December 14, 2006

Bookcraft 2.0: Writer, Book Editor, Copyeditor — What Do They Do?

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 1:03 pm

Who Does What?

books

Phil and I have moved into Section Two of the four sections of his book. Are you surprised to notice that I’ve not talked about sentence structure or commas? . . . . When I was a publisher, I used to tell my boss:

You have to build the book, before you can see the commas.

Beginning of the Writing Process (courtesy of Voyages In English 2006)

This diagram shows the part of the writing process that Phil and I are currently working on.

This post is a closer look at what we’re actually doing — what his role is as the writer and what my role is as the book editor.

The Writer

The writer, that’s Phil, crafts the message. In this case that’s his blog posts.

The writer’s job is to choose words with precision and arrange them carefully. His purpose is to convey meaning. He does this by prewriting, drafting, and writing/revising. The writer is on the outgoing side of the message. In this process, Phil’s blog posts are the draft in the diagram.

The Book and Content Editor

The editor’s job is to challenge the writing. All editors are on the incoming side of the message. We remove ambiguities, errors, and barriers. An editor ensures that the meaning the writer intends is the meaning that reader receives. Editors look and listen for the audience and then tell the writer the truth about what they see and hear.

That’s why and how great writers and editors form lasting partnerships. The relationship is balanced and symbiotic.

As the book editor, my job is to help structure and challenge the writing to ensure that every idea and detail belongs in the book. As the content editor, my job is to challenge the writing, looking for problems in the expression of ideas — logic, clarity, and cohesion. I think about questions like these.

  • Is the focus clear? Is the message sound? Does the structure make sense for the premise? Does every part meet the standards?
  • Is the structure natural to the topic? Is the navigation seamless and not in the way of the message?
  • Is the voice confident and consistent? Does it sound like Phil’s voice? Is the tone authentic and appropriate for the audience?
  • Do the words make sense, with a consistency? Will the reader hear what Phil is saying without a chance of misunderstanding? Does the word choice fit the premise and the way the audience listens?
  • When I turn the page, is what comes next, what the reader expects?

As I answer each question for myself, I share my answers with Phil. Every week we talk. Phil uses our conversation and specific edits to do his writing revisions. He adds new content where he agrees it is needed to make the pages fit together and flow. He wants the message in the book to work for readers.

The Copyeditor

When we’re finished with all of the pages, we’ll hand them over to a copyedtior. Then the focus moves from “what” the writer is saying to “how” and “how well” the message is said.

Though copyeditors still care about sense and logic, their irreplaceable contribution lies in their work to achieve linguistic perfection. Copyeditors check for grammar, usage, mechanics, syntax and semantics. In some scenarios, proofreaders follow to check spelling and punctuation. They also check to ensure that no new errors have been introduced during the editing process. In other scenarios, copyeditors do these roles too.

Phil and I have three more sections to get through the diagram. But keep watching, we might be doing a few things with Section One while we’re working on those. . . .

–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you’d like Liz to help you find or make a book from your archives, click on the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.

Related articles
Bookcraft 2.0: Book Research at Amazon, the Data Giant
Bookcraft 2.0: The 90% Rule of Repurposing Content
Bookcraft 2.0 Why Read the Date Archives Not the Categories?
Bookcraft 2.0: How Many Words Does It Take to Make a Book?


Filed under Business Book, Successful Blog, Writing |



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15 Comments to “Bookcraft 2.0: Writer, Book Editor, Copyeditor — What Do They Do?”

  1. December 14th, 2006 at 9:10 pm
    Carolyn Manning said

    Hi Liz,

    I’ve mentioned before that it’s so interesting to be able to follow the birth of a book so closely. Thanks so much for sharing your progress.

    And being here when the place is empty is nice, too. It’s been a while since we could share a few comments back and forth. :)

    Carolyn

  2. December 14th, 2006 at 9:14 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Carolyn!
    Hey thanks! It took a while to write this one. The fine lines of discrimination and I still expect some folks will disagree with them. Nothing in bookbuilding is written in stone. :)

    It’s kind of nice that it’s quiet, isn’t it? I guess I shouldn’t be saying that. :)

  3. December 14th, 2006 at 9:26 pm
    Carolyn Manning said

    Well Liz, some folks just like to disagree. That’s part of their charm, I guess.

    It’s close to 10:30 here, I’m about ready to call it a day. You probably won’t get much more action from the east coast tonight.

    Carolyn

  4. December 14th, 2006 at 9:30 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Yeah, Carolyn,
    I think you’re right on both accounts. :)
    That’s okay with me. It’s the holidays. We all deserve a break from everything. I hope folks aren’t rushing around. :)

  5. December 14th, 2006 at 11:07 pm
    Phil Gerbyshak said

    Liz is VERY good at getting the right words out of me. Clarify, clean up, and make it even better. Fun process, believe it or not. And Liz is always all smiles :)

  6. December 14th, 2006 at 11:09 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Phil,
    Brings out the smiles in anyone and he can see through the telephone! :)

  7. December 15th, 2006 at 2:01 pm
    Mike said

    Liz and Phil,

    I, too, and enjoying this series immensely, especially the part about Phil’s super power!

    Mike

  8. December 15th, 2006 at 2:53 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Mike,
    Sorry you got stuck there . . .

    I’m glad to have you with us on our journey. Making books can be a long process without friends who care. :)

  9. December 15th, 2006 at 2:57 pm
    Mike said

    Liz,

    I love to learn and your posts and series are always sources of great insight and inspiration. I’m experimenting with Compendium this afternoon. What a find!

    Mike

    P.S. I had made a comment on the Michael Gerber quote, but it appears to have been zapped by cosmic rays. Damn that ozone hole!

  10. December 15th, 2006 at 3:58 pm
    Chris Cree said

    Gotta say, Liz I’ve been lurking very closely on these Bookcraft 2.0 posts. I know diddly about publishing so I’m in sponge mode here. Don’t take my lack of commenting as lack of interest. I’m fascinated!

  11. December 15th, 2006 at 4:01 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Mike,
    I love your comments. They make me think and sometimes catch out. I have to know what I’m talking about with you around. That’s very cool.

    Compendium is a nice one. I just told Sandy Renshaw about it. :)

  12. December 15th, 2006 at 4:02 pm
    ME Strauss said

    HI Chris!
    Thanks. I know you like this series. You say that often. :)

  13. December 15th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
    ME Strauss said

    PS Mike,
    I’m sorry, I’ve had over 2000 spam today. I woke up to 400+ and they’re coming in sets of 40s and 50s and sometimes 80s.

    I’m checking ‘em, but I sorry I must have missed one. Darn. I really like that quote. :(

  14. January 8th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
    Tim Singleton said

    “linguistic perfection”

    I believe I will print that out, frame it, hang it, and look at it everytime I write.

  15. January 8th, 2007 at 2:23 pm
    ME Strauss said

    Hey Tim,
    I said they work to achieve it . . . no one actually gets there! :)

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