Doing a sample copy-edit for a prospective client is fundamentally a high-wire act. You don’t want to squash their talent by overcorrecting. I mean you absolutely want to correct, and show them how good it can be, without treading on sensitive toes, and making them doubt themselves.
And no matter how you wibble and wobble on the wire, somebody’s not going to be happy. Normally, it’s the copy-editor. I’ve had it all, from the author who told me that “all the secretaries in my mother’s business said it was wonderful and you found too many mistakes”, to “how about I just tell you my premise and the names of the characters, and you write it?” No, no and no. And, oh, by the way, a copy-editor and a ghostwriter are NOT the same. Don’t get me wrong, I love being a copy-editor, words are my business. I am a one-trick pony. I like words.
I read, on average-just for me 20 + books a week, my trusty Kindle gets quite a workout. I also write horror and have had a novella and 10 short stories published in an online ezine.
And I edit. It hurts me to see books go to the publisher without any editing. It hurts to hear people slaughter English, but apparently, that’s just me. That’s my nutshell. Check out my Facebook page at Editing by Carol Tietsworth.
And no matter how you wibble and wobble on the wire, somebody’s not going to be happy. Normally, it’s the copy-editor. I’ve had it all, from the author who told me that “all the secretaries in my mother’s business said it was wonderful and you found too many mistakes”, to “how about I just tell you my premise and the names of the characters, and you write it?” No, no and no. And, oh, by the way, a copy-editor and a ghostwriter are NOT the same.
Don’t get me wrong, I love being a copy-editor, words are my business. I am a one-trick pony. I like words.
I read, on average-just for me 20 + books a week, my trusty Kindle gets quite a workout. I also write horror and have had a novella and 10 short stories published in an online ezine.
And I edit. It hurts me to see books go to the publisher without any editing. It hurts to hear people slaughter English, but apparently, that’s just me. That’s my nutshell.
Check out my Facebook page at Editing by Carol Tietsworth.