Editor-author communication in book editing

When students use editing and proofreading services, long-winded discussions and communications are rarely needed.

By contrast, when editors and book authors collaborate on book proofreading services UK, it is vital to have clear, sharp, and effective communication between authors, editors, and proofreaders.

This article highlights three reasons why sustained and long-term editor-author communication in book editing is essential.

 

Length of books

Compared to student essays, most books are incredibly long.

This is the same for research papers from academics, press releases from commercial organisations, and other types of content. They are almost all considerably shorter than most fiction or non-fiction books.

The long length of books means that proofreading and editing them also takes longer.

For this reason, it is usually important for the editors, proofreaders, and authors of the book to get to know each other better. As the project they are working on is long term in nature, it is worth developing a closer collaborative relationship.

 

Author-specific details

Mostly for the editor’s sake, knowing the author is hugely worthwhile. Understanding the author’s writing style, for example, and their idiosyncrasies can save substantial time and guide the editing process.

It can also lead to the avoidance of misunderstandings, such as when an editor overwrites too much of a writer’s authorial voice.

Consider how today’s editors and proofreaders – usingchecklists and modern techniques – would find it difficult to work with authors like Cormac McCarthy, who wrote No Country For Old Men (2005), without communicating beforehand.

In the following sentence, McCarthy shows an example of polysyndeton.This is when an author deliberately inserts conjunctions into a sentence in order to slow the rhythm of the writing, create a stream of action, or convey a solemn tone.

The deputy left [a person] standing in the corner of the office with his hands cuffed behind him while he sat in the swivelchair and took off his hat and put his feet up and called Lamar on the mobile.

Cormac McCarthy – award-winning author and screenplay writer –has technically written an incorrect sentence that all trained proofreaders would change and correct. They would write these sentences with polysyndeton (Ancient Greek: meaning many bound together) out in proper, grammatical sentences!

However, in book proofreading services UK, as well as in good editing and proofreading services, there should be “synergy” and knowledge between the author and editor, which depends on precise communication.

 

Developmental editing

For books, especially works of fiction, editing is usually a developmental process.

For this reason, if the author and editor are to work together more closely than they would in a smaller-scale project (e.g., a thesis, corporate press release, or other short files), it is important for them to develop a more robust editor-author relationship.

This assists the openness and productivity of the developmental editing process, enabling each party – the editor and the author – to bring their ideas to the table.