|
Your novel features characters from different countries. Should their dialogue, thoughts or narration be spelled differently just because their voices are regionally distinct and they come from different places? The answer’s no. Here’s why.
What's covered in this post
In this post, I explore the following:
Multiple Englishes, different spellings
There are multiple Englishes each with their own spelling conventions: British, Indian, Canadian, American and Australian are just five examples of English.
Most words are spelled the same regardless of which English is in play, though there are many that aren’t, for example ‘color’/’colour’, ‘judgment’/‘judgement’, ‘harmonize’/‘harmonise’, ‘behavior’/‘behavor’, ‘gray’/‘grey’, 'liter'/'litre'. None are right or wrong, better or worse, or correct or incorrect. Rather, the way each version of English is spelled is about convention and style. This post uses examples of American English (AmE) and British English (BrE) style to explain how to approach spelling/voice conundrums in fiction. The difference between spelling style and voice
Strive for a mindset that separates style and character voice.
Voice isn’t something that’s spelled. Rather, it’s something the reader experiences, ‘hears’ with their mind’s ear. It therefore follows the base spelling style, regardless of where the character comes from. With that in mind:
The easiest way to illustrate how spelling consistency works is with a case study. Let’s take a peek into the world of 007! A case study from the 007 files
I’ve chosen Jeffery Deaver’s Carte Blanche, a continuation novel featuring Ian’s Fleming’s British MI6 agent, James Bond.
The version from Hodder & Stoughton (part of Hachette UK), published in 2011, is styled as follows:
Here’s are three snippets from Chapter 2.
It was eight forty and the Sunday evening was clear here, near Novi Sad, where the Pannonian Plain rose to a landscape that the Serbs called ‘mountainous’, though Bond guessed the adjective must have been chosen to attract tourists;
‘Now, I’m ninety per cent sure he’ll believe you,’ Bond said. ‘But if not, and he engages, remember that under no circumstances is he to be killed. I need him alive. Aim to wound in the arm he favours, near the elbow, not the shoulder.’ Despite what one saw in the movies, a shoulder wound was usually as fatal as one to the abdomen or chest. The Night Action alert meant an immediate response was required, at whatever time it was received. The call to his chief of staff had blessedly cut the date short and soon he had been en route to Serbia, under a Level 2 project order, authorising him to identify the Irishman, plant trackers and other surveillance devices and follow him. The version from Pocket Star Books (a division of Simon and Schuster), published in 2012, is styled as follows:
Bond’s words haven’t changed. Bond’s nationality hasn’t changed. Bond’s job hasn’t changed. Bond’s narrative voice hasn’t changed. All that’s changed is the novel’s styling.
It was eight forty and the Sunday evening was clear here, near Novi Sad, where the Pannonian Plain rose to a landscape that the Serbs called “mountainous,” though Bond guessed the adjective must have been chosen to attract tourists;
“Now, I’m ninety percent sure he’ll believe you, Bond said. “But if not, and he engages, remember that under no circumstances is he to be killed. I need him alive. Aim to wound in the arm he favors, near the elbow, not the shoulder.” Despite what one saw in the movies, a shoulder wound was usually as fatal as one to the abdomen or chest. The Night Action alert meant an immediate response was required, at whatever time it was received. The call to his chief of staff had blessedly cut the date short and soon he had been en route to Serbia, under a Level 2 project order, authorizing him to identify the Irishman, plant trackers and other surveillance devices and follow him. Later in the novel (Chapter 26), Felix Leiter, an American, joins Bond on his mission. Here’s how Leiter’s dialogue is rendered in the AmE version:
Felix Leiter, a former marine whom Bond had met in the service, was a HUMINT spy. He vastly preferred the role of handler—running local assets, like Yusuf Nasad. “I pulled in a lot of favors and talked to all my key assets. Whatever Hydt and his local contacts’re up to, they’re keeping the lid on really tight. I can’t find any leads. Nobody’s been moving any mysterious shipments of nasty stuff into Dubai. Nobody’s been telling friends and family to avoid this mosque or that shopping center around seven tonight. No bad actors’re slipping in from across the Gulf.”
And here it is in the BrE version. Leiter is still American and still has the same distinct voice, but now the spelling has changed (as has the punctuation; note the spaced en dash and single quotation marks).
Felix Leiter, a former marine whom Bond had met in the service, was a HUMINT spy. He vastly preferred the role of handler – running local assets, like Yusuf Nasad. ‘I pulled in a lot of favours and talked to all my key assets. Whatever Hydt and his local contacts’re up to, they’re keeping the lid on really tight. I can’t find any leads. Nobody’s been moving any mysterious shipments of nasty stuff into Dubai. Nobody’s been telling friends and family to avoid this mosque or that shopping centre around seven tonight. No bad actors’re slipping in from across the Gulf.’
Overcoming ‘But it looks wrong’
Our brains can mess with us when we associate a particular spelling style with a character’s place of birth or residence, particularly if their voice is regionally distinct.
For example, perhaps they use idiomatic phrases that wedge them firmly in a country, state/province/county or even town/city that we’re from. The British editor working on a book set in Southern California and written by an American author who writes in AmE might well struggle when a viewpoint character from Norfolk (the UK one where I live) turns up in Santa Barbara and mutters the following on seeing a cluster of huge ladybirds: “Look at the color o’ them bishy barnabees. And big as a thruppence too!” The spelling of ‘color’ might jar because ‘thruppence’ is so clearly unAmerican, so very British, while ‘bishy barnabees’ is particular to Norfolk. And yet the spelling is (and should be) AmE if that’s how the novel’s been styled overall. An editor colleague recently reported this kind of problem in a Facebook group discussion. The novel was set in AmE, but the British viewpoint character spoke, thought and talked to herself in a Yorkshire accent. The first-person narration style deepened the voice still further. ‘The character's voice is really strong,’ the editor said, ‘and the US spelling seems at odds.’ The editor slept on it and the next day announced a simple but clever solution that had enabled her to overcome her resistance. ‘I mentally changed the British voice to a South African one so that I'm not so conscious of spelling variations, et voilà! It's suddenly clear as day.’ It’s a neat trick, a way of breaking the false connection between spelling and voice. If you come up against a similar situation, try it! Adding regional flavour to voice
If you’re still worried that a spelling choice looks odd, remember that voice lies not in how the text is spelled but in what the character is saying, the turns of phrase they use, and the emotions and motivations behind their action (whether that action comes through speech, thought, movement or narration).
It’s worth bearing in mind, too, that language is often borrowed to the extent that some words no longer feel like, say, Britishisms, Americanisms, Canadianisms or Indianisms when they roll out of our mouths, regardless of how we identify or where we live. Would I, a Brit, ever use the terms ‘cell phone’ and ‘movie’ rather than ‘mobile’ and ‘film’? Yes, I would. How about ‘elevator’ rather than ‘lift’, ‘sidewalk’ rather than ‘pavement’, ‘aluminum’ rather than ‘aluminium’? Would I refer to ‘my mom’ rather than ‘my mum?’ Not while roaming around Norwich, but on a visit to Chicago, possibly, if I wanted to ensure people understood me. And almost definitely if I'd made my home there for some time. Perhaps, then, the trick is not to be too precious about it, either when we’re writing or editing. Instead, we can consider the character’s environment and the degree to which the ‘local’ language flavour is something they’re likely to have assimilated into their speech, thoughts and narratives. Those choices aside, the spelling style will be consistent. Unless … 3 examples of when spelling inconsistency works
There are instances where inconsistent styling will be called for. Here are 3.
The character is spelling a spelling Imagine a Bond novel is styled in BrE. Bond and Leiter are speaking to each other on the phone and the line is terrible. Bond thinks Leiter has said ‘dissenter’. Leiter’s dialogue might go like this: ‘Not dissenter. The centre. C-E-N-T-E-R. Move to the centre.’ A proper noun is being referenced Now imagine Bond’s telling Leiter that he’s received intelligence about a heist in the Rockefeller Center. Even if the novel’s styled in BrE, the AmE spelling of ‘Center’ should be retained because it’s referencing the name of a building. Excerpts from written materials have been transcribed Excerpts from diaries, newspaper cuttings, reports, letters, texts and so on can be rendered in the spelling style most likely used by whomever in the novel wrote them because they’re supposed to be authentic transcripts. Imagine that Bond’s reading a document written by an American CIA operative. Even if the novel is styled in BrE, the spelling in the report would be AmE, unless referencing a proper noun that required a BrE spelling. A note on suffixes, dashes and quotation marks
Finally, a quick note on style and how writers and editors need to consider whether they're being overly prescriptive. I recommend thinking in terms of common conventions rather than rules.
Suffixes In AmE, it’s standard to spell with -iz- suffixes. In BrE, both -iz- and -is- are standard. Again, it’s a matter of style. Thus, in the Night Action alert excerpt above, if Hodder had elected to use ‘authorized’ instead of ‘authorised’, this would not have been a slippage into American spelling but a style choice – an accepted BrE variant that’s been around since the sixteenth century. Dashes While most US publishers favour closed-up em dashes and most British publishers favour spaced en dashes when used parenthetically (see the Leiter snippet in the case study), it’s not wrong to used unspaced em dashes when writing in BrE style; it’s Oxford’s preference, for example. Quotation marks Again, while it’s more common to see single quotation marks in BrE styling and doubles in AmE, this isn’t an unbreakable rule. Indie authors can choose, for example, BrE spelling and double quotation marks if they wish. In all three cases, consistency is what counts. Summing up
Voice can be flavoured by what is said, thought and narrated, and it can show us aspects of a character’s personality, emotions, motivations and background – regardless of how the words that convey it are spelled.
Spelling is about style. The goal is consistency in the main, complemented by good-sense deviation when necessary. That’s how the mainstream publishing industry approaches it, and editors and writers will do well to follow their lead. Related resources
Author and editor resources library
Visit the grammar and spelling page in my resource library to download a free booklet summarizing suffix variations in American and British English. 
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors
0 Comments
Here’s why it’s worth paying attention to the length of your novel whether you’re publishing independently or submitting to an agent with the aim of securing a publishing contract.
What determines word count?
Guidance on word counts differs according to:
The infographic below provides a very rough guide to word counts – lower and upper limits and a midpoint. These align with publishing convention. And these are conventions rather than rules, which is why the ranges are rather wide for some genres. 
Economics: Printing costs
Pages cost money. KDP says: ‘Printing costs vary depending on page count and ink type (black ink or color ink). Trim size, bleed settings, and cover finish don’t affect printing cost.’
Bear in mind, however, that your chosen trim size will affect the number of words you or your designer fits on a page and therefore the page count, which in turn will affect printing costs. It’s therefore worth experimenting with different trim sizes and interior designs if you’re going down the print-on-demand route. There’ll be an optimal design that offers the desired aesthetic for your budget. Approximate calculations are available via the KDP print cost calculator. If you’re printing in bulk with your own printer, there might be economies of scale on offer for larger print runs. Talk to the supplier and your formatter about how to keep costs down by tweaking the interior design without impacting on readability. Economics: Editing costs
Generally, the more words in a book, the more each stage of editing will cost. Line editing 80K words will take perhaps a week longer than line editing 50K words.
If you’re working with a pro editor, remember to factor your word count into your chosen editor’s fee structure. Expectations: Audience sweet spots
Readers have expectations. Back when my child was four, I expected the picture books I read for them to be shorter than the thrillers I read to myself.
And I don’t mind digging into 100K words or so for Baldacci because his books are quite detailed. Sue Grafton’s Alphabet mystery series has a different feel to it and I’ve come to expect a quicker read – around the 55–75K-word mark. And if you're self-publishing, consider this from the IngramSpark blog: ‘With less time available for reading, it makes sense that readers want to get to the last page quicker. The trend for the past few years has been to publish books with less than 200 pages on average, or around 50,000 words’ (Self-publishing Trends 2018–2019). Expectations: Agents and publishers
Agents want to sell books to publishers, and publishers want to sell books to readers.
Hitting an industry-standard isn’t about word count in itself. It’s about ensuring that the story is told with enough words, and only enough words so that readers are engaged. Paying attention to word-count conventions reduces an author’s chances of ending up in a slush pile because there aren't red flags indicating overwriting if the novel is huge, and undeveloped story if the book's shorter than standard. Why word counts help authors focus on quality
If you’re self-publishing, you’re in control. You might decide your thriller needs to be 130K words. If every word drives the story forward and holds the reader’s attention, great.
When the book's too long If, however, 20K words are cluttering adverbs and adverbial phrases that could be removed or replaced with stronger verbs, the novel’s length isn’t serving the reader. Or perhaps there are 30K words of laboured stage direction – detail that describes every mundane movement a character makes to remove themselves from a car, climb a flight of stairs, or move from one room to another. Often, nudges that enable the reader to make sense of space and place are enough. Readers don’t count words, but they will start skimming over them if the prose isn’t tight. And so even if your first draft has X,000 words, use the revision stage to consider what needs to be removed or tweaked. When the book's too short If your novel’s word count is substantially lower than industry conventions, consider what might be missing. There could be structural issues such as a too predictable plot, undeveloped character arcs, or too few obstacles. There could also be opportunities to show rather than tell a scene so that the narrative distance decreases and the reader is drawn deeper into character experience. The difference between word count and page count
When it comes to novel length, bear in mind that page counts are affected by design (e.g. trim size, margin size, font size, layout) whereas word counts are determined by story alone.
Pro formatters can adjust the page count of a printed book by tweaking the design, though there are limitations. No reader will be convinced that they’re holding an 80K-work crime novel just because 50K words are set in a Times New Roman 18. On the other hand, if you’ve written 100K words aimed at the middle-grade market (8–12 years), you’d be wise to reduce the word count considerably rather than asking your designer to make your book look shorter by squeezing more words on each page! Furthermore, when it comes to ebooks, there’s no such thing as a standard page because the reader controls how much text appears on the screen. Ebooks lengths are therefore measured in kilobytes (KB), not pages. Summing up
It’s a cliché but a good story is as long as it needs to be. Longer novels shouldn’t be longer because they haven’t been edited, and shorter novels shouldn’t be shorter because the story is insufficiently fleshed out.
Pay attention to word counts as part of an evaluation process that ensures the words that need to be on the page are on the page, and those that needn’t be there are removed. That way, your story will be in the best shape for your readers. Related resources for authors
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors ‘Show, don’t tell’ isn’t just a writing technique. It’s a principle that works for editorial business marketing too! Visit the Branding page in my resource library to download this free booklet.  More marketing resources for editors and proofreadersIf marketing's your Achilles' heel, take a look at the following resources:
This outline of the proofreading, copyediting and line-editing process is one way of organizing your editorial workflow rather than bowling straight into a project.
What follows is my process – the steps I take and the order in which I take them. That doesn’t mean it’s THE process! You might prefer to organize yourself differently.
Editorial business parameters
My business model might look very different to yours. Here’s what you need to know about me when considering the process I outline below.
Proofreading designed page proofs
I no longer work on designed page proofs (PDF or hardcopy), but at the point in my career when I did, I used the checklist below.
Step 1. Project legalities
I carry out the project legalities as soon as the author and I have agreed to work together and decided on the project's time frame.
This part of the process protects me and my client, and ensures we have a mutual understanding of the project’s terms and conditions. Step 2. File checking and organization
This work takes place as soon as the book file arrives. The checks ensure I can find the material, and that it’s usable when it’s time for the edit to begin.
WHAT I DO
Step 3. Template creation
This part of the process helps me get organized. I do it before the edit begins.
Step 4. Technical setup
Next up is some technical setup related to Microsoft Word.
WHAT I DO
Step 5. Styles
Now it’s time to assess the book file’s styling. Even though an interior formatter might work on the design at a later stage, I want to ensure that the different elements are formatted consistently.
Word’s styles palette is the tool of choice. If I decide to make changes, I can amend the style rather than trawling through the entire book file line by line. If I’m line editing, the author might have done some or all of this work. If I’m proofreading, another editor might have done it. After I’ve set up the styles, I apply them to the book file. Step 6. Chapter sequence check
Now that my chapter headings are styled, I can locate them in Word’s navigation pane and ensure the numbering is correct.
It’s not uncommon for authors to shift chapters around, and that’s where problems slip in.
WHAT I CHECK
Step 7. Front-matter check
I like to cast my eye over the front matter separately from the main edit.
The most exciting part of the project for me is the edit itself, so doing mundane but critical technical checks separately ensures my eye’s on the ball and I'm not making assumptions.
Step 8. Macro run and style-sheet build
Next, I run a selection of pre-edit macros.
Editors use all sorts of different software and tools to complement their eye depending on the issues they need to check, the material they’re working on, and their clients’ needs. The macros I've listed below are not what you must use; they’re just my preferences. I use what I learn to start filling in the project’s style sheet. At this stage I’m making early decisions about spelling, hyphenation, capitalization and proper noun usage, and noting any red flags.
RED FLAGS INCLUDE
Even if I locate problematic language, I’ll not make any decisions about what needs to be done until the contextual edit begins and I can review it within the wider story arc. At this point, I'll just highlight. I’ll also record initial observations that are key to the line edit.
INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
Step 9. The edit
Now it’s time to begin editing. This is the fun bit, what I've been hired for! It's the non-technical part of the job but the most time-consuming.
I work through the book file line by line and edit according to the agreed scope of the project.
Step 10. The part-way PerfectIt check
One third of the way through the line edit, I run PerfectIt again.
That’s because I’ll have made many new style choices that affect, for example, spelling, capitalization and hyphenation, ones that I didn’t pick up during my pre-edit macro run.
BENEFITS
Step 11. The technical tidy-up
When the edit is complete, I carry out another round of checks for layout, consistency, spelling and grammar – a final technical tidy-up to that ensures everything’s spit spot. A little Mary Poppins never hurt anyone!
Step 12. Style sheet check
Next, I review the style sheet to ensure that it’s fit for purpose.
Step 13. Create the editorial report
Now I create my editorial report. I use a detailed template that’s already populated with client-friendly summaries of the theory behind the edits (accessible via my course How to Write the Perfect Fiction Editorial Report).
WHAT THE REPORT INCLUDES
Step 14. Delivery and invoicing
Finally, I prepare the files for my client. It's time to show them what I've done and why I've done it!
WHAT I INCLUDE
After I’ve emailed the files, I issue an invoice for the outstanding fee. Some editors choose to send the files only after all monies have been paid. How you do it is for you to decide. Wrapping up
So that's my way. I hope it'll help you streamline your process if you're unsure where to start.
Just bear this in mind: There's no one best way. We all work differently, and there are multiple ways to edit efficiently and productively.
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors
Your editing website is your shop front. It’s the one online space you control – your land – and so it must work hard for you. Here are 3 things you can do quickly to make it function better.
In this post, I’ll show you 3 things you can do quickly to improve the way a visitor experiences every web page on your site. We’ll look at the following:
> Navigation buttons > Paragraph headings > Short paragraphs 
Navigation buttons
Being able to navigate a site is key to a good user experience. Buttons signal the delivery of a promise: learn this, go there, download that.
Imagine you’re in a huge, multi-storey department store. Buttons are like the floor plan near the escalator that tells you what’s where. Make buttons consistent Check that your buttons are a consistent colour. That way you’re training visitors to understand that there’s something at the end of the click. A contrasting hover colour signals that the button is active, that it can be engaged with. Help people find stuff! Don’t assume your visitors know where to go, or that they’ll go where you want them to go. Check every page on your website. Can you add buttons that will make your visitor’s journey easier and that tell them what you'd like them to do? People are busy and might not have time to trawl through text. Buttons stand out, which means they’re scannable. Use them to help the visitor: > Get to another page > Get to another section on the same page > Access a resource > Get in touch with you Include a meaningful call to action A button that’s easy to spot is half the job done. The other half is about meaningful messaging. GO HERE, EMAIL ME, CLICK HERE, GET IN TOUCH aren’t always the best signals for a roving eye, particularly on longer pages with multiple purposes. Experiment with calls to action that chime with the delivery of a promise I mentioned above. For example: TAKE ME TO THE LIBRARY, TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOUR SERVICES. 
Paragraph headings
Let’s return to our department store. We’ve found the right floor. Now we need to locate the items. H2 headings are the signs hanging above each aisle that say: This is what you’ll find here.
H2 headings are superb visual indicators because they’re scannable. Check every page on your website. If there are paragraphs that introduce new information but there’s no summary, add an H2 heading. Make your headings relevant Busy visitors who are scanning a web page for clues to how it can help them need indications that they’re in the right place. Headings should be relevant to the text they’re sitting on top of. They should tell the reader exactly why it’s worth investing time in reading the paragraph. Don’t assume your busy visitor has a sense of humour! A witty paragraph heading that doesn’t stand alone and explain what’s in the text below it is of no use. Boring trumps funny every day of the week! Offer solutions or ask questions To solve the boring problem, create headings that signal specific solutions or ask questions that are likely to match a visitor’s query. Compare the heading The time frame with How long will editing take? The former requires the visitor to ask themselves: What time frame? The latter pre-empts the question. Solutions and questions will bring the scanning to a halt. That’s where engagement begins. Now you’ve got their attention. 
Short paragraphs
Back to the department store. If the buttons are like the floor plan, and the headings are the aisle signs, then short paragraphs on our web pages are like neatly arranged shelves.
Visitors are more likely to engage with what’s on those shelves when there’s space between each item. The alternative is rummaging. Busy people want to get their information fast. Short paragraphs help them do that. They’re also far more visually appealing. Are people accessing your website via mobile? If walls of text are off-putting on a desktop, they’re impenetrable on a phone. Do you know how many of your website’s visitors are accessing your site via mobile devices? Google Analytics is free and will give you this information. I can tell you that a third of my visitors use a tablet or phone. A third! I can also tell you that my mobile engagement has doubled in percentage terms since 2013. Offering a good user experience therefore means attending to mobile users' needs. With that in mind, do all of your visitors a favour and break up text into visually digestible blocks of no more than 3–4 lines on each of your web pages. It’s one of the fastest and easiest design improvements to implement! Summing up
Review the buttons, headings and paragraph length on every page of your website.
Each fix can be implemented in under 24 hours, and none require technical know-how. More important is the impact on your visitors. The better their experience, the more they’re likely to stick around. That means you’re serving them and your business! More resources
By the time you're done, you'll know how to build an effective web presence!
And take a look at these freebies: > Library of resources for editors > How to minimize cancellations and non-payment for editing services > How to create an amazing portfolio > 8 reasons to create a learning centre
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors
If engagement with your editing or proofreading blog is stagnant, spruce up your posts with these 4 fixes.
What’s covered
Here's what this post covers:
You’re not solving problems
Blog posts that offer solutions to problems are about the reader. Blog posts about your journey, your opinions, your experiences are about you.
It’s your blog and you can put on it whatever you want. Just bear in mind that problem-solving content will always do better in the long-term. Here’s what I’ve typed into Google in the past two hours:
Those are all problem-based queries. I was searching for solutions. Do I read opinion and experience pieces? Sure, now and then if they’re written by people I know, trust, like and am interested in. But mostly I search for solutions to problems. THE FIX If you’re blog engagement is stagnant, take a look at the content and think about whether you can shift the focus away from yourself and onto your reader. 
You’re not solving the right problems
Perhaps you are solving problems but they’re not the ones your target audience is interested in.
For instance, you might have some articles that help new editors decide which training course to take, or which online networking groups to join, or which conferences to attend. Those are great if you have training, coaching and business development products and services in your business portfolio because they help target readers get to know you and trust you. There’s even a little SEO juice in the editorial key words and phrases you’re using. However, if ultimately you want to be found by, earn the trust of, and sell editing services to a a writing client, it’s their problems you need to solve. THE FIX Consider who you want to sell to. It is editing and proofreading services to clients? If so, make a list of the 20 problems you come across most often when you’re working on editorial projects. The analysis of and solutions to those 20 problems are the basis for 20 blogs posts. If the issues are complex, break your 20 posts into 40 or 60 smaller chunks. Niche topics are accessible to your readers, but also offer you a more manageable writing schedule. Plus, while niche problems are less likely to be searched for, when they are searched for they’re more likely to be found because there's less competitive content. 
You’re solving the right problems but not signalling why your post is relevant
If you’re solving niche problems for your ideal reader, but your posts aren’t ranking, take a look at your signalling.
Google has no sense of humour – funny titles and headings without key words and phrases that tell the search engines how your post is relevant to a typed query will be invisible. As for people, they’re are busy. They’re not so different to the search engines in that they scan for relevance too – either in the search engine results to their query or on your actual post if they’ve clicked through. A boring title that tells the reader exactly how you’ll help them will trump a funny but mysterious one every day of the week. THE FIX Check your H1 titles and H2 paragraph headings. Do they contain relevant key words and phrases? These enable the search engines to identify relevance. Give people scannable H1 and H2 headings that tell them what’s on offer in the paragraphs that follow. If you can combine being witty with being informative, fair play to you. If you have to choose, go for informative! 
You’re solving the right problems but not sharing your solutions
Readers love solutions. But to love them they have to know they exist.
Well-crafted blogs that solve niche problems for your target audience and are findable in the search engines require that we invest time in our blog, that we commit to it, particularly while we’re building our bank of content. It can take a while to build a bank with enough niche solutions to attract those perfect clients, and a while longer to build enough trust so that they’re not just reading your stuff but hiring your services. And until your blog posts are visible, they’re not working for you. THE FIX There’s no reason why we have to sit back and wait for visitors to find us. Share your blog content, and share it regularly. If you have 20 blog posts already, and the solutions you’ve offered in them are still relevant, they’re ‘evergreen’. Don’t assume that just because you’ve publicized them once on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn, you can’t publicize them again. Maybe person X didn’t read your post when you first published it. Maybe they did but forgot about it and would enjoy a refresher. Perhaps they won’t read it again but remember thinking it was useful, so they retweet it or share it. Person Y sees it for the first time and – ta-da! – you have a new reader. 
Why you might decide to stop writing blog posts
If you don’t want to blog, don’t blog! It’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and it’s certainly not the only way of getting attention. But frame your decision logically.
Perhaps you don’t want to make time for it, or you don’t enjoy it, or you’d prefer to explore different marketing approaches. All of those are informed and acceptable reasons not to start blogging, or to park your blog. But don’t make the decision on the grounds that it makes no difference to how people are engaging with your website. Millions of bloggers from within the editorial community and far beyond know different! If publishing new blog posts doesn’t increase traffic to and engagement with your editing website, that’s not a signal that your blog posts make no difference. It’s a signal that your posts are either invisible or uninteresting. Both are fixable. Wrapping up
An editing or proofreading blog can be a powerful tool that drives people to our websites, shows them what we’re interested in and what we know about, and helps them trust us. Those who trust us are more likely to buy from us.
Effective blog posts – ones that generate long-term traffic and engagement – solve problems, have relevant and scannable titles and headings, and are visible beyond the search engines because we’ve shared them with our audiences. If your blogging isn’t working, fix the process before blaming the methodology! More resources
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors
You’re writing in third-person and your viewpoint character has become unconscious. However, you want the reader to understand how their discovery and recovery come about, and without head-hopping. Here are 5 ideas for how to tackle it.
What’s covered in this post
Start at the top if you’re new to viewpoint, or jump straight to the solutions if you’ve already nailed it but are wondering what to do about your oblivious point-of-view character.
> Protagonists versus viewpoint characters > Why an unconscious character can’t be a POV character > Head-hopping, narration style and number of POV characters > The setup – a fictive piece of fiction! > Solution 1: Create a new section or chapter with a new POV character > Solution 2: Create a new section or chapter and switch narration style > Solution 3: Unveil through dialogue > Solution 4: Unveil through data > Solution 5: Use emotional reflection Protagonists versus viewpoint characters
The protagonist is the person whose experiences drive the story. The novel revolves around them. Readers are usually more connected to them and their outcome within the story than any other character.
The POV character is the person whose internal experiences drive a scene or chapter.
While your protagonist might often be the POV character, one role doesn’t always equal the other. A POV character can also be an antagonist, a major character, or a bystander who makes but one appearance. Your protagonist, however, is always your protagonist, whether they’re in a scene, doing something else somewhere else, or lying in a coma on the beach. Why an unconscious character can’t be a POV character
Perhaps your POV character has had an accident, become ill, been knocked out, or drugged. Perhaps they’ve drunk or drugged themselves into unconsciousness.
As long as they’re unconscious, they don’t know what’s happening. Which means the reader doesn’t either. Their oblivion is ours. And at that point they’re no longer a viewpoint character. They can’t be; they’re busy being unconscious. However, just because they’re out for the count doesn’t mean the story is. Action is still taking place in the form of physical movement, dialogue, and the passing of time. If authors need to tell the reader what happens to the unconscious character during their period of absence, it needs to be done in a way that makes sense. If a character regains awareness, becomes the POV character and reports what happened to them during time out, they need a way to access that information. Otherwise, someone else will report that information, and a new POV character comes into play. Head-hopping, narration style and number of POV characters
What is head-hopping?
When readers are forced to jump from one character’s thoughts and experiences to another’s in a single scene, head-hopping is in play. Head-hopping is convenient because it lets readers know what everyone in a scene is thinking and feeling all at once. That convenience is usually a problem in commercial fiction because it rips out the suspense. Rather than readers getting in the heads of everyone, they engage with and invest in no one because they are never in one place long enough to do so. What is third-person limited POV? Third-person limits readers to a single character’s experience – what they see, hear, feel and think. Readers get to sit in their skin; it’s as if we’re them. In that sense, it’s not unlike first-person narration, another in-skin POV. The difference is the pronouns – he/she/they/it for third person; I/we for first person. The difference lies in the narrative distance – how close the reader feels to the character. With third person, the distance is wider because those pronouns are a constant reminder that the character is someone else. With first person, the ‘I’ personalizes the experience more deeply because we’re reading the same language we’d use if we were talking about ourselves. Third person is a narration style that most writers find easy to master at the beginning of their journey, and is popular with writers and readers of commercial fiction. How many viewpoint characters can a novel have? A novel can have multiple viewpoint characters sharing their experiences through various narration styles such as first person (I) and third-person limited (she, he, they). However, it’s conventional in commercial fiction for each POV character to tell their story in distinct chapters or sections. Lumping multiple viewpoints into a single scene is often an indication of head-hopping. The setup – a fictive piece of fiction!
Let’s set up a scene. Our current viewpoint character is Alicia, a private investigator. She’s also the protagonist.
Alicia’s received a tip-off from an old contact that her targets are using a derelict office building on the edge of an industrial estate for nefarious purposes. Early in the evening, she decides to snoop around. She scopes the place out and enters once she’s confident the coast is clear. Part way through her search, she feels a blow to the back of her head. Next thing she knows, the floor’s coming towards her face. That’s where the chapter ends. Because I’m the writer, I know the following:
How much of this information I can convey without dropping viewpoint will depend on how many POV characters I have in the novel, which narration styles I feel confident using, and when I decide to reveal this information so that I maximize reader engagement. Solution 1: Create a new section or chapter with a new POV character
Creating a new section or chapter with a new viewpoint character is perhaps the easiest option if the novel has been structured such that it regularly switches between several characters’ experiences, each narrated in a first or third-person-limited style.
Let’s say it’s the first time Patty has entered the story but I plan to show the world through her eyes in future chapters and will deepen the reader’s engagement with her character in the process.
And so, for now, we can switch from Alicia’s POV after she’s hit the floor and give Patty a section or chapter that introduces her to the reader and shows us the world through her eyes. Here’s how that scene might play out.
Gerry swings into the kitchen as Patty puts a leg of beef into the crockpot.
‘Dinner will be ready bang on 8 pm, darling,’ she says. He grunts. Ungrateful pig. She chops vegetables and thinks about how damn weird today was. The call on the way back from the supermarket from you-know-fucking-who. A possible security breach at the Wickers building. Like she didn’t already have enough on her plate. Her handling security? What did they expect? This is Norwich, not New York. Thank God for that leg of beef. How she climbed the stairs and found that woman rifling through a filing cabinet containing all their Very Sensitive Information. How the leg of beef – frozen solid – made a thwack as it connected with the back of the woman’s head, and the way she just flumped down. No resistance, no fight. All very not Jack Reacher. How she checked the woman – still breathing. Good – then grabbed the paperwork and got the fuck out. How she’s stepped over a line. But most of all how this time next year she’ll have dished up a decree nisi rather than a roast for her arse of a husband and his prickless cronies. So now the reader knows what happened to Alicia but in a way that gives another viewpoint character the floor and opens the door to the reader’s journey with her. There are questions too, because now we want to know more about Patty.
A word of caution Those questions will need to be answered eventually. If they’re not – if out of the blue, we’ve been granted intimacy with Patty for the purpose of explaining what happened to Alicia only never to revisit her – the reader will be left feeling that there’s unfinished business, and that they’ve been party to a literary tool of convenience. That’s a contrivance and a manipulation, and will damage your story. Solution 2: Create a new section or chapter and switch narration style
To avoid the convenience problem, you could adapt Solution 1 by pulling back and opting for an alternative narration style.
A third-person-objective narration could work. Here, the prose is flatter, more told. The reader focuses on what can be seen and heard, rather than being immersed in emotional context. This style widens the narrative distance but allows you to tell the facts. And that might well suit the mood of your book now and then.
We learned a lot about Patty in Solution 1. But what if I decide that Patty is a character I don’t want to develop? In that case, the reader doesn’t need to know anything about her.
It might be discovered later that the perpetrator was called Patty, and that she’d got in with a bad crowd, or was a frozen-beef-joint-wielding walloper for hire, but that’s not the story. Patty will not make the grade as a POV character in the novel. And so instead, I could place this new section or chapter after Alicia’s scoped out the building and started snooping, but remove her experiencing the blow to the head.
The call is brief. There’s a possible security breach at the Wickers building. The driver pulls up in front, takes a plastic bag from the back seat and enters the building. She listens. Hears the squeal of a rusty filing-cabinet drawer on the next floor up. Mounts the stairs, pulls a leg of beef from the bag and stuffs the plastic in her pocket. She enters a room.
A woman is by the filing cabinet, rifling through the contents, her back facing the door. The driver swings and the joint cracks against the back of the woman’s head. She flops forward. There’s a sickening thud as her head recoils on the concrete. The driver checks the leg of beef. In forty-five minutes, it’ll be in the crockpot. In four hours, it’ll be on the plate. It’s exposition without emotion, and told objectively. Now the reader knows what happened to Alicia, but it’s been narrated in a way that’s cold, clinical and anonymous. And that might very well serve your novel better than an emotional, limited narration that needs developing. Solution 3: Unveil through dialogue
If your novel has only one viewpoint character, this solution will allow you to unveil what happened, and when, through a conversation.
Your POV character needs to have recovered sufficiently and be able to access the people who have that information and engage in dialogue with them or eavesdrop on a conversation they’re having. They could be the police or security services, medical staff, an antagonist, the saviour – anyone who knows and can fill in the blanks. It means the unveiling comes after the period of unconsciousness, which makes it an emotionally rich experience for the reader because we’re discovering what happened to the POV character at the same time as they are. We get to live their life with them in the moment.
Let’s imagine Alicia has recently regained consciousness again. She’s the POV character; we experience the world through her lens.
I want her to report her discovery of some of what happened to her and where she is. She’s ignorant of all the facts. Here’s how that might appear on the page.
She turned her head to the side. Bad idea. It hurt like a bitch and made her want to throw up. She took a few breaths, lifted an arm: ID bracelet and an IV taped to her hand. To the right: railings and a handset with a call button. Ahead: a pale-blue curtain.
Hospital. A nurse poked his head out around the curtain, then disappeared. A man pushed through, smiled and introduced himself. Detective Paul Brown. Big, warm eyes and a neat beard that mostly covered a purple birth mark. ‘How long have I been here?’ she said. ‘Since last night. Bunch of kids found you in the old Wickers building on the industrial estate at 8 pm. You were out cold.’ He smirked. ‘You were lucky. Said they went there just to hang out and listen to music but one of ’em stunk of weed. We’ll let it go … they called you in and stuck around. So what’s going on?’ ‘I don’t know. I was … I was looking in the filing cabinet and there was this pain and … that’s it. I woke up here with my head feeling like it’s going to explode.‘ ‘Not surprised after the clobbering you took.’ ‘What’s—' Brown waved a hand. ‘It’s okay. A concussion, but the docs say you’re doing fine. So come on, I’ve told you what I know. Your turn.’ Alicia decided to trust him. Now she knows what the police officer knows, and the reader knows too. And unveiling it like this avoids a mundane in-the-now narrative about a group of kids whom we’ll never meet again. Solution 4: Unveil through data
Similar to Solution 3, the unveiling of what happened and when during the character’s unconsciousness is revealed later, but this time through files, documents, records, a diary, reports, messages or some other physical repository.
Again, they’ll need to be sufficiently recovered and have a mechanism for accessing this data. As with the previous solution, the reader is drawn deeper into the POV character’s experience because we’re with them every step of the way on that journey of discovery.
In this scenario, I want to reveal who knocked Alicia out and how – not just to the reader (as with Solutions 1 and 2) but to Alicia herself. Perhaps this happens much later in the book, once she’s much further on in her investigation.
Alicia flicked through the diary, skimming pages full of domestic fury. One word jumped out. WICKERS.
8 January I stepped over a line today. Whacked someone. Just like that. Not whacked as in killed, mind you. I wouldn’t go that far. Well, I don’t think so! I was on my way back from the supermarket when the call came. You-know-fucking-who. Shocked me, it did – possible security breach. Like I don’t already have enough on my plate with HIM. I don’t get it. Of all of us, I’m hardly the best person to be handling security. What did they think I was going to do? This is Norwich, not New York. Thank God I’d picked up a leg of beef. Anyway, I hear someone messing around on the upper floor so up I go, and there she is, this woman, rifling through a filing cabinet containing all our Very Sensitive Information. I didn’t think twice, that’s the thing. Just swung the meat at her. Frozen solid it was. It made a sort of thwack as it landed on the back of her head. And the way she just flumped down … no resistance, no fight. All very not Jack Reacher. I checked her (I’m not a monster), and she was still breathing so that was good. Then I grabbed the paperwork and got the fuck out. I tell you, next year I’ll be dishing up a decree nisi not a roast for that arse of a husband and his prickles cronies. Still, I should be grateful. No evidence. They ate every morsel. This solution allows us to access Patty’s voice – she speaks through the pages of her diary – but it’s our protagonist whose eyes we read through and whose head we’re in. Solution 5: Use emotional reflection
A fifth option is to use emotional reflection. This contemplation approach might be more suitable if your character has time to reflect.
Perhaps they’re still in hospital or bed-bound or imprisoned and are thinking about what they’ve learned. You might find it’s a good solution if you want to slow the pace and give the story some breathing room – space for a little recent backstory.
I still want the reader to discover how Alicia ended up in the hospital, but rather than have them experience the reveal with her, they’re late to the party; she’s had a chance to reflect on it.
She raised her head. Okaaay, not too bad. A couple of hours ago, it had hurt like a bitch just to open her eyes. She took a few breaths, lifted an arm and inspected the ID bracelet and IV taped to her hand. Pressed the call button on the railings.
A nurse poked her head around the pale-blue curtain, asked Alicia if she wanted anything. She was parched, she said. The nurse poured her a glass of water, patted her arm, called her sweetheart. She had big, warm eyes, like the detective who’d come earlier. He’d smiled when he introduced himself, made her feel like she could trust him as he’d scratched a neat beard that mostly covered a purple birth mark. He’d told her what he knew. That her head had taken a clobbering. A concussion, but she’d be okay. That she’d been in the hospital most of the night. Bunch of kids had found her in the old Wickers building around 8 pm. She’d been out cold. That she was lucky; the kids, all of them stinking of weed, could’ve legged it but they’d stuck around, called an ambulance, made sure she was safe. It made her teary. People could surprise you sometimes. We’ve still avoided in-the-now description about the movements of a group of kids we’ll never meet again. And our POV character has reported what happened between her hitting the floor and waking. However, this time it’s revealed in a more introspective manner – background detail that’s framed within a deeper understanding of Alicia’s character, for example, sharing what she notices and the emotionality that her judgement is founded on. Summing up
Just because your POV character is out of it doesn’t mean the story of what happened during that time can’t be unveiled while holding point of view.
Experiment with narration style and different time frames for the unveiling, and separate characters’ experiences by giving their scenes distinct sections or chapters. And don't forget that your protagonist is always your protagonist, even if they're not the viewpoint character because they're unconscious. Related reading
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors
Every novel has a viewpoint character and a protagonist. However, they’re not necessarily the same person, at least not all of the time. Here’s a quick guide that explains the differences.
Stories usually have multiple characters, and often have more than one major character. However, just because a character has a major role does not make them a protagonist.
Stories can be narrated by different characters in a book. Whoever’s head the reader is in is called the viewpoint character. However, just because a character is narrating a story does not make them a protagonist or a major character. Protagonists
We can think of protagonists as having a MACRO role.
The protagonist is the person whose experiences drive the story. The novel revolves around them. Readers are usually more connected to them than any other character.
Viewpoint characters
We can think of viewpoint characters as having a MICRO role.
The POV character is the person who internal experiences drive a scene or chapter.
Is the protagonist always the viewpoint character?
No, the viewpoint character and the protagonist can be different characters. While your protagonist might often be the POV character, one doesn’t always equal the other.
A POV character can be the protagonist, the antagonist, a major secondary character, a minor character, or a bystander who makes but one appearance. As long as it’s their head we’re in, and they who are reporting the scene through their experience of it, they’re the viewpoint character. Your protagonist, however, is always your protagonist, whether they’re in a scene, doing something else somewhere else, or lying unconscious in some back alley. Applying the terminology: An example
I’m using Linwood Barclay’s Parting Shot to illustrate the distinction between viewpoint character, protagonist, main character and secondary character.
Here's a breakdown that shows you how Barclay weaves multiple viewpoint characters into the first 17 chapters of the book.
It goes on until the final chapter wraps up with Cal’s first-person viewpoint. We are in his head as he recalls critical information that enables him to put it all together and verbally reveal whodunnit to his audience.
There are 65 chapters in total, each with distinct viewpoint characters narrating the scene. As each viewpoint character takes a turn, they show us what’s happening through their actions, emotions, thoughts and senses. The characters – major and secondary – play a variety of key roles.
But there is only one protagonist. It is Cal’s job throughout to discover who did what, and why. Even when he’s not in the scene, and therefore not the viewpoint character, he’s driving the direction of the story, the goal of which is to understand how a young girl came to die. Summing up
The key is not to confuse the terms ‘major’, ‘protagonist’ and ‘viewpoint’. Those attributions don’t mean the same thing. To summarize:
A novel can have multiple viewpoint characters, each taking a turn to narrate part of the story. Their viewpoints will enrich the tale but their overall goals don’t underpin it. The viewpoint character could be the protagonist, the antagonist, a major character, or a secondary character. As long as they’re narrating, they’re the viewpoint character. A novel will usually have only one protagonist. They might be the viewpoint character throughout, in which case we only ever see the world through their lens. Or they might be temporarily absent and allow others to tell a part of the tale and share their emotions and experiences. A novel will usually have other major and secondary characters whose experiences are central to the story. They might get a chance to narrate the story and therefore be the viewpoint character, or their experiences might be narrated by someone else. Further reading
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors
If you edit or proofread directly in Microsoft Word, PerfectIt is must-have software. This post highlights my favourite features, and explains why I think it's the best consistency-checking software on the planet.
What is PerfectIt?
PerfectIt is a sophisticated consistency-checker and style-enforcer. By customizing its built-in style sheets, creating your own, or uploading some of the free ones others have shared, you can define your preferences and let PerfectIt locate variations and possible errors.
PerfectIt comes in two versions:
In this article, I'll highlight the features I find most useful when editing directly in Microsoft Word for independent authors. Disclaimer: I have a PerfectIt licence and am a long-time user of the software. However, the developer has not asked me to write this review, nor have I been remunerated in any way for doing so. The views expressed herein are mine and based solely on my experience of using PerfectIt on a regular basis. Why I wouldn't be without a PerfectIt licence
Why the software works best when the user takes control
To get the best out of PerfectIt, you must tell it what you want it to do.
That means launching one of the style sheets and taking time to consider the various options (and there are a lot). During my early days of using the software, I found it missed inconsistencies and flagged up false positives. It turned out is wasn't PerfectIt that was functioning inadequately. It was me. I hadn't told it what was relevant to me, so it did the best it could with the information it had. I spent time refining my style sheets to meet my needs, and was rewarded for my effort. If you don't make the time to customize PerfectIt, you'll get good result. If you do, you'll get great results. A summary of PerfectIt's core functions
Here's an overview of what the software can do for you when you're writing and editing in Word.
My favourite features and how they help me
Here's what I love most about PerfectIt. These are the checks I carry out routinely and why I think it's must-have software for the editorial freelancing pro.
1. Wildcard searches
2. Missing brackets and quotation marks 3. Oxford/serial comma 4. Italic text 5. Dashes and non-breaking spaces 6. Heading format 7. Custom style guides 1. Wildcard searches
PerfectIt allows you to harness the power of wildcard searches using exactly the same terms you’d use in Word.
I love this feature because it means I can work more efficiently – I don’t have to run a set of find/replace searches in Word and then go and do a bunch of other stuff in PerfectIt. I can consolidate all my wildcard searches in one place, which saves me time. Plus, Word can get a little grumpy with wildcards if we're editing with Track Changes on, which is essential for the kind of work I do. 2. Missing brackets and quotation marks
This is a gem for those work on academic projects with lots of brackets (e.g. author/date citations or quoted matter) and those of us who proofread and edit fiction (e.g. dialogue).
3. Oxford/serial comma
The debate about whether the Oxford comma is useful or unnecessary rumbles on in the world of words.
No matter – editors and proofreaders often find themselves instructed by their client to use it or bin it (except where enforcing the preference would lead to a lack of clarity). PerfectIt allows you to set a preference either way. 4. Italic text
If your client has insisted that a particular word is italicized (or not), you’ll love this function. PerfectIt already has a built-in list of words that can be styled, but you can add your own.
5. Dashes and non-breaking spaces
If you work on documents riddled with hyphens that should be spaced en dashes or closed-up em dashes, or you want to ensure that all those space-separated numbers and measurements aren't going to fall over the cliff at formatting stage, you’ll adore this function.
We can fix this problem with Word’s find/replace tool, but being able to consolidate the search within the PerfectIt platform is another time-saver. The fewer programs we have use to get high-quality consistency within the framework of a client’s brief, the more time we save and the better our hourly rate. 6. Heading format
PerfectIt enables us to harness the power of Word’s styles palette. You can set your preferences for several different heading levels, e.g. sentence case, initial caps on significant words, upper case, or all initial capitals.
7. Custom style sheets
You can build your own style sheets or grab one of the fantastic freebies that have been created and generously shared by other editors. My three current favourites are:
Join the PerfectIt Users Facebook group and click on the Files tab to access the style sheets. How often to run PerfectIt
How often should you run PerfectIt it? It's up to you. I like to run it three times: at the start of a project, in the middle and at the end.
Other benefits
There are three more things I love about PerfectIt's functionality.
That's the thing about PerfectIt and me – we're partners. It does what software's good at so I can do what humans are good at. Fancy trying it? Visit the Intelligent Editing website. If you've bought one of my courses or books direct from this website, log in and grab your special discount code. Related resources
> Author resources library (includes links to free webinars and writing tools)
> Editor resources library (see in particular the Editing Tools section)
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors
Give your novel a sentence-level workout. Here are 6 common problems, and the solutions that will improve the flow of your fiction and make the prose pop.
Review your novel for 6 common problems. None involve major rewriting, just relatively gentle recasts that will improve your prose significantly, and make your reader's experience more immersive.
1. Assess invasive adverbs 2. Remove redundant filter words 3. Take the spotlight off speech tags 4. Pick up dropped viewpoint 5. Trim anatomy-based action 6. Turn intention into action 
1. Assess invasive adverbs
Not all adverbs and adverbial phrases are bad. Suddenly, slightly, slowly, nervously, calmly, quietly can be effective if used now and then.
However, overuse is often a symptom of an author telling us what’s already been shown, which means the adverbs are repetitive and cluttering. In the two examples that follow, they can be ditched because 'fidgeted' shows the nervousness, and the apology in the dialogue shows the regret.
EXAMPLES
Even when adverbs are telling us something new, consider elegant recasts that use stronger verbs but still keep readers in the moment.
EXAMPLES
2. Remove redundant filter words
When readers are told of doing being done by a viewpoint character, filtering is in play. Realized, knew that, wondered, thought, saw, and decided are just a few examples.
The reader is already experiencing the story through a viewpoint character. For that reason, we often don’t need to be told that they realize, see, think or feel anything. We’re already in their heads. It’s telling what’s already been shown.
EXAMPLES
Filtering pulls us out of the deep, limited viewpoint. Worse, it’s repetitive and obvious. Jane has already looked at the screen so we know her eyes are doing the work; telling us that she saw as a result of her glancing is redundant. In the example where Matthew’s the narrative viewpoint character, we needn’t be told he feels the thumping in his temples, since if he weren’t feeling it he couldn’t report it. Nor do we need to know he’s thinking about that third glass because we’re already in his head. 
3. Take the spotlight off speech tags
'Said' is almost invisible when it comes to dialogue tags. A smattering of 'asked', 'replied', 'whispered', and 'yelled' can also work well.
Sometimes tags aren’t even necessary because it’s obvious who’s speaking. Other times, we can replace a tag with an action beat than conveys movement and emotion. Readers should be focused on the dialogue. If a showy tag is necessary to convey a character’s voice or mood, the speech might need a rethink. In the examples below, the speech tags do the following:
EXAMPLES
ALTERNATIVES
4. Pick up dropped viewpoint
Narrative viewpoint is a big topic so I’ve focused on two common sentence-level slips:
The viewpoint character reports what they can’t know Reporting what can’t be known often comes with filter phrases such as 'could tell (that)' and 'knew (that)'. In this example, John is the viewpoint character. We experience the story though his senses.
EXAMPLE
There, behind the desk, sat Reja, the girl he’d dated two decades earlier. ‘Sergeant John Davis,’ he said, and held out his hand. He could tell she didn’t remember him. Actually he can’t tell any such thing. It might seem that way, but for all John knows, she could be hiding it because she has another agenda. Telling us that’s not the case removes any underlying suspense – stops us asking the question. This might seem like a small slip but it’s the kind of thing that turns over all the power of a limited/deep viewpoint to an all-knowing narrator and rips apart the tight psychic distance between reader and the viewpoint character. Here are two recasts that avoid the viewpoint drop:
ALTERNATIVES
There, behind the desk, sat Reja, the girl he’d dated two decades earlier. ‘Sergeant John Davis,’ he said, and held out his hand. She showed no sign of recognizing him. There, behind the desk, sat Reja, the girl he’d dated two decades earlier. ‘Sergeant John Davis,’ he said, and held out his hand. There was no recognition on her face. Non-viewpoint characters’ internal experiences Here we’re talking about head-hopping. It’s when readers are able to access emotions, mood and thoughts of a non-viewpoint character. In the example that follows, Reja is the viewpoint character.
EXAMPLE
Bloody fool. Who did he think he was? Reja jammed her hat down over her ears. No way was she leaving with him. John could have kicked himself. He shouldn’t have come on that strong. Not after what she’d been through. The solution is to recast the text so that these emotions, mood and thoughts can be inferred or accessed externally – for example, through movement or speech – by the viewpoint character only. Here’s a possible recast.
ALTERNATIVE
Bloody fool. Who did he think he was? Reja jammed her hat down over her ears. No way was she leaving with him. John palmed his forehead and spluttered an apology. ‘I shouldn’t have asked. Not after … well, you know.’ 
5. Trim anatomy-based action
Prose is more immersive when readers aren’t told what they can assume is being done by body parts that are associated with particular actions – holding with hands, gazing with eyes, standing to their feet, kneeling on their knees, nodding heads, and shrugging shoulders.
In the example below, we might remove the obvious body parts and focus more specifically on the part of John's legs doing the kicking and the impact of his action. As for the gun-toter, the hands have been ditched.
EXAMPLE
John kicked out with his legs. The woman stumbled, righted herself and came at him again, pistol raised in her hands. ALTERNATIVE John kicked out, slamming his heel into her kneecap. The woman stumbled, righted herself and came at him again, pistol raised. 
6. Turn intention into action
Sometimes the reader needs to know what a character wants to achieve from a particular action. This is about the why of an action.
EXAMPLE
Jane squeezed the detergent into the porridge. Just a couple of squirts to give Alice a taste of her own medicine. However, when an author means to show the how of an action but tells of intention to act, there’s a problem. The red flag to watch out for is 'to'. We can check whether the focus is on point by asking a question: What action do we want to show the reader (via Jane)? If we want to show the reader that Jane can lift her wrist – because that’s what the first example below is showing us – we can leave as is. However, that's rather dull; it's more likely that we want to show that Jane is checking the time, and so a leaner alternative is more effective.
EXAMPLE
Jane lifted her wrist to look at her watch. Bang on two. ALTERNATIVE Jane checked her wristwatch. Bang on two. Summing up
None of these 6 tweaks are rules! Think of them instead as suggestions to consider, ideas that can help you smooth and tighten up your prose.
And don't worry about them at first-draft stage. Use that space to get the words on the page. Put your sentence-level editing craft in play with a later draft, and once your story's structure, plot and characterization have been fully developed. Further reading
Want to develop your line-editing skills? Check out these resources:
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors
Every author deserves to work with an editor who’s a great fit for their book.
Commissioning editorial help means investing your money and your trust in someone you might never have met. It’s therefore critical that you choose the right editor. Below are 7 reasons why I won’t be a good fit for you. 
1. You’ve written an academic or non-fiction book
Fiction and non-fiction are different. Yes, there are conventions when it comes to spelling choice and grammar, but fiction often requires a nuanced approach that respects not just authorial style but character voice and environment too.
Specialist fiction editors deal with issues that a specialist academic editor won’t. For example: > reviewing consistency of narration style and viewpoint > ensuring dialogue evokes mood, voice and intention > checking character-trait consistency > evaluating shown versus told prose And academic editors regularly tackle issues that fiction editors don’t. For example: > cross-checking in-text citations against references > checking tables, figures, images and captions > reviewing complex chapter structures > ensuring multiple heading levels are consistent and applied logically But there’s something else. Fiction editors need not only to allow non-standard variants in grammar, punctuation and syntax, but embrace them. Why? Because that’s where the magic can happen. I’m a specialist fiction editor. You don’t want me in charge of ensuring the references in your article on cross-generational sexualities, life course and ageing are formatted according to Harvard. Hire an academic editor instead. However, if you struggle with point of view, or worry your chapters lack suspense, I can help.
Need help understanding grammar and punctuation in fiction?
I have a library of resources dedicated to helping fiction writers get to grips with different aspects of sentence mastery. Find out more about the following: > narrative point of view > grammar > punctuation > dialogue and thoughts > mood and rhythm 2. I don’t work on your novel’s genre
Some fiction editors work across genres, which is absolutely fine. I choose to specialise in crime fiction, mysteries, thrillers and suspense.
Despite genre tropes – recurring themes that readers enjoy and expect – there’s no formula to writing great fiction, which means there’s no formula when it comes to editing these books either. For example, character voice, story arc, plot, and authorial style are just four reasons why Ian Rankin offers a different reading experience to Harlan Coben, and why both those writers’ novels have a different feel to them from Margaret Atwood’s books. So why am I picky about genre? It’s simple. I have a fixed number of hours every weekday to devote to my job. I want to love every minute of working with an author. And so just as I choose to drink black tea because that’s how I like it, so I choose to specialize in crime, mysteries, thrillers and suspense. If you’ve written literary fiction, romance, young adult, erotica or historical fiction, I recommend you work with an editor who loves to edit those genres. That way, you can be sure they’re invested in your book in the same way I’m invested in everything from the cosy whodunit, to the hardboiled police prodecural, to the high-octane thriller. Of course, many novels are hybrids, for example: > romantic suspense > supernatural mystery > sci-fi thriller > historical crime fiction I welcome the opportunity to work on hybrids because they still tick my suspense and thrill boxes!
Need help deciding whether to work with a subject/genre specialist?
For an overview of just some of the subgenres in the crime and thriller field, read: Crime fiction subgenres: Where does your novel fit? And if you need more guidance on working with a specialist, try a few episodes from The Editing Podcast’s Genre and Subject Editing Collection below. 3. You need help with plot and story structure
If you’re committed to getting your novel’s structure right before you do anything else, I commend you.
You clearly understand that there are different levels of editing, all of which serve a different purpose, and that big-picture work around plot and structure comes first. I’m a specialist sentence-level editor, which means I come in after that big-picture work’s complete. Line work focuses on the mood, rhythm and readability of your narrative and dialogue. It ensures your readers are captivated and love every minute they spend on the page with you rather than flicking to the end to find out whodunit. Editors like me focus on the following: > authenticity of phrasing and word choice in relation to character voice > spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, hyphenation and capitalization > dialogue expression: style, tagging and punctuation > effectiveness of sentence-level narration > character-trait consistency > pace and flow: special attention to repetition and overwriting > told versus shown prose > cliché and awkward metaphor > use of tenses > layout guidance > letter, word, line and paragraph spacing > chapter sequencing > standard document formatting
Need more help understanding the different levels of editing?
If you’re unfamiliar with the different levels of editing, watch this video, listen to the audio, and download the accompanying free booklet. 
4. You need the work done next week
Many professional editors get booked up fast and months in advance.
I recommend you start researching who you want to work with before you’ve finished writing so you know what their availability is. That way you won’t be disappointed. I'm usually booked nine to twelve months ahead, so unless a client cancels I won’t be available to help you next week. Bear in mind, too, how much time the novel edit will take. Two factors are length and complexity. These are ballpark figures, but I set aside the following for the types of editing I offer: > between 2 and 5 weeks for line editing > between 1 week and 3 for proofreading Developmental work might take an editor even longer depending on how much help a writer needs. If you’re working with several editors at different stages, you’ll need to build time into the overall schedule to review their work and implement their suggestions.
Want to understand more about how fast editors work?
For an overview of the factors that influence how fast an editor can work on a manuscript, listen to this episode of The Editing Podcast: How long does editing take? 5. You need a cheap editor
Every author has a budget based on what they’re prepared to pay and able to pay. Every editor has a budget based on what they want to earn and need to earn to make a living.
Sometimes there’s a good fit; sometimes there isn’t. Many editors (me included) don’t publish prices on their websites because each project needs to be assessed on its own merits. And so while I can’t tell you what it will cost to have your novel edited without seeing a sample, I can tell you that if it’s 80K words long, it’ll cost you way more than a couple of hundred quid. My line-editing speed is around 1,000 words per hour depending on the complexity of the work. That's why I said above that line editing a novel can take between 2 and 5 weeks. Now stack that up against what any working person needs to earn to feed themselves, pay their rent/mortgage, and meet their taxation and insurance responsibilities every month. The question is this: will someone who's willing to edit 80K words for £250 invest 80 hours on the project? If their average speed is similar to mine, they'll earn £3.13 an hour. That's not sustainable, which means corners have to be cut somewhere along the line. Unless editing is just a hobby and someone else is paying the bills. This isn't a hobby for me and I pay my share of family expenses, so if you're looking for a bargain, I'm not the right editor for you. Instead, try one of the marketplaces that specialize in freelance services at every price point.
Need more guidance on how to save money on editing?
If budget’s an issue, read about money-saving tips and tools in these two blog posts: > 10 ways to proofread your own writing > How much does fiction copyediting and proofreading cost? 6. You want absolute perfection
I’d love to tell you I’m perfect but, alas, I’m only human.
Most professional editors take pride in ensuring that they’re highly qualified. And even when we’ve completed our foundational training, we continue developing our skills throughout our careers. Some of us are members of industry recognized bodies with professional codes of practice. For example, I’m an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading. That means I’m professionally bound to do my very best for you. What it doesn’t mean is that I can make your book 'perfect'. That's because there's no such thing. Stylistic editing is subjective, and when it comes to fiction, there’s always room to bend the standard so-called rules of grammar and punctuation because it’s in the prose’s best interest. A pro fiction editor can work with you to make your narrative and dialogue pop. Will a pedantic Amazon reviewer who knows nothing about literary devices agree with the decision to omit a comma in favour of polysyndactic rhythm? Possibly not. That doesn’t mean your editor made a mistake. It means fiction editors seek to balance sense and sensibility. If you're looking for an editor who's practically perfect in every way, ask Mary Poppins if she's available!
Still not sure about how ‘perfect’ a qualified editor should be?
Read Will it be perfect – honest advice about what’s realistic. Most editors include their professional credentials on their website so you can review and verify their professional training, affiliations and teaching materials. Take a look at my Qualifications page as an example. 7. Your best friend read your book so it just needs a quick proofread
If you best friend (or your mum or granny) has read your novel and thinks it’s ready for a final once-over, they might well be right … if your best friend (or your mum or granny) is a pro editor.
Your book will also be ready for a proofreader if it’s been through previous multiple rounds of editing – structural, line- and copyediting. And if you’re very lucky, or very experienced, or very brilliant, you might have nailed everything yourself and be on track for a final round of prepublication quality control. What you still won’t be ready for is a quick proofread. There’s no such thing as a quick proofread. Proofreading is meticulous work that focuses on every word, every sentence, every paragraph. It incorporates layout and consistency checks too. It’s the last stage of editing but not a fast stage of editing. Most editors can proofread faster than they can line- or copyedit, but I don’t know any who can whizz through a whole book in a couple of hours and be confident that they’ve caught most of what needs catching to a professional standard. And so if you’re looking for fast, I recommend you consider the following: > A manuscript evaluation: suggests structural improvements at story level > A sample edit: suggests stylistic improvements at sentence level Both types of review will also give you a sense of how the editor works.
Want to know more about proofreading and sample edits?
To find out more about sample edits, and why they’re useful, read this blog post: What's a sample edit? Who does it help? And is it free? To find out more about what proofreading entails, and get your hands on a free checklist for use with print books, check out the following: > Proofreading checklist: How to check page proofs like a professional > Self-publishing? Why the last thing you need is a proofreader > Page proofs and the proofreading process (listen below) Wrapping up
There's a teacup for every saucer according to my podcasting pal Denise Cowle's auntie! She's right.
Sometimes a writer and an editor are a great fit; sometimes we're not. That's not a problem because there are thousands of writers and thousands of editors. Make sure you're working with one who's a great match for you.
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. FIND OUT MORE > Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader > Connect: Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn > Learn: Books and courses > Discover: Resources for authors and editors
If you're wondering whether fiction editing is for you, read this free 35-page guide to help you decide whether you're a good fit.
It's called Becoming a Fiction Editor and it's packed with information that will help you decide whether to take the plunge. 
What will you learn about fiction editing?
You'll discover why it's different from non-fiction editing and how to ensure you're ready to serve those who write fiction.
> Preparing for a fiction editing career > Types of fiction editing > Fiction editing training > Working with indie authors > Working with publishers > Being a visible fiction editor > Is fiction editing right for you? > A selection of free fiction editing resources I hope you enjoy it! And don't forget to visit the Editor Resources page for lots more free advice, templates and booklets and webinars.
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
In this episode of The Editing Podcast, Louise Harnby and Denise Cowle talk to Rich Leder about writing screenplays and novels. Rich has worked with some of the biggest names in the movie industry. He shares what he's learned about Hollywood, TV and novel craft.
Listen to find out more about
Rich has been a working writer for more than three decades. His credits include 19 produced movies—television films for CBS, Lifetime, and Hallmark and feature films for Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures, Tri-Star Pictures, Longridge Productions, and Left Bank Films—and six novels for Laugh Riot Press. He’s been the lead singer in a Detroit rock band, a restaurateur, a Little League coach, an indie film director, a literacy tutor, a magazine editor, a screenwriting coach, a wedding guru, a PTA board member, a commercial real estate agent, and a visiting artist for the UNCW Film Studies Department, among other things, all of which, it turns out, was grist for the mill. He resides on the North Carolina coast with his awesome wife, Lulu, and is sustained by the visits home of their three fabulous children. Music Credit 'Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
In this episode of The Editing Podcast, Louise Harnby and Denise Cowle talk about editing short-form content such as newsletters, letters, blog posts, short stories, essays and reports.
Listen to find out more about
Music Credit 'Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses.
In this episode of The Editing Podcast, Louise Harnby and Denise Cowle talk about accountability groups, and how they can help editors and other freelance editorial professionals emotionally and practically.
Listen to find out more about
Music Credit 'Vivacity’ Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP), a member of ACES, a Partner Member of The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and co-hosts The Editing Podcast. Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Fiction Editor & Proofreader, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, connect via Facebook and LinkedIn, and check out her books and courses. |
