“Is editing my memoir professionally really so important?” you ask. “I’ve already shown it to my sister-in-law who teaches English at the high school, and she says it’s great.”
You have worked long and hard to write your memoir. You are ready to turn the computer off and receive the accolades you feel you deserve! You are inclined to believe your sister-in-law—after all, it’s what you want to believe.
Wouldn’t it be great to have “There I’ve gotten it all out and that’s that with my memoir” be the same as “The story is ready to be well applauded by the reader”?
When I receive a manuscript that the author has already sent to relatives and friends and hear, “There won’t be much to do,” I am always amazed at how much there still is to tweak to get a manuscript in shape to really make an author proud.
At some level, you are ready to move on, but—wait! Is your memoir really ready for its audience? Is what you believe to be ready for the world actually a penultimate draft rather than a ready-to-be-published manuscript? It may even be a very good draft but it is probably not the finished manuscript you are hoping it is.
Your sister in-law who teaches English at the high school is probably an excellent proofreader—commas, periods and spelling, but unless she has written a long manuscript herself, her expertise is in deconstructing a text and not in constructing one. In fact, she probably has very little competence in how to write a longer piece.
In addition, she will be seeing you many times a year. She does not want to sour your relationship with criticism!
When is a good time to work with a professional editor?
Most writers ought to engage an editor who is also a writer before moving a manuscript on to the public. When you think your writing is ready, it probably isn’t. The fact is you probably need memoir editing.
I had never received memoir editing the way you folks at The Memoir Network do it. When my editor, pointed out how my character’s dialog in the middle of the book wasn’t consonant with what I had her say at the beginning, I knew I had a serious developmental reader who was going to help me shape my story. You folks take editing as seriously as I take telling my story. It’s been a good fit.
Sandra Swain
An editor—especially one skilled in developmental editing—will help you to identify and make the decisions you must make to bring the story, its theme and its promise, out in the open for all to appreciate. An editor will assess your story pacing and shaping and help you tighten both. An editor will help you articulate your story by steering you to develop strong metaphors and vivid images to approach your message from a different angle.
The guidance of the posts below will help you with these tasks. After you’ve read the posts, do yourself a favor and check out the editing services pages and learn how The Memoir Network offers so much more than the blog to help you generate the best manuscript you are capable of.
Editing your memoir is not to be ignored or shortchanged—especially for the first-time and (probably) only-time writer. You have already worked too hard not to bring your best book to the public.
To answer your question, “Is editing my memoir professionally important?” I have to answer: “Absolutely!”
Before Sending Your Manuscript To An Editor / Part 2: Use of Time
Clean up your use of time. This second post on self-editing revolves around the use of time. Proper use of time is crucial to understanding a memoir.
What would support for writing your memoir look like for you?
While some people succeed at writing an interesting and meaningful memoir on their own, the fact is many people need both more technical expertise than they now have and more emotional support for the long effort they are undertaking. Many find the task of writing a memoir—however urgent and compelling—to be somewhat daunting and, if […]
Why Developmental Editing? Hint: Do You Want Your Best Memoir?
Does your memoir need developmental editing? In this video, I discuss what developmental editing is, what a developmental editor does and why you need it for your memoir.
The Difference Between Proofreading and Editing
Writers who have written a good portion of their memoir will sometimes begin to wonder if it is time to hire a professional to work with them. At this stage, they may ask me, “What’s the difference between proofreading and editing? And, how do I know which one I need?”
More on Using Precise Language
Many memoir writers are under the impression that you need to have an extensive vocabulary to write. An extensive vocabulary can only help you–if by “extensive” you mean many precise words—not just “big” ones. More important is using precise language.
Before Sending a Manuscript To An Editor / Part 3: Time Sequencing and Flashbacks
A writer can tweak the use of time in a memoir to bring a manuscript to a higher level of finish before sending the piece off to a professional editor. In this section, I write about time sequencing: specifically, cause and effect sequencing and flashbacks.
Before Sending a Manuscript To An Editor / Part 1: Self-Editing Techniques
Too many manuscripts come to an editor at a stage that reflects the I’m-ready-to-have-this-writing-over-with-finally stance of tired writers. Writing can be a long and tedious task after the initial rush of creativity and enthusiasm. Use these self-editing techniques before sending your manuscript in to an editor.
How Memoir Coaching or Editing Works
There’s often only a permeable line between coaching and editing. In practice, as I work with a writer, I find myself slipping from coaching to editing and back. That’s how close coaching and editing really are. Depending on the state of your manuscript, coaching or editing or both are called for.
Word Usage
Every once in a while, I send you some of my verbal pet peeves. Here are a few other unfortunate phrases that have come my way recently. 1. Amazon just today was offering me a “free gift.”