One of the biggest misconceptions about editing is that it begins with correcting sentences.<\/p>\n
Mine doesn’t.<\/p>\n
It begins with readers.<\/p>\n
Every page I read raises questions such as:<\/p>\n
What does the reader understand at this point?<\/p>\n
What are they expected to remember?<\/p>\n
What have they not yet been told?<\/p>\n
Where might they become confused?<\/p>\n
Where are they becoming emotionally involved?<\/p>\n
What makes them want to read the next page?<\/p>\n
Only after those questions have been answered do individual sentences begin to matter.<\/p>\n
You have lived your story.<\/p>\n
Your reader hasn’t.<\/p>\n
That simple fact explains many of the problems I encounter when editing memoirs.<\/p>\n
Writers naturally assume readers know things that only they could know.<\/p>\n
Family relationships.<\/p>\n
Places.<\/p>\n
Historical events.<\/p>\n
Private conversations.<\/p>\n
Shared memories.<\/p>\n
Readers arrive knowing none of them.<\/p>\n
Much of my work involves helping writers recognise the difference.<\/p>\n
Before I become an editor, I become a reader.<\/p>\n
I want to experience the manuscript naturally.<\/p>\n
Where do I become curious?<\/p>\n
Where do I slow down?<\/p>\n
Where do I become confused?<\/p>\n
Where do I lose emotional connection?<\/p>\n
Those reactions are often more valuable than any grammatical correction.<\/p>\n
As I continue reading, I ask myself questions like these.<\/p>\n
Not simply sentence by sentence.<\/p>\n
But chapter by chapter.<\/p>\n
Does one event naturally lead to the next?<\/p>\n
Or are important assumptions being made?<\/p>\n
Sometimes removing a page strengthens a manuscript more than rewriting it.<\/p>\n
Readers should feel guided rather than hurried.<\/p>\n
Facts matter.<\/p>\n
Feelings matter just as much.<\/p>\n
Every memoir belongs to the writer.<\/p>\n
My role is not to become another author.<\/p>\n
It is to become another reader.<\/p>\n
An experienced one.<\/p>\n
Someone who notices where readers become uncertain, distracted or deeply engaged.<\/p>\n
The final decisions always remain yours.<\/p>\n
Many editing services promise to make writing sound more professional.<\/p>\n
I’m much more interested in making it sound more like you.<\/p>\n
Your experiences.<\/p>\n
Your humour.<\/p>\n
Your observations.<\/p>\n
Your way of seeing the world.<\/p>\n
Those are the reasons readers continue reading.<\/p>\n
Protecting them is one of the most important parts of editing.<\/p>\n
Looking back over many years of editing, I’ve gradually realised that good editing has surprisingly little to do with correcting mistakes.<\/p>\n
It has much more to do with preparing the reader.<\/p>\n
Every chapter prepares them for the next.<\/p>\n
Every paragraph prepares them for the next idea.<\/p>\n
Every sentence prepares them for the next sentence.<\/p>\n
When that preparation works well, readers rarely notice it.<\/p>\n
They simply keep reading.<\/p>\n
Many conversations begin like this.<\/p>\n
“Something doesn’t feel quite right, but I can’t work out what it is.”<\/p>\n
That’s completely normal.<\/p>\n
Writers know their own stories so well that they often stop seeing them through a reader’s eyes.<\/p>\n
An editor provides another perspective.<\/p>\n
Not because the writer lacks ability.<\/p>\n
Because familiarity changes perception.<\/p>\n
Honesty.<\/p>\n
Respect.<\/p>\n
Careful reading.<\/p>\n
Clear explanations.<\/p>\n
Constructive suggestions.<\/p>\n
Above all, I’ll explain why I’m recommending a change.<\/p>\n
I don’t believe in making unexplained alterations to someone else’s life story.<\/p>\n
Understanding always matters.<\/p>\n
When we’ve finished working together, I hope writers feel exactly this:<\/p>\n
“It’s still my story.”<\/p>\n
Only clearer.<\/p>\n
Stronger.<\/p>\n
And easier for readers to experience.<\/p>\n
If that’s true, then I believe the editing has succeeded.<\/p>\n
If you’re wondering whether your manuscript is ready for this kind of editorial review, the best next place to visit is:<\/p>\n
Memoir Manuscript Assessment \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n If you’re interested in why readers experience stories differently from writers, explore:<\/p>\n Ideas About Writing \u2192<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I Don’t Begin With Grammar One of the biggest misconceptions about editing is that it begins with correcting sentences. Mine doesn’t. It begins with readers. Every page I read raises questions such as: What does the reader understand at this point? What are they expected to remember? What have they not yet been told? Where … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-616","page","type-page","status-publish"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/symcox.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/616","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/symcox.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/symcox.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symcox.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/symcox.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=616"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/symcox.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/616\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":739,"href":"https:\/\/symcox.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/616\/revisions\/739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/symcox.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=616"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}