An editing arm has been added to “Sarah Michelle Lynch”, click right here to find out more. It’s all simply explained but my email address is there if you have any questions/queries. I’m not accepting any more projects this year, but I do have openings for early 2016.
I got asked the other day, “Wouldn’t you rather just write all the time and forget editing?” I guess I sometimes ask myself that, too, but my answer was, “No!” In fact my long-term goal is to embrace a bunch of writers under my wings (so to speak) and build something a little bigger than an editing business.
The thing is, just sitting down to write, write, write is too much pressure. Besides, isn’t editing just getting paid to read (that thing most if not all writers love?). Obviously, editing involves much more than just reading…
A few writers read UNBIND, the first book in the Sub Rosa Series and were so impressed, they contacted me, asking if I would edit their books. It’s crazy because that isn’t even the most tightly edited novel I’ve written, the next ones are…! I guess that just proves how each book is a learning curve and each book has its own beating heart to try and train and/or maintain.
What I’m working on right now is an anthology a writing group sent me. I’m proofreading it which makes a nice change for me. Normally I “deep edit” books which means considering how the whole thing can be tightened up. So proofing is a holiday, in comparison.
One of the books I just finished working on is Where Did Your Heart Go? by Audrina Lane. A self-published novel with an existing audience/fanbase is something I’d never worked on before. I worked to maintain the essence of the book, keeping the most pivotal scenes/lines intact, while also reshaping Audrina’s words without cutting their personality away. It was a unique book with diaries/first/third person – but in some respects I think that’s why some people choose to self-pub – because you can go outside the box and break the rules a little. Live a little, if you like. Now I’m seeing selfies of people holding her first print run of that very book and I see the smiles on her face and those of her readers. So, no, I don’t hesitate when people ask, “Wouldn’t you just rather write?” NAH! Because then I wouldn’t appreciate it when I do get to write. I might complain about the balancing act sometimes but as a good friend said to me the other day, “Don’t lie, you love your life.”
Yes, just a bit.
Sarah Michelle Lynch 