The Traits Of A Developmental Editor

By Edward Reynolds


Every piece of writing requires some form of support during or before it can be produced or published. This writing is what is referred to as developmental editing and the person behind it is the developmental editor. They perform a lot of duties that help ensure that the content in a manuscript is good; thus, ensuring the success of a book.

As earlier mentioned, the copy-reader performs a number of core tasks so as to ensure success, one of the roles being giving suggestions. They offer a number of suggestions that seem relevant in the context. These may include the goals of a book, story, character development, style, language just to mention a few. However, they do not perform spelling and grammar corrections. Theirs is to only show the mistakes made and leave it to the writer to make all the necessary changes. In some cases, they help coach writers step by step, though this is uncommon.

Every professional should possess a number of attributes that make them the best at what they do. The same applies to editors. The first good quality being able to highlight clear edits. When going through the script, they should be able to identify the various mistakes made as well as changes that should be made and clearly outline them. This is important because the writer will be able to view them and make all the relevant changes and not give them such a hard time.

They should offer solutions to specific problems. It is their work to inform the writer where the mistakes have occurred and actually suggest a way forward. Mentioning mistakes and not providing any form in which they can be corrected is wrong and shows shallow work.

Creativity is part and parcel of each and every aspect of life. A good editor should possess a lot of it. They should have the ability of thinking beyond the reality of life and embrace impossibilities. They have to be able to visualize things from the perspective of an author and even beyond. This way, they will be able to come up with something creative that if incorporated to the original story-line could see the story becoming more captivating.

In addition, they need to also have respect for the work of the writer. Recognizing that the author has total control over the entire project in the first step into creating mutual respect is important. The author should be the one telling the story and is the only one with the power of making any changes to the content.

They should also be good instructors. They are tasked with the duty of helping a writer become better at delivering their work. They have to try as much as possible to steer this writer in the correct path by informing them what needs to be done. This way the author will avoid repeating similar mistakes in future. They have to also be able to provide market sense for the book. They need to know what the market demands are and advice the writers accordingly.

It is important to note that a writer is also encouraged to try as much as possible to work with the editor. They have to show respect as well and establish good communication with them. Apart from these, they ought to also be willing to compromise and accept corrections and changes.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment