LDSPMA

Empowering Latter-day Saints to spread light and truth by connecting them at the intersection of faith, creativity, and professional skill

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The Different Faces of Editing

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By Christopher Kugler

The term editing covers a wide variety of responsibilities. Some editors provide general services, covering many aspects of the field, while other editors specialize in specific types of editing. When you’re shopping around for an editor to polish your manuscript, it’s vital to ensure that both you and the editor understand what level of editing is expected.

While there are any number of editing specialties (acquisitions editing, fact-checking, indexing, and page design, to name a few), most authors are looking for an editor whose skill set falls under one of three umbrellas:

  • Proofreader
  • Copyeditor
  • Substantive editor

Proofreader

The proofreader provides the lightest editing services of the three. The proofreader is primarily responsible for the final pass over a document, checking for spelling issues, punctuation issues, inconsistent spacing, basic errors with grammar, egregious factual errors, and the like. The proofreading pass is usually done just prior to publication, in conjunction with the efforts of a copyeditor and/or substantive editor.

In many cases, larger publishing and editing firms employ proofreaders. A freelance author often won’t need the services of a dedicated proofreader, as those services will be provided by a copyeditor or substantive editor.

Copyeditor

The copyeditor is what most people think of when they think of an editor. Rather than just a light pass like a proofreader, the copyeditor is a master of one or more style guides and is responsible for preparing a draft manuscript for final publication. This includes one or more passes through the manuscript to check for and correct spelling, capitalization, and grammar issues; problems with syntax; noun–pronoun agreement; and the like.

A copyeditor will also often format the draft manuscript in proper manuscript format, including:

  • Applying proper fonts, font sizes, margins, and line spacing
  • Ensuring headers and footers are correct
  • Ensuring in-text citations, footnotes, endnotes, and bibliographies are formatted correctly
  • Ensuring that elements of the manuscript match the appropriate style guide, such as deciding whether to spell out numbers or leave them as numerals

In short, a copyeditor takes what you’ve written and polishes it; their job is to make you, the author, look as good as possible.

Substantive Editor

The substantive editor holds a somewhat different role than the proofreader and the copyeditor. While the proofreader and the copyeditor ensure that the text and format of a manuscript are ready for publication, the substantive editor focuses on the content—the substance—of the manuscript. The substantive editor’s primary focus is to ensure that your content makes sense, flows well, and is engaging.

The substantive editor works closely with the author to initiate changes and reorganize the content to help it best fulfill its purpose. While a copyeditor may change words or even sentence structure to correct style issues, the substantive editor may change words, sentences, paragraphs, or more to improve clarity and flow. The substantive editor is responsible for eliminating repetition; correcting instances of passive voice and confusing sentence structure; clarifying central elements such as plot points, dialogue, and flow of action, if applicable; pointing out instances where tone may not match the author’s intentions; fact-checking; and more.

Despite digging deep into the content, an effective substantive editor will maintain the author’s voice and general style. The substantive editor is not a coauthor; instead, he or she provides a third-party view of the manuscript and points out issues to which the author may be blind.

Many substantive editors also provide copyediting and/or proofreading services, but not all do. When hiring a substantive editor, make sure to clarify exactly what services will be provided.

The 10 Awful Truths about Book Publishing

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By LDSPMA

1. The number of books being published every year has exploded.
According to the latest Bowker Report (September 7, 2016), more than 700,000 books
were self-published in the U.S. in 2015, which is an incredible increase of 375% since
2010. And the number of traditionally published books had climbed to over 300,000 by
2013 according to the latest Bowker figures (August 5, 2014). The net effect is that the
number of new books published each year in the U.S. has exploded by more than 600,000
since 2007, to well over 1 million annually. At the same time, more than 13 million
previously published books are still available through many sources. Unfortunately, the
marketplace is not able to absorb all these books and is hugely oversaturated.

2. Book industry sales are stagnant, despite the explosion of books published.
U.S. publishing industry sales peaked in 2007 and have either fallen or been flat in
subsequent years, according to reports of the Association of American Publishers (AAP).
Similarly, despite a 2.5% increase in 2015, U.S. bookstore sales are down 37% from their
peak in 2007, according to the Census Bureau (Publishers Weekly, February 26, 2016).

3. Despite the growth of e-book sales, overall book sales are still shrinking.
After skyrocketing from 2008 to 2012, e-book sales leveled off in 2013 and have fallen
more than 10% since then, according to the AAP StatShot Annual 2015. Unfortunately,
the decline of print sales outpaced the growth of e-book sales, even from 2008 to 2012.
The total book publishing pie is not growing—the peak sales year was in 2007—yet it is
being divided among ever more hundreds of thousands of print and digital books.

4. Average book sales are shockingly small—and falling fast.
Combine the explosion of books published with the declining total sales and you get
shrinking sales of each new title. According to BookScan—which tracks most bookstore,
online, and other retail sales of books (including Amazon.com)—only 256 million print
copies were sold in 2013 in the U.S. in all adult nonfiction categories combined
(Publishers Weekly, January 1, 2016). The average U.S. nonfiction book is now selling
less than 250 copies per year and less than 2,000 copies over its lifetime.

5. A book has far less than a 1% chance of being stocked in an average bookstore.
For every available bookstore shelf space, there are 100 to 1,000 or more titles competing
for that shelf space. For example, the number of business titles stocked ranges from less
than 100 (smaller bookstores) to up to 1,500 (superstores). Yet there are several hundred
thousand business books in print that are fighting for that limited shelf space.

6. It is getting harder and harder every year to sell books.
Many book categories have become entirely saturated, with a surplus of books on every
topic. It is increasingly difficult to make any book stand out. Each book is competing
with more than thirteen million other books available for sale, while other media are
claiming more and more of people’s time. Result: investing the same amount today to
market a book as was invested a few years ago will yield a far smaller sales return today.

7. Most books today are selling only to the authors’ and publishers’ communities.
Everyone in the potential audiences for a book already knows of hundreds of interesting
and useful books to read but has little time to read any. Therefore people are reading only
books that their communities make important or even mandatory to read. There is no
general audience for most nonfiction books, and chasing after such a mirage is usually far
less effective than connecting with one’s communities.

8. Most book marketing today is done by authors, not by publishers.
Publishers have managed to stay afloat in this worsening marketplace only by shifting
more and more marketing responsibility to authors, to cut costs and prop up sales. In
recognition of this reality, most book proposals from experienced authors now have an
extensive (usually many pages) section on the authors’ marketing platform and what the
authors will do to publicize and market the books. Publishers still fulfill important roles
in helping craft books to succeed and making books available in sales channels, but
whether the books move in those channels depends primarily on the authors.

9. No other industry has so many new product introductions.
Every new book is a new product, needing to be acquired, developed, reworked,
designed, produced, named, manufactured, packaged, priced, introduced, marketed,
warehoused, and sold. Yet the average new book generates only $50,000 to $150,000 in
sales, which needs to cover all of these new product introduction expenses, leaving only
small amounts available for each area of expense. This more than anything limits how
much publishers can invest in any one new book and in its marketing campaign.

10. The book publishing world is in a never-ending state of turmoil.
The thin margins in the industry, high complexities of the business, intense competition,
churning of new technologies, and rapid growth of other media lead to constant turmoil
in bookselling and publishing (such as the disappearance over the past decade of over 500
independent bookstores and the Borders bookstore chain). Translation: expect even more
changes and challenges in coming months and years.

STRATEGIES FOR RESPONDING TO “THE 10 AWFUL TRUTHS”
1. The game is now pass-along sales.
2. Events/immersion experiences replace traditional publicity in moving the needle.
3. Leverage the authors’ and publishers’ communities.
4. In a crowded market, brands stand out.
5. Master new digital channels for sales, marketing, and community building.
6. Build books around a big new idea.
7. Front-load the main ideas in books and keep books short.

By Steven Piersanti, President, Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Updated September 26, 2016

Vector illustration credit: Vecteezy!

What Good is a Book Publisher?

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“In this new marketplace in which all book sales depend on the author’s efforts and general retail book sales are flat, doesn’t it just make more sense to self-publish?”

Berrett-Koehler President and Publisher Steve Piersanti responds:

One of The 10 Awful Truths About Book Publishing that I have written about highlights how most book marketing today is done by authors, not by publishers. That statement has led some observers to question what value publishers offer and whether authors would be better off self-publishing their books, given that the authors, more than their publishers, will drive sales. The case for self-publishing is further strengthened by today’s ability of authors to reach the marketplace through Amazon.com, the new social media, and the authors’ own websites.

In fact, I concur that self-publishing is the best avenue for many books, and I often encourage authors to go this route—particularly when they are able to sell many copies of their books through their own channels.

However, a good commercial publisher still brings tremendous value to the book publishing equation in multiple ways:

  1. Gatekeeper and Curator: In today’s insanely crowded marketplace with an overwhelming number of publications competing for our attention, publishers select and focus attention on books of particular value and quality, thereby helping those books stand out. The validation, visibility, and brand provided by publishers add great value to those books.
  1. Editorial Development: Berrett-Koehler raises the editorial quality of each book in several ways, including extensive up-front coaching of authors to improve the focus, organization, and content; detailed reviews of the manuscript by potential customers to make the book more useful to its intended audience; and professional line-by-line copyediting. Such editorial development is often pivotal to a book’s success.
  1. Design: Self-published books often stand out in a negative way because their covers and interiors appear underdesigned (or overdesigned). Some self-published books lack the professional and appropriate appearance that good publishers bring to books.
  1. Production: Although authors can now produce books on their own computers, publishers can save authors a lot of work while bringing higher quality to layout, proofreading, indexing, packaging, and other aspects of production.
  1. Distribution: Publishers can usually make books available through many more channels (trade and college bookstores, multiple online booksellers, wholesalers, and other venues not open to self-publishing companies) than authors can on their own.
  1. International Sales: Berrett-Koehler’s books are sold around the world through distributors in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, and Canada.
  1. Networks of Customers: Berrett-Koehler brings books to the attention of our networks of individual customers, institutional customers, bulk sales customers, association book services, catalog sellers, other special sales accounts, and countless other groups. We have been building up these networks for eighteen years, and they add lots of value in helping books to succeed.
  1. Publicity and Promotion: Although the publicity and promotion efforts of authors may actually exceed those of their publishers, publishers still reach many prospective buyers that authors cannot reach on their own. This is particularly true for a publisher like Berrett-Koehler that has a multichannel marketing system that combines online, direct mail, bookstore, publicity, social media, e-newsletter, website, special sales, conference sales, and other channels of marketing for each new book.
  1. Foreign Translation Rights, Audio Rights, Digital Rights, and Other Subsidiary Rights Sales: This is an area of great focus and success for Berrett-Koehler (with over two thousand subsidiary rights agreements signed thus far) and helps books to reach many more audiences than the publication of just the English-language print edition. Authors also receive extra revenue, a higher profile, and greater satisfaction when their books are published in a variety of languages.
  1. Coaching: Perhaps the greatest value provided by publishers is less tangible than the previous items on this list. Just as coaching regarding a book’s content and organization can be pivotal to its success, so too can a publisher’s coaching on the title, price, design, format, timing, market focus, marketing campaign, and even tie-in to the author’s business strategies make a big difference in whether a book succeeds.

In the end, working with good publishers is a partnership. For books to succeed, authors and publishers must collaborate in many ways. For example, the publishers set the table through their marketing channels, but whether the books actually move in those channels often depends on the marketing that the authors carry out.

Berrett-Koehler has been extraordinarily fortunate in that so many of our authors have worked with us—and continue to work with us—in this partnering way. We have tried to spell out some aspects of this partnership in the Bill of Rights and Responsibilities for BK Authors.

We also appreciate the many BK customers who partner with BK and with our authors in spreading the word about our publications, serving as manuscript reviewers, and contributing in countless other ways.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Vector graphic designed by vecteezy.com

Estimating Time for Editing

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By Devan Jensen

When authors turn in a new manuscript, they usually want it printed now. How long does it take from manuscript to printed book? We typically plan on one year from the time the rough manuscript arrives to the time it is peer reviewed, edited, proofread, designed, sent to authors for approval, proofread, indexed, and printed.                                                     

You can estimate how long it will take to edit a manuscript by looking over all its parts. How many typos do you see on each page? How complete are the notes? Does it have an appendix? How many photos will be used? Are they scanned? Will you edit on hard copy or electronic copy?

The following guidelines also apply:

The Chicago Manual of Style, 2.49     Estimating editing time. Estimates for how long the job of manuscript editing should take—a figure generally determined by the publisher and agreed to by the manuscript editor—usually start with the length of the manuscript. Because of inevitable variations in typefaces and margins and other formatting characteristics from one manuscript to another, the length is best determined by a word count rather than a page count (though a word count can be derived from a page count for paper-only manuscripts). A 100,000-word book manuscript, edited by an experienced editor, might take seventy-five to one hundred hours of work before being sent to the author, plus ten to twenty additional hours after the author’s review. This rough estimate may need to be adjusted to take into account any complexities in the text or documentation, the presence and characteristics of any tables and illustrations, and the degree of electronic formatting and markup that an editor will need to remove or impose (see 2.77). If in doubt, edit a small sample to serve as the basis of an estimate. An additional factor is of course the publication schedule, which will determine how many days are available for the editing stage. Also pertinent is information about the author’s availability to review the edited manuscript, amenability to being edited, propensity to revise, and so forth.

Religious Studies Center
Visit https://rsc.byu.edu/
Follow at https://www.facebook.com/byursc/

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The 3 Cs of Editing: Clarity, Consistency, and Correctness.

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By Devan Jensen

As editors, we focus on three Cs: clarity, consistency, and correctness.

Clarity

Clarify, but use a light touch. “A light editorial hand is nearly always more effective than a heavy one. An experienced editor will recognize and not tamper with unusual figures of speech or idiomatic usage and will know when to make an editorial change and when simply to suggest it, whether to delete a repetition or an unnecessary recapitulation or simply to point it out to the author, and how to suggest tactfully that an expression may be inappropriate. An author’s own style should be respected, whether flamboyant or pedestrian” (The Chicago Manual of Style, 2.48).

Fix or query ambiguous statements. Make sure the author has a clear sense of audience, purpose, and focus. Check thesis statements, topic sentences, and transitions.

Address excessive passive voice. You don’t need to fix every passive; about an 80 to 20 ratio of active to passive voice works well in most writing.

Consistency

Edit spelling, hyphenation, abbreviations, punctuation, number treatment (numerals or spelled out), table format, and citation format. Consult reference books and reputable websites for spelling of names, historical events, and terms.

Create a style sheet. As you go, make an alphabetical list of names and capitalization or hyphenation of terms.

Edit chapter titles and subheads for consistency. Read chapter titles and subheads in a separate pass. Make sure they are consistent, and get a basic understanding of organizational issues and pacing problems (too much or too little time on any one concept).

Correct capitalization. If authors neglect putting in subheads, add them or ask the author to do so. Subheads are the road signs to get from here to there; without them, the reader is lost.

Correctness

Check facts and figures. If the author claims that Uncle Heber was born in 1920 and died at age eighty, check the math. Write down the solution in the margin (so others will know that you checked).

Check sources. Ensure accuracy of quoted information and source citations. Watch for plagiarism (quoted information without quote marks). Query missing information.

Check notes for completeness. Look up missing information or query the author.
Prepare front matter for books. Produce clean copy for half title, title page, copyright page, and contents page. Double-check chapter titles for accuracy.

Reread for accuracy. Skim through the manuscript again to catch errors you missed while fixing other problems. This pass is where you will catch small but significant errors—or even, heaven forbid, that glaring error in the title or contents page.

Religious Studies Center
Visit https://rsc.byu.edu/
Follow at https://www.facebook.com/byursc/

The Art (and Professional Judgement) of Editing

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By Devan Jensen

In editing, as in most activities, haste makes waste. The careful editor does not merely plunge into the text and flood it with corrections but instead pauses long enough to decide the quickest and easiest solution to a problem. By analyzing a problem clearly before touching pen to paper, the careful editor ultimately gets through the project faster than the person who plows blindly ahead, cutting a sentence before reading the paragraph and realizing that the sentence is necessary. In short, every correction should have a reason, and the blunderer is never as efficient as the careful editor (adapted from Grant Milnor Hyde, Newspaper Editing: A Manual for Editors, 79).

Editing is both an art and a science. The science part involves technical rules—grammar, punctuation, and so forth. As editors, we refer often to the RSC Style Guide, Church Style Guide, and Chicago Manual of Style. We have the self-discipline to go the extra mile, checking facts and figures in books and reputable Internet sites.

But editing is an art too. It takes a careful eye and a discerning mind to decide how much to change, taking into account the reading audience, the publication’s purpose, and the author’s personality.

Our authors are our customers. Let’s treat their manuscripts with respect. As editors, our goal is to revise for clarity if necessary but not to distort the main message. I have found it best to use a light touch when possible. To put it in environmental terms, tread lightly and leave a small footprint. This approach prevents introducing errors while rewriting the text and keeps authors happy (after all, the words are theirs, and their names appear at the top).

Sometimes a manuscript needs major help. If so, talk to me; then we’ll either have the author revise it or we will propose cuts in pencil.

Size up a manuscript the way a barber approaches a haircut. First, ask whether to give a light, medium, or heavy cut. Skim through the document, paying particular attention to subheads (which guide readers through the article); then begin “snipping” here and there, focusing on grammar, style, and usage while absorbing the message of the piece. Take into account the author’s expertise of language and documentation. And make sure to read the whole thing again to catch glaring problems.

Editing takes good taste and judgment. You can groom these traits, but it takes time, experience, and a ton of reading. In fact, reading widely will help you appreciate language nuances and spot tools of effective communication (bullet points, subheads, effective design, tight prose, and so on). The more you read, the more tricks you have up your sleeve. And reading leads you to question unusual spellings or factual claims that just don’t feel right. Trust those hunches. When in doubt, look it up. In the words of Obi-Wan Kenobi, “Trust your feelings.”

Your confidence as an editor will grow as you gain experience. And experience comes as you work through problems, often asking advice from your fellow editors and sometimes rethinking options to find the best solution for that unique situation.

Respect the author. Be the manuscript.

Table 1. Levels of Copyediting (Adapted from Amy Einsohn, The Copyeditor’s Handbook, 12)

 

Light

Medium

Heavy

Clarity

 Fix small patches (up to several words) of ineffective prose when doing so does not impair meaning, is not needlessly nitpicky, and is fairly transparent. Otherwise, query author.

 

Point out (do not revise) large patches (sentence or more) of ineffective prose.

Request clarification

of terms likely to be unfa-miliar to target audience.

Preserve author’s voice.

 Fix small patches of ineffective prose.

 

Use judgment in deciding whether to fix or query larger ineffective patches. Supply proposed revisions when possible.

Supply transitions, sub-heads, other “road signs.”

Request or supply definitions of unfamiliar terms.

Query major organizational or content problems.

Preserve author’s voice.

 Rewrite any ineffective patch regardless of length if competent to do so.

 

Supply “road signs.”

Define unfamiliar terms.

Reorganize elements for optimal comprehensibility.

Use initiative, best judgment in solving problems.

Caution: Obtain supervisor and author approval before overhauling (undertaking extensive deleting, rewriting, restructuring).

Correctness

 

 Correct indisputable errors in grammar, usage, and diction.

 

Fix mechanical errors.

Use judgment in deciding whether to fix, ignore, or query any locution that is not an outright error.

Query facts and statements that seem incorrect.

 Correct all language and mechanical errors.

 

Verify facts and dubious statements using online or desktop sources.

Fix clear factual errors; otherwise query, proposing well-considered revisions when possible.

 !Correct all language and mechanical errors.

 

Show due diligence in verifying facts and dubious statements and in revising for accuracy.

Note: Any revisions that may affect the argument should be brought to the author’s attention.

Consistency

 Ensure consistency in all mechanical (e.g., spelling, capitalization, punctuation, hyphenation, abbreviations, numbers, quotations, lists, notes) and house-style matters.

Completeness

 Ensure that all parts of the document are in place (cross-check and double-check everything). Refer to proofreading checklist for detailed guidance.

 

Directions: Refer to the table to edit the paragraphs as indicated.

Perform a light edit.

“Murphy’s law” insures us that no amount of proof-reading will uncover all of the errors in a work about to be published. The question we might well ask is as follows. “Just how many re-readings are reasonable”? In my personal experience I have found that two readings of galleys and two of page proofs will catch ninety nine percent of the errors. Unfortunately the remaining one per cent is often the mistakes that not only cause embarrasment, but trouble. For example, the wrong numbers for ordering merchandise or mispelled names.

Perform a medium edit.

“Murphy’s law” insures us that no amount of proof-reading will uncover all of the errors in a work about to be published. The question we might well ask is as follows. “Just how many re-readings are reasonable”? In my personal experience I have found that two readings of galleys and two of page proofs will catch ninety nine percent of the errors. Unfortunately the remaining one per cent is often the mistakes that not only cause embarrasment, but trouble. For example, the wrong numbers for ordering merchandise or mispelled names.

Perform a heavy edit.

“Murphy’s law” insures us that no amount of proof-reading will uncover all of the errors in a work about to be published. The question we might well ask is as follows. “Just how many re-readings are reasonable”? In my personal experience I have found that two readings of galleys and two of page proofs will catch ninety nine percent of the errors. Unfortunately the remaining one per cent is often the mistakes that not only cause embarrasment, but trouble. For example, the wrong numbers for ordering merchandise or mispelled names.

This exercise is adapted from Amy Einsohn, The Copyeditor’s Handbook (2000), 23.

Levels of Editing Exercise 1—Key

Light Edit

Murphy’s Law assures us that no amount of proofreading will uncover all the errors in a work about to be published. The question we might well ask is, Just how many rereadings are reasonable? In my personal experience, I have found that two readings of galleys and two of page proofs will catch 99 percent of the errors. Unfortunately, the remaining 1 percent are often the mistakes that cause not only embarrassment but trouble—for example, misspelled names or the wrong numbers for ordering merchandise. [au: Replace with “incorrect catalog numbers” for improved clarity?]

Medium Edit

No amount of proofreading will uncover all the errors in a set of proofs. The question is, [how many rereadings are reasonable]? [author: Replace bracketed text with “how much proofreading is reasonable” for directness?] I have found that two readings of galleys and two readings of page proofs will catch 99 percent of the errors. Unfortunately, the remaining mistakes are ones that can cause not only embarrassment but trouble—for example, misspelled names or incorrect catalog numbers.

Heavy Edit

No amount of proofreading will uncover all the errors in a set of proofs. Two readings of galleys and two readings of page proofs will usually catch 99 percent of the errors, but the remaining mistakes—such as incorrect phone numbers or misspelled names—often cause both embarrassment and trouble.

Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash.

Katherine Farmer’s “Cracking the Story Code”

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By Amy White

Cracking the Story Code: Increasing a Work’s Success through Age-Appropriate Plot Patterns (An Introduction)

Each stage of human development has a corresponding plot pattern. Because of this, young readers will either accept or reject a work depending on whether it parallels their patterns of thought.

Finding the right plot pattern for each developmental stage doesn’t take a degree in Piagetian philosophy, but it does help to have the insight of one who has studied human development and how it can be applied to narrative works.

There are five plot pattern “pure forms,” three of which are drawn from Aristotle’s classic model:

1. Simple: Single goal plot pattern, in which the entire action seeks to resolve the initial problem, with clearly defined beginning, middle, and end. Often found in children’s picture books such as The Cat in the Hat or Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

2. Episodic (two varieties):

a. Nesting Episodic: Self-contained story units that pile up on each other, but are not connected with a story line. Same characters, new stories (e.g., Christmas Story, Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory).

b. Latticing Episodic: Open-ended story units that spiral and pile up cumulatively. Same characters with multiple stories where there is an over-arching story line through-out (e.g., Lobel’s Frog and Toad are Friends, and many of today’s television series).

3. Complex (Level 1): Single on-going action that includes the element of surprise, at least one reversal, and a recognition process. These works are psychologically complex, but with action that is not hard to follow (e.g., most one-act plays, Patterson’s Bridge to Terabithia, Oedipus Rex).

And, after the study of more than 2,000 works in 10 geographic regions in 320 library systems, two more plot patterns emerged:

4. Cumulative: Incidents that pile upon other incidents with the only unifying tie being the central character (e.g., The Gingerbread Man, There Was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly).

5. Paralleling: Multiple story lines that run parallel to each other, at the same time. Each story line is unique, and usually pulled together by the end (e.g., Pinballs by Byars, television series such as Modern Family).

Pre-Operational Thought: Zero to Seven-year-old Children
This Intuitive phase of development prefers simple and single-goal patterns as found in the Simple and Cumulative plot patterns—patterns where the entire action seeks to resolve the initial problem. Narratives that have a clearly defined beginning, middle, and end. Works such as Seuss’s Cat in the Hat. These children judge by a single clue, are preoccupied with the parts of the whole, as they are not able to see the forest for the trees, and will always judge a work by its end—not the process that got them there.

Concrete Operational: Seven to 11 year old children.

The awareness that others do not share their personal perspective identifies this age group. The discovery of other points of view leaves this age with a need to verify their ideas with concrete evidence supporting their view. This age prefers a narrative that has neat and self-contained units, like those found in episodic plot patterns. Examples include Lobel’s Frog and Toad Are Friends, up to the mixed nesting and latticing episodic pattern of Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. The need for this age to have near reality–with the fantastic taking place within the home, or nearby. Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is considered nearly unbelievable, until the concrete and seemingly real machines are introduced. Machines that can be felt, seen, and heard, that then justify the existence of the remarkable and fantastical the story contains.

Formal Operational Thought: 12 year old children, young adults, and cognitively mature adults.

As a child’s thinking matures at age 11 or 12, they are capable of shifting to a higher and more complex level of thought, and Complex plot patterns. This shift usually settles into an equilibrium by age 16. At this point they begin to find irony as a form of humor, along with satirical works that contain hidden and subtle meanings. Interweaving, paralleling stories—works with multiple plots and subplots—like those found in Collin’s Hunger Games, or Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, along with Shakespeare’s works are found to be comprehensible and even fun.

The above plot patterns are not a complete listing, there are mixes and variants that branch off of, and blend, the five “pure forms.” Variations that also bring in differing developmental ages. It is merely a launching point for delving into the powerful impact that appropriate plot patterns can have when they are matched to appropriate developmental stages. You will find that, as you match your work’s target age with their developmental capabilities through deliberate plot management, you will be keeping those audience gateways open. And we as producers of narrative works should always be looking for those gates. Every mental gate you successfully identify and keep open will put you yet another step closer to influencing the world for the better through your good works.

How I Got into a Publishing Career

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By Eric Smith

My path took a big twist before I got into a publishing career. I want to share some details of my journey, in hopes this might help someone who is also considering a publishing career.

I loved the English language as a child and teenager—reading, writing, and even editing. I don’t think I really knew the word editing, but I had an innate love of correcting writing, including the ward newsletter when it came around.

In college I pursued English literature because of my love of reading and writing. At some point I also became aware that editing was a career path. I took a usage course and an editing course. I also tutored writing and got a job as a freelance editor for a scholarly publisher. At this point I knew I loved editing and would be happy in an editing career, but I also had always planned on graduate school.

For a variety of reasons I went to law school and then began a career as a corporate attorney at a large firm. Much of what I learned in the law was later very useful when I became an editor—managing multiple projects, handling stress, working with clients, analyzing arguments, communicating promptly and professionally. I did a lot of reading, writing, and research as a law student and attorney, and that too was all quite relevant to editorial work.

Though various aspects of legal work appealed to me, I was not deeply passionate about my job. Maybe I would have lasted a long time as an attorney except that I had previously had the experience of really loving editing work as an undergraduate. Editing had felt like something I was almost born to do, like a calling, whereas being an attorney felt like more of a grind.

I began to consider different careers in the law other than working for a large firm. After a few months, I came across a posting for a full-time editing job. Almost on a lark I applied for the job. As I moved through the interview process I became more and more interested in the job. As I looked back at my life to that point, I could see that the dots of preparation could be lined up as a path leading to an editing career. My passions were in that area; my undergraduate schooling and prior work experience were right on point; my experiences in the legal world were also relevant.

When I was offered the full-time editing job, I made the leap. A few attorney friends thought it was a bit crazy to leave the practice of law and the more lucrative pay that came with it. Many others were supportive and said they wished they had the opportunity to try something different. Ultimately, I knew I was following my heart and that it was better to make such a big change early in my career.

Upon beginning the editing position, I was immediately comfortable that I had made a good move. There was an inherent satisfaction in working on improving other people’s writing, and I felt a strong collegiality with the other editors I worked with. I have never regretted the decision to change careers. I have never looked back.

My primarily initial assignment as an editor was to support another editor with a large print project. I also got some assignments to edit web content, which gave me experience with HTML. I edited public affairs materials for a number of years and also learned a lot about permissions for illustrations. I learned to work directly with graphic designers on layout. I helped prepare indexes and created custom style guides for clients. It seems like all that experience has been directly helpful as my career has wound on and my assignments have become more complex.

Later, I got management opportunities. I enjoy these because I love trying to be helpful to people I supervise, and I love thinking about workflow and process and resources—how to get the work done in the most efficient way in a way that is hopefully deeply satisfying to the people doing the work. Looking back, I can hardly believe how lucky I was to get that first full-time editing job—how lucky I have been to have had a 15-year career (so far) in publishing.

If anyone reading this is considering a career in publishing (or a career change to get into publishing), I encourage you to follow your heart. Be realistic too. If you think a publishing career is your calling in life and can provide you the income you need, go for it.