January 23, 2016 Editing Charlie Clark – Editor, Fare Forward

Framework The Editor: Shaping the Content The Copyeditor: Refining the Form The Editor-in-Chief: Creating the Context

What are editors for? Neither rewriting nor (merely) proofing. “running with the hare and hunting with the hounds” Reading like your writer. Reading like your reader.

A Model Process Writer Recruitment Topic Selection Outlining Drafting Editing for Content Revising Copyediting Getting a Second Opinion Proofreading Publication

Topic Selection The Writer Capacity The Audience Intramuralism Accessibility The Central Question Assumptions Manageability/Expansiveness The Thesis Completeness New Problems

Tips for Improving Organization Work with your writer to outline their argument. Walk through the argument using “therefore” to spot leaps. Check transitions by removing everything except the first and last sentences of every paragraph. Weed out superfluity: repetitiveness, tangents, unanswered questions. (Kill your darlings.)

Style Choose a style guide for your journal to follow (i.e., MLA, AP, Chicago). Keep track of frequently asked questions and gray areas (Oxford comma, deity pronouns, etc.). Beyond correctness, look for readability. Read a piece out loud to identify awkward phrasing and word choices or monotone writing with no variation in sentence structure.

Putting Together an Issue Themes? Reach your whole audience: Balance article types and topics for each issue Put your most compelling pieces front and center

Staff Management Developing editors Pairing editors with writers Dealing with conflict

Course Correction Responding to questions and criticism Evaluating reach and response Returning to the mission (and sometimes revising it)