Editing a Fiction Book

My thanks to the man who posted this information on one of the writing boards I visit, and whose name I've long ago forgotten—and was probably one of those user id’s that made no sense, anyway.

This is a brief list of issues an editor of fiction writing must look for in order to be an effective editor. From my vantage point as a writer, I use this list as a self check on whether my outline is well designed. And I also use this as a guide as I go through second and third rewrites.

LACK OF SUFFICIENT DEVELOPMENT IN THE CENTRAL CONFLICT:
This area is concerned with the amount and flow of information a reader is receiving regarding the central conflict of the novel. Does enough happen with/to the main characters regarding the central conflict to satisfy the reader? And related to this, is the "flow" of information about the central conflict broken too often with asides and irrelevancies--little side trips our creative minds like to take? If the answer is yes, the reader won't continue to read.

That by the way is one of the tests: did you put the book down and walk away...

VIEWPOINT:
Does your writing stick to the viewpoint of one character through each scene? Flipping from character to character within the same scene confuses a reader to the point of...you guessed it, putting the book down and walking away.

Using more than one "voice" within a book is also very tricky. One way to cue a reader as to which "voice" or character is speaking at any given time is to switch from first person narrative to third person when changing characters. There are other ways as well.

MECHANICAL PROBLEMS:
This area concerns itself with paragraphs and grammar.

Paragraphs: Where you split your prose into paragraphs is akin to a comic's sense of timing. Your writing can become dramatic spotlights when paragraphs are handled correctly. Note in your favorite author’s writing how and when their most exciting paragraphs begin and end. But be careful not to over use this technique.

And she cried.
And she sobbed.
And she made me…stop reading.

Grammar: Of course this is spelling and punctuation, something any good word processor will help you with (like MS Word--where red underlined words are misspelled and green underlined phrases are not punctuated correctly or they are incomplete sentences. Don't ignore your word processor's messages.)

Note the “help you with” comment above: homonyms are an exception. Deer and dear, bare and bear, they’re and their and there, are only three homonyms that word processor won't catch.

OTHER:
Over Use OF PASSIVE VOICE.
This is an area I'm trying to improve in. This is an area I am improving in.

And not fully explaining yourself. I've added to this list a bad habit of mine because my mind moves too quickly for me to keep up with. Have I said something that needs a lead in, an explanation? Have I left a step out in the sequence of my logic? Have I explained my points completely? Have I included enough detail to inform the reader well; and the adverse, am I over explaining? (Like maybe now.)

Cover blurbs must match the actual content of the book. Don’t think that you can sell more books just by appealing to a wider audience. If you’ve written a book about strawberries, don’t try selling it to plum lovers. It will just damage your credibility.

OH, AND BY THE WAY
Chapter 9 of UA is now up and running.