Content Editor

[magnetarhanggliding]

I received such wonderful feedback on my thread Writing process and writer's block that I thought a post about content editors would also provoke some interesting discussion.

Let me preface this by saying that, just like the writing process, I realize that every author here will probably have a different take on what works for them. I'm curious what your processes are and, if you have one, or many, folks that help you with your content, how did those relationships come about?

Thank you in advance for your feedback!
-MH

 

[PennyThompson]

I have several folks on Lit that I sometimes tap for content and editing and beta reading! Different people are super helpful for different projects, collaboration can be really fun and rewarding!

I've connected with them based on positive (and constructive!) comments they've given me on my earliest stories; or they've done volunteer editing and beta-reading, and I connected with them through the Editor forum and through the Find an Editor tool.

One writer was a huge help with culture and language when I wanted to feature an Indian character in one of my stories I reached out to them for that project because they had been very complimentary on some of my stories, and we had traded story comments!

I also have a couple of people that have been amazing sensitivity readers when I try to approach tricky topics like grief, or jealousy, or sub/dom dynamics. It's really helpful to get an outside perspective, because what I have in my brain isn't always what readers receive and interpret.

I thought about naming some of them when I started writing this reply, but I don't want to make assumptions about what kind of exposure they might want... I do thank them by name (and author profile link) in the author notes individual stories that they've helped me on, though!

 

[TarnishedPenny]

I'm 95% solo, but there are a couple of people patient enough to occasionally put up with my requests for beta reading.

 

[StillStunned]

I've bounced a few ideas off a couple of writers here, but mostly it's all just me, spinning ideas round in my head until they slide into place.

 

[VallesMarineris]

I'm curious what your processes are and, if you have one, or many, folks that help you with your content, how did those relationships come about?

I have accumulated a small group of beta readers that I pass every story by for their review. They like what I write and they're perceptive. Discontinuities, typos, Proustian-length sentences (I tend to do that), unrealistic character actions, etc.-- they catch them and let me know. I usually write novel-length story series; I think they like getting a preview of a chapter before the rest of Lit does, and getting a chance to influence it a bit.

How did I get them? My first reader just early on offered to review my stuff and I took him up on it. Later, for a long, complex story, I sent out a request for readers. Five agreed. One hated what I wrote and another found it boring. The other three are now readers. They all have stories published here and i review theirs as well-- but I'm way more prolific, so it's mostly them doing me the favor.

My process: I do my best to finish and polish my story (or chapter) as far as I can, as if I'm going to publish it. I don't want to get lazy, expecting my readers to catch easy mistakes. I need them to catch what's invisible to me. As their comments and corrections come back I fix what's broken. The story is always better after their review. Everyone needs an editor.

FYI, @magnetarhanggliding, I just submitted my first Romance story! It's for the 750 word challenge. Never thought I would write a Romance story, even a really short one, but here we are. Life is strange.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

I have several folks on Lit that I sometimes tap for content and editing and beta reading! Different people are super helpful for different projects, collaboration can be really fun and rewarding!

I've connected with them based on positive (and constructive!) comments they've given me on my earliest stories; or they've done volunteer editing and beta-reading, and I connected with them through the Editor forum and through the Find an Editor tool.

One writer was a huge help with culture and language when I wanted to feature an Indian character in one of my stories I reached out to them for that project because they had been very complimentary on some of my stories, and we had traded story comments!

I also have a couple of people that have been amazing sensitivity readers when I try to approach tricky topics like grief, or jealousy, or sub/dom dynamics. It's really helpful to get an outside perspective, because what I have in my brain isn't always what readers receive and interpret.

I thought about naming some of them when I started writing this reply, but I don't want to make assumptions about what kind of exposure they might want... I do thank them by name (and author profile link) in the author notes individual stories that they've helped me on, though!

It sounds like your group grew organically, which I hope will happen in time for me as well.

Thank you for the feedback!!

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

I have accumulated a small group of beta readers that I pass every story by for their review. They like what I write and they're perceptive. Discontinuities, typos, Proustian-length sentences (I tend to do that), unrealistic character actions, etc.-- they catch them and let me know. I usually write novel-length story series; I think they like getting a preview of a chapter before the rest of Lit does, and getting a chance to influence it a bit.

How did I get them? My first reader just early on offered to review my stuff and I took him up on it. Later, for a long, complex story, I sent out a request for readers. Five agreed. One hated what I wrote and another found it boring. The other three are now readers. They all have stories published here and i review theirs as well-- but I'm way more prolific, so it's mostly them doing me the favor.

My process: I do my best to finish and polish my story (or chapter) as far as I can, as if I'm going to publish it. I don't want to get lazy, expecting my readers to catch easy mistakes. I need them to catch what's invisible to me. As their comments and corrections come back I fix what's broken. The story is always better after their review. Everyone needs an editor.

FYI, @magnetarhanggliding, I just submitted my first Romance story! It's for the 750 word challenge. Never thought I would write a Romance story, even a really short one, but here we are. Life is strange.

I look forward to reading it when it comes out!

I have a bit of the opposite problem to the one reader you had who hated the story you let them proofread: my grammar editor loves everything I write. I ask for feedback, and I get back, "I liked it!" I ask if there is anything they would change? "Nope!"

They are very patient with all my grammatical errors and I am extremely grateful to have them, but when it comes to constructive criticism, there is never any feedback. Hence why I was curious about other's experiences.

Thank you for the feedback!

 

[grey228]

All of my online help died when ASSTR did. I wonder what happened.

 

[lovecraft68]

I have someone with pro experience for my novels. For my smut I do a read through to my wife which helps me catch some things, but otherwise that's it. This is a free site and I'm not concerned over it, and these days my mistakes keep me from being flagged for AI

 

[Erozetta]

I trade work with a few people. For my 750s I put a couple of the links to them in my Google docs on Bluesky and a couple of people hit them up with suggestions, most of which I used.

I've also set up a bit of a "story exchange" beta reading area on Discord and have gotten to see a few exchanges take place.

I'm definitely closer to two of the people I exchange stories with than others just because I've worked with them longest and we talk damn near daily. One has my phone number and we text fairly often about life and writing. The other I chat with on Discord whenever I feel like I'm not being a bother. I've currently got a few of his works to finish going through.

The two of them have never failed to be there for me since I met them, both in writing and life, and I'm incredibly grateful to them for helping me grow as a writer and for supporting me as I've been working through some shit in my life.

We help each other with writing, but I also consider them both dear friends. One of them reached out to me here on the forums after I mentioned having a lot of old stories I wanted to put out but was overwhelmed by editing on my own. The other I reached out to privately after he asked a question of women and was chided a bit for doing so.

Accidental Discord calls on my part last year led to talking more and more, discussing ideas, life, interests, watching movies and TV shows together, and now it's a once or twice a week thing we do.

So, while one was intentionally developed into a mutually beneficial friendship the other was basically a series of unintentional interactions that kinda snowballed.

Final edit, I swear: I also exchange recipes with one and have mailed the other about five or six dozen cookies over the past year along with a bunch of homemade caramels.

 

[BobbyBrandt]

Not being embarrassed to share what I write, I have several friends that get drafts as each chapter is completed to provide feedback and edits.

Since I never publish until a story is complete, the drafts that one person receives will typically have several changes made to it before the final product is again distributed to them.

Grammarly and MS Word catch most of my errors, so these people focus on the content and flow of the story more than just proofreading it for me.

I enjoy this process much more than the editing process a publisher puts me through.

 

[Nynah]

I am probably in the minority of authors who frequent this forum in that I don't have an editor. Writing is very much a hobby for me and I try to fit it in wherever I can around my very boring day job. As a result, my process tends to be very stop-and-go; sometimes I go more than a few days without writing. Because of this, I tend to re-read the entirety of what I'm writing before continuing on; this serves the dual purpose of re-familiarizing myself with the material to get back into the correct mindset as well as also giving me time to spot any spelling/grammatical/flow errors and fix or retool them.

This isn't to say that my process is perfect; I would certainly be up to working with an editor for my writing if the right situation were to present itself.

 

[Voboy]

I would feel uncomfortable subjecting my Lit work to an editor. It's mine, and I want it to remain mine; I don't necessarily work and play well with others, where creativity is concerned. It would need to be someone I trusted implicitly, and even then I'd be leery.

I write, tweaking as I go, then read through precisely one time for continuity and flow. Then it's set in stone. That's the whole process for me.

I have weird ideas about creativity. I tend to think that the farther a piece of art gets from its source, the more it is adulterated by beta reading, or editing, or endless drafts, the more inorganic it becomes. So my stories are very, very minimally "tweaked" in any way. 98% or so of what my readers get on the Lit page is what I wrote in the first instance.

 

[ElectricBlue]

I have weird ideas about creativity. I tend to think that the farther a piece of art gets from its source, the more it is adulterated by beta reading, or editing, or endless drafts, the more inorganic it becomes. So my stories are very, very minimally "tweaked" in any way. 98% or so of what my readers get on the Lit page is what I wrote in the first instance.

You and I are kindred spirits. This describes my approach, and 98% raw draft making it onto the page, that's my guesstimate, too.

 

[Trionyx]

98% or so of what my readers get on the Lit page is what I wrote in the first instance.

I am impressed. If I tried that I would get shredded by voters and comments. I need a lot of correcting and editing just to make it palatable.

 

[magnetarhanggliding]

I would feel uncomfortable subjecting my Lit work to an editor. It's mine, and I want it to remain mine; I don't necessarily work and play well with others, where creativity is concerned. It would need to be someone I trusted implicitly, and even then I'd be leery.

I write, tweaking as I go, then read through precisely one time for continuity and flow. Then it's set in stone. That's the whole process for me.

I have weird ideas about creativity. I tend to think that the farther a piece of art gets from its source, the more it is adulterated by beta reading, or editing, or endless drafts, the more inorganic it becomes. So my stories are very, very minimally "tweaked" in any way. 98% or so of what my readers get on the Lit page is what I wrote in the first instance.

That's understandable.

A specific situation I had was that my story jumped around in time a lot and I worried it would be confusing to the reader. I would still view that as content editing, in the sense that the content may need to be shifted around to make more sense. So a content editor in this case wouldn't necessarily change the story specifics.

 

[Voboy]

That's understandable.

A specific situation I had was that my story jumped around in time a lot and I worried it would be confusing to the reader. I would still view that as content editing, in the sense that the content may need to be shifted around to make more sense. So a content editor in this case wouldn't necessarily change the story specifics.

Yep. I get that. I've written stories like that myself; it's why I re-read them for continuity. So far, I've trusted my own judgment where things like that have been concerned, and from what I can tell? I have yet to let myself down.

I mean, I sure like my stories!