Remember Your Editor When You Write
Guest: NAIWE’s Nonfiction Expert Amy Waters Yarsinske
A funny thing happened on the way to editing a large manuscript . . . A case of first impressions — not good ones — ended the editing effort before the end of the first chapter . . . section . . . it was hard to tell. The submission had come to Amy from someone who was not a writer but the publisher was anxious to acquire the subject matter for publication. This meant, for her, a book doctoring job more than an edit but it was proposed as a straight edit, oh, and sight unseen. The manuscript was in bad shape on arrival and impossible to follow. When it takes months to plow through one “chapter” of a book of undefined scope, it is not an editing gig. This book forced Amy to wear two hats: developmental and copy editor – in basic terms – a book doctor with a patient on life support.
This webinar begins with candid conversations between Amy Waters Yarsinske, the presenter, and April Michelle Davis, the Executive Director of NAIWE. This time of informal but informative conversation was included as there were good points addressed that may be beneficial for some participants. If you prefer to skip this bonus content, please navigate to 28:10 where the topic of the webinar will begin
Here’s what you can expect to learn in this class:
The benefits of maintaining good relations with your client
Questions to ask to gauge what the project will need
Why an editor may want to begin with the bibliography
What a book doctor can do to make your book a success
Duration: 2 hours, 25 minutes
Amy Waters Yarsinske is the author of several best-selling, award-winning nonfiction books, published regionally, nationally, and internationally. Amy’s proposal technique was featured in literary agent/author Peter Rubie’s Telling the Story: How to Write and Sell Narrative Nonfiction; she also did a National Press Club panel with Rubie during the No One Left Behind press tour. She has been a regular contributor with international, national, and regional media, to include continued guest spots on national radio. An American in the Basement: The Betrayal of Captain Scott Speicher and the Cover-up of His Death won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for General Non-fiction in 2014, and No One Left Behind: The Lt. Comdr. Michael Scott Speicher Story earned her literary awards, an incredible press tour, and national/international recognition. With over 30 years in the publishing industry, Amy has published over 85 nonfiction books, most of them spotlighting current affairs, the military, history, and the environment with a few biographies and corporate histories interspersed. Amy graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she earned her bachelor of arts in English and economics and the University of Virginia School of Architecture, where she earned her Master of Planning and was a DuPont Fellow and Lawn/Range resident.