To begin a writing project, write a word, then a sentence.
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Or, do not write, but walk. Some writing projects seem impossible until something inside you is ready.

Which kind of writing project is yours? In order to find out, you can try to write, and see what comes out. If you’re unhappy with the result, you can revise—or you can wait. Later, you can revise again—or you can begin again, which is the same thing.

Until it’s complete, all writing is continual beginning again. So do not be afraid--begin!

Next time: How to self-edit

Why revise?

The first draft is for you—it’s an experience of exploration, discovery, and play. The revised manuscript is for your reader, because publication is a form of communication.
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Initially, we revise out of a desire to make the work better—clearer, more compelling, beautiful, meaningful, and satisfying—but revision is also rewarding for the writer.

The shift from writing for yourself to writing for a reader demands a huge change in perspective. In revision, you become a reader. This is part of what makes revision fun—in revision you get to see what you have made.

In revision your understanding of the work will be transformed, and so will you.
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Next time: How to begin a writing project

You must know your work is ready before you send it out. You must have resolved your doubts, and feel certain you would be proud if it appeared in print just as it is. Many publishers no longer edit much, but even those who do so prefer to receive writing in a polished state.

Another clue: you may have been changed by the work, and have watched it change profoundly. Most writing transforms in some way when it reaches a state of full development.

It’s hard to resist the temptation to send a book or story out, to see how a professional reader (an editor) would respond. Every stage of revision is so gratifying—it’s easy to mistake that feeling for a sense of completion. Try to take your time, let the manuscript rest between rounds of revision, get good advice, and wait until you’re certain it’s really, truly done.

Next time: Why revise?

The words “editing” and “revising” have different meanings for editors than they do for many writers.

When we’re writing, we’re not worried about definitions—we’re often working in a state of flow, engaged in an intuitive practice of rewriting and recasting our sentences with the simple goal that they sound more more like themselves. Working this way is an essential part of writing—but it isn’t all editing and revision can be.

To an editor, editing is three essential jobs—copy editing, stylistic editing, and substantive editing—and revision is what a writer does after an edit.

A quick breakdown:

Copy editing and stylistic editing attend to the fine details of words and sentences.

Copy editing is mechanical. The goal of copy editing is to achieve clarity, consistency, and correctness by adhering to established rules and conventions. Trained copy editors correct common errors and know where to look up the answers to uncommon questions. Their guidebooks are heavy enough to serve as doorstops.

Stylistic editing is more creative and exploratory. The goal of stylistic editing is to achieve clarity of meaning, coherence, and flow by finessing the language, structure, and cadence of a sentence or paragraph. When an editor suggests that a piece of writing needs a stylistic change, a writer makes an adjustment by recasting a phrase, rewriting a sentence, or reordering a paragraph.

Substantive editing attends to big-picture elements of a work such as plot, structure, or narrative arc. Editors make substantive suggestions after carefully reading a work and thinking about its elements, the reading experience, and the writer’s intention. Substantive commentary is meant to serve as a guide to a writer in revision.

We specialize in stylistic and substantive editing, but we try to include commentary and guidance on all necessary aspects of a work in order to help a writer with self-editing as well as revision.

Revising is the exciting part of writing. It is everything a writer does after the first draft, from reimagining a character to changing a word to drafting a new paragraph, chapter, or scene. In revision, one change usually leads to another, which leads to insight or discovery, which may lead to a new understanding of the work itself. In revision a writer often discovers they know more than they thought they did.

Revising with guidance from an editor is more challenging and comprehensive than solo revision and can enable you to take your manuscript further in a shorter period of time. This can be thrilling, because it’s in revision that the writing comes to life.

Next time: When to submit?

We want to help writers write and revise. We approach the work in alignment with the writer, not in opposition. That’s why we read first, then figure out what you need in order to take the writing further.

Reviews and critiques consider a work complete. We are writers too, so we know that a manuscript is not likely to be magically complete and fully developed after only one or two drafts. We know the work has a future self that may not yet be realized.

We know from experience that when the work is finished the writer no longer has any niggling doubts—and we know that getting to that point takes far longer than anyone ever anticipates at the outset.
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We don’t want to waste your time. That’s why we aim to get straight to practical guidance in craft and technique, inspiration, and suggestions for constructive ways forward.

Next time: What’s the difference between editing and revising?

Writers come to us with all kinds of questions.
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Everyone has different skillsets and aspirations. Some people need editing help, some need revision help, some need process guidance, some need encouragement and advice about next steps—many would love all of this. Other people need help with just one thing—dialogue or sentence structure or point of view. Others do not know how to begin—or they don’t know what they don’t yet know.

This is why we write comprehensive editorial commentary tailored to individual writers, and why we also lead workshops. We’re here for what you need.

Next time: How is an editor different from a reviewer or critic?

We can help you understand how your work reads, what it accomplishes, and where it is not yet fully developed.

We can suggest approaches to revision and offer specific guidelines for self-editing. We can help you address problems with process and suggest ways to move forward. Later, we can help you determine when your manuscript is ready for submission and offer advice for next steps.
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What we can’t do is tell you what to write. If your writing is going to affect readers, it has to be yours. But we can help you figure out how to ensure that the writing you set down on the page corresponds to your dream for it—to the brilliant, ethereal story or narrative you hold in your head.

Next time: What do you need?

First, we read carefully, doing our best to remain alert to all we sense and feel. We notice what surprises and delights us, what carries us away—as well as where we get snagged, bored, or confused. We notice the questions we ask as we read.

Later, we try to discern why all this has happened. We examine the marks we made on paper. Here we ask, What aspect of the writing caused the effect it created on us as readers? And here—what happened here? And again here.

We think about our overall reading experience, and about the elements that contribute to it—the tone and perspective of the narrative, its focus and pace, its characters and plot and meaning, and so much more.

We think about you, the writer. Perhaps we’ve already had a conversation about your aspirations, questions, and concerns. Now we think about your relationship to your work. What might you need to know in order to revise?

When we write an editorial letter, we strive to offer a new perspective on the work. This may be the first time you have separated yourself from the manuscript, or considered its effect on a reader, so we describe how the work affected us, and why.

We focus our observations through many lenses, examining the effects of language, sentence shape, and narrative structure along with dramatic elements such as dialogue, scene choreography, and subtext.

Finally, we offer some suggestions for approaching revision—elements to examine, ways to work—so that one day we can both read again and be carried away.

Next time: How can we help you?

Who are we?

We are trained readers. That’s how we think of ourselves. Our training and experience is in editing and writing—and we do use that background in our work—but there is a good reason we think of ourselves as readers first.

We are readers first because we try not to let rules or expectations get in our way the first time we read a piece of writing. We endeavour to simply read, for as long as we can. Like every reader, we yearn to be carried away by a story, by the beauty of a sentence, by insight and discovery. We’ve experienced these pleasures many times, so we read attentively now, in anticipation.

We’ve also experienced the many varieties of barrier that can come between a reader and their story—doubt, confusion, a jarring rhythm, a gap in logic, a subtle shift in tone, perspective, or focus. We know these barriers well, so when we encounter one, we make a mark with a pencil and move on. Reading comes first.

We are editors too, of course, so when we need to analyze and explain a misstep or omission, we rely on our editorial experience to convey what we’ve observed.
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And we think it helps that we’re writers ourselves. We know what it is to revise and rewrite, recast and reimagine. We’d love to help you get on with that.

Next time: What do we do?