Jeni Chappelle – On Editing

As a reader, I knew editors existed but it is only as I have started talking to authors more that I have learned how important they are. My friend, Jerusha, suggested The Story Grid to me and I had to go get a copy. I believe every profession has skills that I can learn and apply to my own little world of writing. Editing is one of those areas and I was super excited when K. J. Harrowick introduced me to Jeni Chappelle.

Jeni is a novel editor with 10+ years’ experience, EFA and SCBWI member, co-founding editor of Revise & Resub (#RevPit), and Editorial Director of Writer In Motion. She co-hosts two writing podcasts, Indie Chicks and Story Chat Radio. Jeni considers herself a hobbit (minus the big, hairy feet) and lives in a tiny town near Charlotte, NC with her family and way too many pets. 

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Let’s quench my thirst about editing and editors! Jeni, how did you get started in editing?

I kind of fell into it. Back in 2009, I owned a little bookstore, and at the time self-publishing hadn’t taken off yet so it was hard for indie authors to get helpful feedback. I did some beta reading for a self-pub author to tell her if I thought our bookstore customers would like her ms, and we were both surprised how helpful my feedback was. So I did more beta reading, read every craft book I could get my hands on, and decided to make it official by taking course of editing classes from an accredited university (you can’t actually get a full degree just in editing). 

What is your favorite part about editing?

I love seeing how a story comes together with targeted feedback, but it’s so cool to work with a writer on multiple projects and see how they use my feedback on one manuscript in all their writing going forward so they’re always growing.

Are editors also avid readers? 🙂

Absolutely. I think everyone in publishing gets into it because of a love of reading. The problem is, after staring at words all day, the last thing my eyes want to do is read more! I’ve found audiobooks to be fantastic for me because I still get the story but don’t have to strain my eyes.

I love audiobooks for the same reason.

I learned from The Story Grid that some editors read a book multiple times. What strategies do you use to decide if you will edit a book?

From years of experience, I can tell what an edit will be like from reading a few pages. So I always ask to see a sample before I agree to work on a manuscript, as well as asking the client a lot of question to determine if we will be a good fit in terms of our communication styles.

I myself have never done that as a book blogger and reviewer but now that you have mentioned it, I think it would be a good idea to ask for a chapter before committing to review. That practice is already quite common amongst editors and agents.

I recently read and book called The Mentor which showed editors in a traditional publishing house setting. Each book had a lead editor and multiple other editors. How does the independent editor landscape differ from traditional editing?

This goes back to the phases of editing. A writer needs to get feedback at each of those phases to make sure each layer of their book is getting someone else’s eyes on it. That doesn’t always have to be professional editors for each phase; beta readers and critique partners can often fill in for some of it, depending on how experienced the author is.

How long does it take you to figure out how long edits for a book will take approximately?

Because I’ve edited hundreds of manuscripts, in the time it takes to read the sample, I can determine what kind of edits are required and how extensive the edits will be, and from there, I know how long it will take me to edit, based on the total word count.

Do different genres demand different kind of edits?

The basic phases of editing (developmental, line, copy, and proofreading) are really the same for every kind of writing. But publishing standards are different for different genres, like common tropes, pacing, balance of action and reaction, etc., so it’s important for your editor to be familiar with those.  

Can you tell us more about each of the phases of editing?

Oh boy, can I! To keep it brief:

• developmental editing looks at the big-picture, storytelling aspects like structure, plot, pacing, character arc, etc.
• Line editing involves smoothing the flow of the writing from word to word, sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph.
• Copy editing is what most people think of when it comes to editing—spelling, punctuation, and grammar—but it’s more involved. It also looks at awkward wording, repetition, and many other issues.
• Proofreading is the final polish once everything else has been done to make sure there aren’t any errors.

What are some common tropes that you have come across in your editing career? Are there certain genres that you prefer over others, for editing and pleasure reading purposes?

Wow, there are so many. All stories use tropes; they’re just elements of stories that readers expect. So the best stories play with reader expectations by changing the trope a bit. For example, right now a common way of changing those expectations in stories is swapping gender roles. So the knight in shining armor may be a woman who ends up rescuing a man in distress.

In terms of genres I prefer, I always love stories that have immersive worldbuilding—whether that’s historical, fantasy, science fiction, or cultures other than mine—and I love a good mystery at the heart of the story. Right now, I’m especially excited by the rise of mixes of these genres. A great example is Witchmark by C.L. Polk. It blends all these elements I love.

What are two things you wished people knew about editing or editors?

One, that editing is more than just correcting grammar. That’s one phase of the editing process, but developmental editing (for storytelling content) is just as important. Two, self-editing is a separate skillset from drafting. A lot of the writing advice you read is better suited to the editing and revision process than drafting. Until you’ve gone through the whole writing and editing process on several (sometimes 8 to 10!) manuscripts, it can be really hard to implement that kind of advice into your first draft, and trying to do that is likely to lead to a lot of frustration.

Are there strategies from your role as an editor of others’ books that you have applied to editing your own work? How can one get better at self-editing?

Absolutely. I’ve developed and picked up a lot of tools over the years that I share with my clients, and I use them when I write as well. Everything from different methods of outlining to how to see your own work more clearly to getting multiple eyes on anything I write.

The key to self-editing is understanding that the more you read your writing, the harder it is to see it with fresh eyes. So the more tools you can use that don’t require rereads, the better you can maintain perspective.

What are some tools that you have tried and would recommend?

My favorite is the reverse outline. I’ll shout about it to everyone who’ll listen. It’s a pretty simple concept—after you’ve drafted, you write up a short summary of each scene so you can use that to revise your structure as needed instead of having to work with the whole several-thousand-word manuscript. It’s a real lifesaver. I have a post about it on my blog, which you can read here.

Thank you so much for joining us today, Jeni! It has been a pleasure to learn about editing from you.

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What is something new you learned today from Jeni and would apply to editing?

For me, the stages of editing were quite useful and made me think about how I can use them for writing on the blog, especially when it comes to book reviews.

Want to connect with Jeni? Here are ways to find her – Website & Twitter.

Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash