In Which I Compare Editing to Baking a Cake

One of the first things I teach newer developmental/story editors is to focus on the big picture. That means looking for problems with a novel manuscript’s plot, character development, and setting. It means noticing perspective/point-of-view problems, flabby scenes, unnecessary exposition. It does not mean pointing out every unnecessary adverb or overused word.

Don’t Overwhelm the Author

For people who are accustomed to copyediting, this can be a difficult challenge – they have trained themselves to notice misplaced commas and awkward phrasings and their radar goes off when they encounter one. They feel they MUST fix the sentence-level problem.

Similarly, newer story editors often want to fix everything that’s wrong in the manuscript so that no one will ever accuse them of missing a problem. Thus, their edits list three-thousand-and-one things for the author to correct.

But trying to fix everything at once and/or focusing too much on the sentence level is counter-productive in developmental editing.

An Analogy

Think about how most things are made or built. They are never put together in one fell swoop. You mix the cake, bake the cake, then frost the cake. You don’t try to frost the cake while you’re mixing it. Similarly, if as the editor you’re trying to tweak the sentences when the story has no central conflict, you’re not actually helping make a better story.

In other words, we’re not worried about the overuse of dialogue tags when the story is so boring we have to drink three gallons of coffee to get past the first chapter. We’re working on helping the author mix the cake at this point. They need the right ingredients in the right quantities: character arc, goal-motivation-conflict, a believable story world.

Only when those ingredients are in place and the cake is properly baked do we need to worry about whether that comma really goes there.

Also on the blog: my post about imposter syndrome. Although this can affect anyone, it does tend to afflict newer editors more. There are solutions!

Genre Pack Special – Buy 2, Get 1 Free

Get all three self-paced genre classes for just $180 (regular price: $270).

This pack includes:

• Editing Science Fiction and Fantasy

• Editing Mystery/Thriller/Suspense

• Editing the Romance

Use this link to make the purchase.

The Club Ed Certificate in the Developmental Editing of Fiction Program

Now Open for Applications!

The Club Ed Certificate Program in Developmental Editing for Fiction is now accepting new applicants into the program (through February 14, 2025). For more information about the program, click here.

You can purchase the classes needed to complete the program individually as you take them, or you can purchase the Club Ed Certificate Program Course Bundle to save money by purchasing all the classes you’ll need at the same time.

To apply to the program, simply email info@ClubEdFreelancers.com stating your full name, best email address, and a few details about your background in editing. If you don’t have any (and that’s okay!), say a few words about your goals for the program. That’s it! Couldn’t be simpler.

Editing for Plot and Story Structure

Starts Feb 10!

$330 (Members: $297) | How to edit for plot and story structure | 4 weeks | Instructor-led | Intermediate

Plot and story structure (also called narrative structure) are the big-picture elements of storytelling that we might call “what happens” and “the framework within which the plot (what happens) is shown.”

For more information and to register, click here.

For Members

The current marketing challenge continues through February 7. Mark your calendars for the next one: April 7 – May 2, 2025.

And don’t forget the discount on the marketing webinar replays! You’ll find that in the membership program classroom.

Upcoming Classes

Classes starting soon:

• Editing for Plot and Story Structure, starts Feb 10, 2025

• Beginning Copyediting for Fiction, starts Feb 17, 2025

• Intermediate Developmental Editing for Fiction, starts Feb 17, 2025

• Editorial Toolkit: Coaching Writers, starts Feb 19, 2025

• Editing for Character Development, starts Mar 17, 2025

About Jennifer Lawler

I help editors figure out what the hell they’re doing.

If you’re an aspiring, new, or established book editor or story coach, I can probably help you learn how to do the work better and more profitably.

Through Club Ed, I offer developmental editing classes, a freelance editor membership program/support group, and a slightly bony shoulder to cry on.

I’ve worked as an editor for more than twenty years. I learned how to edit in the trenches of traditional publishing with its insane deadlines, pitiless competition, and crushing bureaucracy. To that I added a Ph.D in English literature with a specialization in medieval literature because of a long story.

Editorial clients have included Simon & Schuster, Girl Friday Productions, Glencoe/McGraw-Hill, Barnes and Noble Custom Publishing, and others, along with many independent authors. 

For fiction self-paced classes, click here.

For fiction instructor-led classes, click here

For nonfiction self-paced classes, click here

For nonfiction instructor-led classes, click here

For on-demand instructor-led classes, fiction and nonfiction, click here