Over the next few weeks I’ll unpack some of the most common differences between a professionally edited and designed memoir, and one that is not.
One of the original reasons I opened Aldridge Street Editing & Publishing Services back in 2007 was because so many manuscripts that had not been properly edited crossed my desk in Author Services at Trafford Publishing. There was a hole in the market. Writers who had very interesting ideas and loads of talent were never read because they self-edited their book or just decided not to hire an editor; it’s very common. Sometimes it is a budgetary problem, but more often than not, writers don’t think they need an editor.
As you may have guessed, this week’s topic is editing. I want to poke the concept of “Fresh Eyes” a little and describe how writers hamstring their memoir by keeping editing “in the family.”
Please note: If you don’t want to read all the way to the end of this article, I’ll tell you how it turns out: If your ego and budget can handle the pressure, you should have me look at your memoir. Drop me a line.
Fresh Eyes
The concept of putting Fresh Eyes to your memoir means that someone else reads and makes notes on your memoir before it goes to the printer. I use this in my own writing as well and there is a simple reason: I get fatigued and lazy by the time I’ve worked on something for a long time, I begin to see what I want to see and I end up missing errors or leaps of reasoning.
Fresh Eyes means that someone who has no connection to you looks at your work critically, asks questions and helps ferret out common errors, typos and misplaced logic.
All in the Family
Sorry, but I’m going to have to answer your next question before you ask it. If your husband/mother/sister/nephew reads your memoir, it is really only the first step. Having someone in your circle of influence read your memoir before printing is the intelligent, logical thing to do but it is not a substitute for an editor. No matter how objective and grammatically skilled your friends and family can be, unless they are a professional, your manuscript is still half-baked.
It will cost money, but an editor uses style sheets, a keen eye for grammar and — most importantly — objectivity.
Take a long view of the context with me: A memoir is a document dedicated to building upon your family legacy, telling a story the way you want it told and building family myths. We assume it will reside on family bookshelves for hundreds of years, that it will be read over and over and that you want the conversation to centre around the stories, not the fact that your spell check auto-corrected MawMaw (another name for Grandma), to Magma. It would only be funny for so long.
An editor helps ensure your credibility as a writer and keeps your reader focused on the story. Editors are not cheap and they will add time in the short-term. However, in the long run you will likely save money through proofing and printing costs. If you’d like a quote on your memoir, drop me a line.
Darin
