Q&A: Laura Garwood on book editing

Joining us for a Q&A this month is Sacramento-based feature writer, blogger, and book editor Laura Garwood. Garwood has a master’s degree in book publishing from Portland State University and has been working as a freelance writer and editor for 10 years.

Garwood’s hundred-plus book projects include “everything from theology books to a birthing manual for fathers, and from mystery novels to satire,” she says. But she often ends up editing women’s fiction, young adult books, historical fiction, and children’s literature. You may have benefitted from her work when reading Amy Hatvany women’s fiction novels (Safe with Me, Outside the Lines, and Heart Like Mine), These Girls by Sarah Pekkanen, the Sign of the Throne YA series by Melissa Eskue Ousley, But I Don't See You as Asian by Bruce Reyes-Chow, and Best Day Ever by Kaira Rouda. She talked with us about the experience of editing books.

In your job, you work with words, information, and people. Which do you like best?
The intersection of those things is why I like my job so much! I have developed a number of special friendships with colleagues and clients through the years, and some have become like family. And I love the combined art and science of figuring out just the right way to say things, and I often find myself Googling things from a manuscript or technical document because I love learning and history and science. The answer to that [question] may vary based on what I’m working on.

What do you enjoy about editing other people’s writing?
I love collaborating and helping and being let in on something that is special to someone else.

What misunderstandings do writers have about working with an editor?
So many people think I’m there to criticize or judge, when really I’m there to assist and support them in their writing process. I don’t “correct” people’s work; I help them make it the best it can be.

When in the writing process should a book author start working with an editor? Do you ever receive manuscripts that aren’t ready yet for editing?
I work with people before a project is done and after. Sometimes people have hit a wall and need guidance before it’s complete, or they need some feedback before they revise. In those cases there is no “too early.” However, I don’t want to start a line edit while an author is still working on a book—that’s a great way to drive your editor crazy. If I work through a section and then find out someone else has simultaneously been changing it, it’s very difficult to prevent errors and seamlessly combine the versions.

You do different types of editing: developmental or substantive editing, copyediting, proofreading, and manuscript critiques. Which type of editing are book authors typically most in need of?
Every book must be line edited—I even have people line edit my own writing because you can’t truly edit your own work without what’s in your mind impacting what you see on the page. And every book that is heading into publishing needs a proofread, which is a final scan for typos. Not everyone needs a developmental edit, though it is helpful for people who need some guidance on the big picture. Manuscript critiques fall along that same line—they evaluate how a manuscript is working overall.

Does the line between the writer’s work and the editor’s work ever get fuzzy?
I don’t find this much of a struggle. I never want to change an author’s voice, and the author has the final say if we’re working together without a publisher being involved. (A publisher has the final say.) Some people want me to do a certain level of rewriting. Some people don’t want anything changed that’s not technically incorrect. Most people are somewhere in the middle. I simply give my professional advice and people can choose what to accept and use.

What is the most challenging aspect of being a book editor?
People often are surprised at how long editing takes. It requires patience and a certain budget on behalf of the client. Having witnessed projects go terribly wrong, I have had to tell people, “Please don’t go with an editor who claims to be the fastest or cheapest.” That doesn't mean they must hire me, but I do hope they’ll find someone who will take the time to do a good job and value his or her own craft.

What should an author look for in an editor, to get a good one?
Experience, a good demeanor or personality, education (whether that’s a degree, working for a publisher, or maybe both), familiarity with the proper style guide for the project, and knowledge about publishing and the editing process. Being good in English class or using the term “grammar Nazi” as a descriptor does not particularly mean that a person knows how to apply The Chicago Manual of Style‘s rules to a manuscript or that that person will be enjoyable to work with.

Have any projects you’ve worked on make you particularly proud to be a book editor?
I feel very happy and proud whenever a client achieves his or her goals, whether that’s finding a publisher, self-publishing a beautiful and quality book, finishing a challenging revision, or simply enjoying and learning from the process. I feel most proud when people say my editing or advice has really helped them, and that happens often enough that it really fills my tank.

Has the world of smart phones, tablets, and e-readers changed how books are written? If so, what does an author need to do differently now than in the past?
I don’t know that it has changed how books are written, but it has definitely changed how they are published and even formatted. While website content needs to be tailored for its purpose—it should be brief, clear, and readable—most books still tend to follow fairly classic formulas and even word counts. Self-publishing has probably changed things more than electronic devices in the ways that it has given authors more freedom and flexibility.

Stress and creative breakthroughs

For The Atlantic essayist and memoirist Ta-Nehisi Coates (author of Between the World and Me), creative breakthroughs result from stress: putting pressure on yourself and practicing over and over, until “suddenly you become something you had no idea you could really be.” He explains more in a short online interview.

Coates didn’t take the stress approach on purpose—it just happened. But his experience suggests that for the rest of us, our writing, too, can improve dramatically if we keep at it. And maybe chaos, confusion, and challenge really are an opportunity in disguise.