Recent Editing Projects
I’ve recently completed a project editing a novel. It was the first project of the sort I had done as a freelancer, and it was a large one: The initial manuscript weighed in at more than 125,000 words. All did not go smoothly at first—I made some rookie mistakes in planning and then managing my time and perhaps even in gauging the appropriate amounts of copyediting versus commentary to give—but the author was happy with my work, and I know now how to make the next project like it work out. The book is currently being shopped for a publisher—I wish the author luck.
Meanwhile, two very different manuscripts I’ve edited in the last year have been accepted for publication, the first in Sociology of Education and the second in the Arkansas Times. Both authors came asking for help making substantial cuts to their manuscripts. I’ll not try to guess how the authors felt about seeing their work chopped so (in the case of the latter, I don’t have to guess). I am proud to have assisted on both pieces—the recognition the authors have received for their work is well deserved.
