A career as an editor is often a solo adventure, especially if you’re a freelancer. So, we thought one way to better connect with fellow editors was to ask them to submit their responses to a set of questions based on the Five Ws: who, what, where, when, and why. Read on for some thought-provoking, enlightening tidbits from those of us who choose to work with words to earn our keep.
Paul Carlucci is the author of a novel, The Voyageur, and three story collections, The High-Rise in Fort Fierce, A Plea for Constant Motion, and The Secret Life of Fission. He has won the Danuta Gleed Literary Award and has been a finalist for two Ottawa Book Awards and two ReLit Awards. By day he is a freelance editor and writing coach.
Please tell us a little about yourself, the kind of work you do (and where you live), and how long you’ve been an editor.
From my home office in Ottawa, I offer editing services to several client categories. I got my start in journalism about 20 years ago, and I’ve worked in all kinds of publishing areas since then.
I work with traditional presses, self-publishing authors, writers developing fiction and non-fiction manuscripts for submission, institutions and organizations, research professionals, marketers, and students. I do substantive editing and manuscript assessments as well as copy editing and a little proofreading. Over the years, I’ve developed a fairly technical grip on grammar, and I love helping both fiction and non-fiction writers hike the learning curve and become more deliberate with their sentences. I also really enjoy working on reader reports that break down storytelling elements like pacing, dialogue, and point of view, exploring how writing can change when authors apply techniques in mindful ways.
In addition to editing, I’ve written three story collections and one novel, and I’ve won an award and been a finalist for a few others. I’ve also been the recipient of a few grants, and I’ve sat on peer juries for both grants and awards. Booker Prize winner John Banville called my most recent book, The Voyageur, “a marvellous work of art . . . deeply moving.”
Who: If you could edit one famous author, living or dead, who would it be?
I think more in terms of specific books than I do authors, and because I usually work as a copy editor and a substantive editor, I’d like to choose one for copy editing and another for substantive editing, respectively.
I love Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry, but seriously, what’s up with his comma game? I just can’t hear the rhythm. It’s like he littered the lush, woodsy jogging trails of his sentences with spiked pits and even sliding glass doors – and I say this as a huge fan of non-standard grammar and deconstructed sentences, drawn to authors like Garth Greenwell and Mark Haber. As a copy editor, if I could go back in time and work with him on that otherwise wonderful book, I’d be that guy with the insufferable temerity to inappropriately push back on his stets and probably get fired.
As a substantive editor, I’d have loved to work on Skippy Dies by Paul Murray, which I liked even more than The Bee Sting, one of his other big hits. They share similarities in style and humour, and both use natural sciences to make a lot of metaphorical tissue, but I thought Skippy had a more affecting range of darkness and light. The characters are just incredible, from Skippy and his friends to insanely bullying Carl and pathetically grasping Howard, and there’s a surprisingly evil antagonist in Costigan the Automator. Unlike in The Bee Sting, the ending of which had some point-of-view trickery I didn’t quite buy, I’d mostly be along for the amazing ride on this one, making suggestions only to enhance conceptual clarity in a few spots.
Bonus question: It sounds like you always read books from the view of an editor, even if you read for pleasure. What’s going on in your mind when you read?
With fiction, I always start out pretty aware of the language and storytelling techniques, trying to get formally oriented in the author’s approach. With non-fiction, I start by trying to get a feel for the intellectual authority behind the words, like is this glancing and repetitive, or will it strike me as insightful throughout? Once I get going, that part of my brain comes on- and offline depending on what’s happening, and I sometimes find myself tracking elements that I’m thinking about in a client’s work or that I want to make note of for one of my backgrounder documents.
Reading like this is super fun, and it helps me give richer advice to my clients. I’m able to point them to books they can use as references, and to make technical subjects feel more relevant to what established writers do and what clients can do themselves, which makes the learning curve worthwhile.
But having said all that, when I get really absorbed in a book, that part of my brain tends to get pretty quiet. For example, a relatively recent vortex was The Ruins by Scott Smith. So wonderfully disgusting.
What: What is the one thing that has helped you the most in your career as an editor?
Earlier in my career, I didn’t have much formal knowledge of grammar and theory, and I worked mainly with my intuition. I got a lot better at my job when I decided to get serious about teaching myself the technical details and concepts of grammar, style, structure, literary and rhetorical devices, and storytelling. Not exactly groundbreaking stuff, I know, but it’s actually pretty common to meet other editors who work mainly with intuition. Getting technical not only enhances your hard skills; it also enriches your insights, which is especially valuable now that we’re competing with AI.
Where: If you could work anywhere in the world as an editor, where would that be?
It wouldn’t be too far from Ottawa – somewhere in the valley, I’d imagine, likely along Highway 7. It’d be great to own a small home with a little yard and a garden and maybe a forest out back for walking our dog.
When: Was there ever a time in your life when you seriously questioned your career choice?
Yes, definitely. As a contractor, working outside the protection of regulated employment standards can come with some stressful challenges. To make sure I’m enthusiastically delivering on all my commitments and developing mutually positive client relationships, I’ve learned to use a clear and detailed service agreement whenever possible and set friendly but firm boundaries around things like payments and bookings. It’s important that contractors empathize with clients, take occasional lapses in stride, and exceed expectations whenever possible, but it’s equally important that we value our own expertise and advocate for the respectful use of our time. Sometimes, people just won’t share your work ethic or interaction values, and I’ve learned it’s best to let those relationships go as soon as you can, even if you’ve sunk a lot of time and effort into making them function at all. Since taking this approach, I’m less consumed by hellish episodes of career anxiety, but I do still get the odd jolt – they come with the territory, unfortunately.
Why: Why did you choose to become an editor? Or, should we ask: Why did editing choose you?
I’ve been a contractor for about seven years now, and I’d say the work chose me. About 20 years ago, I got started as a writer and gradually took on editing work in journalism and communications. Over time, I found I didn’t really like either career, and I wound up working odd jobs, particularly in construction, which was pretty awful on a lot of levels. My partner, also an editor, suggested I try freelancing with one of those online academic editing sweatshops, and while the work was often exploitative, I did manage to get enough regular experience to build up a client base. Before long, I had a viable business on my hands, one with tools and strategies I’d never really thought of before, like service agreements, cold email campaigns, association memberships, pitch templates, client research, and occasional discounts.
And, of course, we just had to ask the inevitable how: How would you sum up your motto?
Revise, rest, revisit, repeat.
This article was edited by Nancy Hall-Chapman, a freelance communications writer and copy editor based in Toronto.
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