That's Right, I'm an Editor

...Just not the kind you'd expect.

Don't get too excited. I'm not going to read your manuscript, and I'm definitely not going to publish it even if I do read it. Why? Because I edit non-fiction. And I don't mean the type of stuff that you find in the commercialized non-fiction section of your local bookstore. I'm referring to academic journals--those bone dry way-over-our-heads soft cover books full of specialized articles that professors write and college students are forced to read (but they'll probably just skim them).

Most people that love words don't like this industry. There isn't much money in it and no one really becomes famous from what's published (though sometimes authors become well-known within their own niche). There are usually more references than text and the topics are rarely interesting.

So why do I love what I do? Because my job is to find flaws. Literally.

I have an acute attention to detail that is oftentimes an obsession. This job is perfect for that. I spend my day sifting through raw manuscripts and finished articles in an attempt to find errors. Errors that the content editor or the copyeditor might have missed, such as incorrect grammar, continuity issues, and formatting problems. And before you ask--yes, there are always errors. Since everyone makes mistakes, I add that extra layer of quality control and protection. (That isn't to say that I don't make mistakes. Of course I do.)

How does this help me with fiction writing? Well the obsessive attention to detail obviously doesn't hurt. My unpublished NA novel--titled Love Is Fake, You Know for the time being--is formatted as a teenager's journal. Like a teenager's thoughts, it is at times erratic and indirect. It contains hundreds of dates and sporadic references to characters, events, and themes. Different topics weave in and out of the story, indicating the character's not-so-straightforward teenage thought processes. Writing this novel involved an incessant amount of cross-referencing to check for continuity. And, well, that's what I'm good at.

I'm a non-traditional fiction writer. My methods are in fact likely to scare away potential agents, publishers, and readers. But I am what I am and my story is what it is. While I'm obviously open to suggestions for making my novel better, I make no apologizes for its format.

(This blog post got a little off track, didn't it? I'll just pretend I'm channeling my teenage character. That sounds legitimate, right?)

Long story short--I'm an editor. What I do has nothing to do with the literary world. I love my job anyway!