticed. The fun part about this is that it gives me a chance to actually edit this garbage. For a couple months I was banging away on the keyboard without any readers. Even once some started to arrive, I've mostly been typing these up in the half hour or so between work and night classes, amidst all the distractions of a university computer lab such as classmates. I'm there right now. My first piece you might recognize from here.

Thing is, the new version is very different. It's a lot more clear, I think, it's twice as long, too. It's also slightly toned down because I need to be "professional." Bah. Professionalism is the bane of my existance. I jes' calls 'em like I sees 'em. Regardless, having an opportunity to clean up this junk is proving to be quite amusing. Yes, I know. I'm some kind of freak who gets off on editing. What did you think readers do in their free time? Not read? Piffle.

So to celebrate my glorious syndication, for the next few posts, I'll be giving you some insight into my standby editing rules. These apply more to editing other people's text than your own, though. I think I've got strange tastes, but classical styles of editing. Regardless, this is only how I do it and shouldn't be treated as some kind of universal manual.

Rule Number 1: The editor is not the writer. Our concern should be purely one of clarity and efficacy. Therefore, feedback should be maximum, but commands should be minimal. Allow the author to exercise their craft without boxing them into a corner. Nudging, not controlling is the name of the game.

Rule Number 2:Use it or lose it. It drives me batty when a story introduces details, characters and side stories that go nowhere. Do you have a lengthy opening that you wrote to set the scene for yourself? Cut it. Do you have to characters that fill the same role? Cut one of them out. As you can see, I'm a cutter. It may seem unpleasant at first, but once you take the plunge, it'll feel so good. C'mon. All the cool kids are doing it. You want to be cool, don't you? In all seriousness, there quickly comes a point in books where the information is overflow and you're hurting yourself. Don't.

Rule Number 3: Scan your page quickly. Is there more than one paranthetical, ellipse, dash, or semi-colon? If so, you have some other questions that need to be answered. Is it intentional? Is it part of the style? Is the style consistent? What does it bring to the manuscript? Is it more effective with or without it? My friends, often fine writers go ultra heavy on ellipses and I can't stand it.

Will your manuscript survive? Has the editor backed you into a corner? Don't miss the exciting conclusion to Robin's Rules of Editing, same blog time, same blog channel. Or whenever I feel like it.