Thread 24837164

This is a general thread for the editors of /lit. Please use it to discuss editing, tips, advice, breaking into the business, working with authors, resources, personal history, etc.

Copy, Line, Development: all kinds of editors welcome. Even proofreaders.

>>24837164 (OP)
General thread for /lit/ editors. Use this to discuss editing, advice, careers, working with authors, resources, background, etc.

All kinds of editors are welcome. Even DEGENERATES

I love to edit other people's work. I've been searching for jobs related to academic texts, but getting one seems rather difficult. Does anyone here actually do this for a living? If so, is it freelance or a more stable position?

Editors rank slightly lower than prostitutes in prestige and respectability

I'd be interested in some resources. Although I'm not interested in becoming an editor, more for self-editing my novel before submitting it.

>>24837164 (OP)
Figure I'd ask this here since it's /lit/ adjacent, but is law school a worthwhile pursuit? I'm a STEMfag and lately I've been growing really tired of being a human computer. Seeing products like smart locks essentially get bricked over licensing has also made me a bit cynical about the state of technology, besides the outsourcing and lack of job security. The way I see things, if I can get a high enough LSAT score to get something close to a full-ride, doing something like patent-law seems appealing to me, if only it means that I can alone uninterrupted for large amounts of time. I'm a really shy person but I like to read.

>>24840537
work alone*

Anyone interested in editing a webnovel? is not litRPG or anything like that, is a normal fantasy

How the fuck do you monetize this shit in 2025? For years, for DECADES, I've been the go-to editor and proofreader for all of my friends. They find out I'm good at writing and inevitably they'll say "Hey, can you look at this?" and send me all their shit. I've worked on documents related to non-profit organizations, law firms, even big corporate stuff, purely because all my buddies thought they could bum free editing work off me. And of course, my work has always been good. They've never given me any complaints, at least.

I'm tired of working for free. I'd love to make a living on this shit, or at least make it a side gig. But how do you do that in the present age? Especially when you have to compete with AI? I'm better than AI but how do you convince the average retard with a business degree that? How do you find the average retard with a business degree, period, find them in a way that they'll pay for your services?

>>24840537
The job market will look ludicrously different by the time you graduate, but I'd bet on law, too, being downsized by AI. Find a stable niche within your current field, rather than transition into law.

Why do writers hate editors?
>t. not a writer

>>24837164 (OP)
Why are editors necessary? Are they necessary? If you're just some anon trying to write a book, would you not painstakingly edit yourself? Re-read paragraphs and long sections to suss out what's vital to the prose and what is meaningless and trim the fat? Isn't that part of why we read books - to see how others do it. We all have sections we hate from books we love, where we think the author annoyingly spent too much time on something meaningless.

>>24840814
How do I become a better editor like you?

>>24840814
you have to go work for a big law firm or something

>>24837188
I’d prefer not to.

>>24837164 (OP)
>resources

Here's what we used in my editing course:

>General
The Artful Edit - Susan Bell
The Editor's Companion: An Indispensable Guide. . . - Steve Dunham
What Editors Do - Peter Ginna

>Copyediting
The Chicago Guide to Copyediting Fiction - Amy Schneider
The Copyeditor’s Handbook - Amy Einsohn
The Subversive Copy Editor - Carol Fisher Saller

>Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing: A Handbook. . . - Scott Norton
Developmental Editing for Fiction - Sophie Playle

I don't think I've ever heard of a book about line-editing.