PREMIUM ARTICLE - Being able to write a book doesn't make you an author--being able to EDIT a book does.
Editing: How Amateurs Become Professionals - Part 1
I’ve been saying for a while now that it isn’t your ability to write a book that makes you a professional author—it’s your ability to edit one. What do I mean by that?
Glad you asked.
I have dozens of books of my own published, and I’ve edited well over a hundred. I’ve learned over the past two decades whether a writer really means it or not when they claim they love editing. And I’ve learned it based on one thing: what they do with the edits they’re given. In part I mean their attitude—do they rant and rail and argue? Simply fail to make the changes requested? But in part I mean something much more fundamental—do they know how to take feedback, sift through it, and solve the problems pointed out in their own way? But in part I mean something much more fundamental—do they know how to take advice, get to the heart of what the problem really is, and then find the solution that will make their book more their book?
To read more of this premium article, you must be a subscriber to either the Writing Track or Writing + Marketing Track.
Subscribe monthly, quarterly, or annually and get not only this class, but ALL the classes in the track you select PLUS premium articles, face-to-face communication, and more!