Commas and dialogue.

I was reading a particular manuscript a couple of months ago, and I realized I kept changing commas to periods in dialogue. Again and again and again. No, this character can't say this in the tone of stomping away; he says it while stomping away, or he stomps away after he says it. I found the error of putting a comma after all dialogue, no matter what came after, to be far more prevalent than I thought, and I worry that I was missing this error in earlier manuscripts. To partially right my wrong, I'm sharing what I've learned, hopefully benefiting authors as much as editors.

As an author, it's a struggle to find good verbs to describe precisely how a character is saying something (although there is the argument that "said" is the only dialogue verb ever needed--I'll get into appropriate dialogue verbs another time). However, it is important that the verb can actually be applied to how someone speaks. Below are a couple examples that just don't quite work.

“No servant ever goes outside the palace,” Beatrice sniffed.
Try talking and sniffing. I end up breathing out of my nose a lot. The author is implying the character's haughty attitude. This is conveyed perfectly if the comma is replaced by a period. Beatrice talks, then sniffs, letting the reader know she's being condescending.

“It is true,” Haargen nodded. “We are just travelers seeking food and rest.”
Same story here, except it's physically impossible to nod a sentence. You nod as a gesture in addition to relaying any information more than a simple "yes." A period in place of the comma fixes it again.

So those two examples sentences were understandable. The general rule is dialogue, comma, character who is speaking, and a verb to indicate the tone of what is being said. The example verbs did provide information about tone, but they don't describe how something was said. They were body language cues written out. Below, however, are some more offensive examples.

“Then come closer, man, so that I might greet you better,” the old man waved for them to come closer.
The period here is obvious. These are two sequential thoughts that simply cannot be combined with a comma. And the old man waving doesn't tell the reader anything more about how the old man spoke. Dialogue can be followed by a period, even if the character speaking is mentioned in the next sentence. 

“That’s better,” a goofy smile on his goofy face.
This is actually missing a "he said" in there. A period won't fix it because the second half isn't a complete sentence; there's no subject. Fragments are okay at times, but here it sounds awkward, and again, a character can't goofily smile "that's better." A character can say "that's better" and then goofily smile. I changed this one to read "That's better," he said, a goofy smile on his goofy face.

The take-away: think about what follows dialogue. If the verb doesn't describe the tone of voice, then use a period. 

Finding freelance work.

My husband's cousin, who also graduated with an editing minor, recently contacted me to ask how I found work as a freelance editor. Finding work is naturally one of the more stressful parts of the job; without something to edit, you can't get paid. And even if you find a project, once the project is over you may need to start the search all over again. Here are some ideas:

Self-Publishing Presses. When I moved to Pittsburgh, I didn't have a job and I wanted to edit. So I Googled "publishing press in Pittsburgh." The library chain for Pittsburgh (Carnegie Libraries) had a website that listed some publishing houses in the area. The list included university presses, self-publishing presses, school material publishers, and more. First looking at the list a year ago, I was disappointed that I couldn't find any blatant job postings; I felt that I would be seen as desperate if I emailed a press asking for a job. A year later, I realized that's the only way to go. I picked a couple presses off the list (based on my interest and experience) and emailed their managing editor, describing my experience and attaching my resume. One press said, "sorry, don't need you," and the other asked, "how much do you charge?" And now I freelance for the latter. 

University Presses. While this route didn't work for me, if you live in a city with universities, they are bound to publish anthologies and journals on a variety of topics. Try contacting someone at the press to see if they need an editor. 

ESL Editor. Carnegie Mellon University, where Brian goes to school, has a large foreign student population. Most universities will have a percentage of students who speak English as their second language, and as such, usually need some grammar help when writing college-level papers. This extends even to graduate students writing dissertations and theses. Even people who speak English as their first language need their dissertations edited. So advertise on campus! Make a nice flyer with your rates, contact info, and maybe something to establish your credibility, and hang them up around the university, focusing on communal bulletin boards. If you have a certain subject you'd rather edit, figure out which building houses those kinds of classes and advertise there. You may need to ask permission. 

Local Writing Groups. I ran into a neighbor who has a writing group of about ten people meet at his house every week. Many of them are interested in self-publishing and really need an editor. When he realized I had experience editing, he said he would spread the word and see if anybody wanted to work with me. Try searching online for these kinds of groups; if you get a job with one member of the group, you could likely get a job with another member. 

Online editing. There are several websites where you can advertise or find editing jobs (thumbtack.com, craigslist.com, odesk.com, freelance.com, etc.). These are a last resort for me because I feel like I don't always look as appealing on a website, and you typically have to start out with really low rates until you get good reviews from people. This site has some more detailed ideas about online freelance jobs. 

That's all I got, folks. Feel free to share your own ideas or ask questions! Happy Sunday!

Call me a freelancer.

I have officially started my paid freelance career as an editor.

You may rightly ask what I have been doing with my sweet time since graduating with my editing minor over a year ago. Well let me tell you: editing for cheap. Very cheap. But recently I started freelancing for Word Association Publishers, and I feel like a valued and useful member of a publishing press for the first time. So I decided it was time to start an editing blog as a way to chronicle my journey as a freelancer as well as discuss topics that catch my attention as I edit.

Thank you to Tom, who is giving me a chance to become the editor I always wanted to be.