Editors a Must??

[LaSalia]

Curious for the authors who use editors: how long does it usually take to get someone to edit a story? And is it worth it?

I know a lot of stories on LIT are plagued with spelling and grammar errors as well as continuity and transitional problems. I know editors can be a big help with those issues. I also make sure I edit my own work to clear away those exact problems and have recieved many comments about the lack of these problems in my work.

However, I wanted to know if the editors available on LIT (those wonderful people giving advice for free!) do more than that? I know that in college anyone who edited a paper for me inevitably tried to change my story plot or character development to what they thought was the "right" way to write it. It was frustrating when I made a character a jerk on purpose and they would say he should be nicer or I left out information in the beginning because I wanted to create a sense of mystery and reveal it later on.

So I was wondering what else the editors give to the writing here on LIT? I know third party opinions help the author because they aren't as biased (our work are our babies...) but I'm not sure if I'm looking for someone to add their own creativity to the story, as I would then feel like I'm stealing someone's thunder, you know?

Just looking for honest pros and cons, and anyone who does editing themselves, let me know what you think is important about an author getting someone else to edit their stories.

TY!

 

[sr71plt]

There are no standards for the voluntary editors on Literotica. They self-initiate with no vetting, so what you're going to get is pretty much a carp shoot.

 

[PennLady]

a carp shoot.

That . . . is really funny.

 

[sr71plt]

That . . . is really funny.

Oops. Yes it is. I just pulled in from D.C. I little drowsy.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

George V.Higgins says the real test is whether your story is any good NOT how it stacks up against Tolstoy or Hemingway or your last effort. And he suggests that editors stick to the facts NOT their idea of truth & beauty & righteousness. He cautions against what he calls the Hollywood School of Writing, that is, a bunch of guys sitting at a table making a story by committee. He also warns against overdrafts from the First National Bank of Adjectives.

 

[MarieWriter]

When I edit

When I edit, as long as it's not one of my forbidden subjects, I'm not there to pass judgement on your story. I'm just editing it for content/grammar etc...

I do a pretty deep edit. When I submit stuff to my publisher even now it goes through a brutal editing process. often times for making it shorter as well as content. I'm pretty good on content, a few mistakes here and there but over all ok.

Making your story shorter is not a goal here. It's your story and this is a free posting site. But grammar and context are a must.

I get a lot of writers then asking me my opinion of the story itself. Well, if I'm asked, Ill answer.


Otherwise Editing is NOT passing judgement on your story, (although at times I've wanted to). LOL
It's just seeing and correcting errors and suggesting different ways to fix issues.


But for goodness sakes help yourself out, look it over and read it. The most common mistakes I see are over-usage of commas and then punctuation mistakes.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

I know I could benefit from an editor. It's challenging for me to re-read my work for easy mistakes (dropped words, for example). I recently put in a request to a couple editors listed on the editor page, but never heard back from them, though my work would have fit within their taboo list. I don't know. Might try it again soon.

 

[honeybeez]

I’ve had one editor in the past and I have to be honest and say he picked up on things I completely missed. I’m reasonably well educated, and I like to think of myself as literate, but the “third party editor” picked up on things that I didn’t even see because I was too close to the story (and my readers were too kind). He didn’t edit for content but for error. I can honestly say that I had read, re-read, and re-re-read and he still found errors that were invisible (until pointed out) me. A caring editor, who takes the time to edit your content, without his own arrogance and bias, is a gift more worthy than gold.

 

[LaSalia]

Exactly!

I’ve had one editor in the past and I have to be honest and say he picked up on things I completely missed. I’m reasonably well educated, and I like to think of myself as literate, but the “third party editor” picked up on things that I didn’t even see because I was too close to the story (and my readers were too kind). He didn’t edit for content but for error. I can honestly say that I had read, re-read, and re-re-read and he still found errors that were invisible (until pointed out) me. A caring editor, who takes the time to edit your content, without his own arrogance and bias, is a gift more worthy than gold.

That kind of editing, I would appreciate, 'cause yes, we all make mistakes here and there, and being close to the story, we fill in the blanks. BUT I wanted to know if most people here who use editors have that experience.

So some recomendations would be great too!

 

[sr71plt]

I think honeybeez has described the proper role of an editor very well.

 

[estragon]

Editors a must? Not necessarily. What is the author trying to do with the story? Beautifully crafted and polished prose is a worthy goal, but not every story needs it, and not every author wants it.

That said, this is what I do: http://www.literotica.com/s/confessions-of-a-quibbler

 

[damppanties]

...I wanted to know if most people here who use editors have that experience.

So some recomendations would be great too!

As pointed out by sr, emailing people from the Volunteer Editors on Lit here is a hit or miss proposition. I would suggest either posting a request on the Editor's Forum or checking out the sticky on the top with who's available and PMing them. The best way I've found my editors is to simply ask someone from the forum that I know is good, and that can only happen by hanging out a lot. As to the quality of editors, you'll have to date a few to find someone that you can have a happy relationship with and settle down.

 

[CeasarBoobage]

The few times that I've tried to get the assistance of editors it didn't work out, and just added about a week of lag time between finishing a story and giving up and just submitting it as-is.

If you're having problems getting ahold of an editor, you can always try asking a friend or your spouse for assistance. Even someone that is not a professional editor can also be a good resource to help find flaws that could break the flow of your story. My wife has been a good help in finding issues with my stories.

Another idea is to wait a week or so after writing your story before reading it again. Once you're not so familiar with it, you can find errors that would have passed right over before.

As posted in another thread a few hours ago, I saw someone suggested that you read your story out loud. This way it's much harder to gloss over errors, and will also ensure that the flow sounds right and all the spoken parts sound correct.

 

[jomar]

As pointed out by sr, emailing people from the Volunteer Editors on Lit here is a hit or miss proposition. I would suggest either posting a request on the Editor's Forum or checking out the sticky on the top with who's available and PMing them. The best way I've found my editors is to simply ask someone from the forum that I know is good, and that can only happen by hanging out a lot. As to the quality of editors, you'll have to date a few to find someone that you can have a happy relationship with and settle down.

A drive by, eh?

 

[damppanties]

A drive by, eh?

Pretty much. Just keeping an eye on what you all are up to.

 

[BuckyDuckman]

For whatever it's worth, after three tries at finding an editor - I just completed my first experience with one. She was prompt to reply, thorough with finding grammatical, formatting, and style issues and nice enough to point out a couple sentences in need of a re-write. It was a pleasant experience and one I hope to repeat soon.

 

[Weird Harold]

So I was wondering what else the editors give to the writing here on LIT? I know third party opinions help the author because they aren't as biased (our work are our babies...)

Saw this and thought of this thread: