Choosing the right words and using them well can uplift, empower, and support even our most vulnerable communities, but using the wrong words can just as easily do them harm. With this in mind, it is imperative that editors educate themselves on the best practices of conscious editing.
Language
How to Guide an Author to Read Poetry to Improve their Prose
By Georg Sperle @georgsperle
In the developmental editing process, you might notice an author relying on similar images and words that are repeated every so often throughout the manuscript. As editors, we can facilitate and expand the growth of our authors’ prose through poetry to inspire fresh language and images. By encouraging the author to read poetry for specific craft skills and ideas, they can translate what the poets are doing to their prose writing, and add more diverse elements to their style.
Mindful Editing: Substance Abuse Sensitivity
By Courtney Young @courtlbunny
Language is important to our everyday lives. Websites like Addictionary® and the Conscious Style Guide provide the tools for editors to be more conscious of their language when writing about substance abuse disorders, but editors must make the first move to ensure that this language becomes more common across literature platforms.
Overcoming Barriers: Poetry in Translation
By Michela Sottura @sttmichela
Poetry translation is a work of metamorphoses, where there is no space for literal translation, according to translator Edith Grossman. The intrinsic meaning and sounds of a poem are painted anew by the translator, who engages in an artistic transaction between languages.
“You’re crazy” is Lazy: How Editors Can Most Authentically Portray Mental Illness in Fiction
By Emma Wolf
Words have power, and the way fictional stories about mental health are told can have just as crucial of an impact on readers as facts presented in news outlets. Editors have the responsibility to put forth stories that promote a respectful and authentic perspective on mental health, and below are four practices they can implement to achieve this goal.
What Happens In Between: Line Editing for Manuscripts
By Melinda Crouchley
A line edit typically occurs between developmental editing and copyediting, and it’s a sort of transition between making large structural changes and perfecting the mechanics of the language. Not every manuscript needs a line edit, but a line edit would likely enhance most manuscripts because its primary focus is not on perfecting the language but on elevating it.