The Process of Editing an Anthology

Editing has been something that I’ve really enjoyed throughout my university studies, and gaining some insight into what is required of a professional editor has been one of my favourite parts of the Publishing MLitt. I find it exciting that the role comes with a lot of responsibility, taking a central role in shaping the book, and I like that it has a creative element. Gaining some practical experience in these areas was especially important to me when I chose the course, so, when I heard about Stryvling and the opportunity of an editorial role, I knew I had to apply!

The prospect of editing an entire anthology did feel pretty daunting at first. One reassurance was that I had a good knowledge of the different stages of the process from the editorial module on my course, through which I had been able to practise and get feedback on my editing technique. These classes were invaluable in helping to plan my approach to the project. Another big help was the fact that there were two of us sharing the editing role. This made the workload a lot more manageable and was a great support throughout the process. It also put my mind at ease that we had two sets of eyes looking over every word!

We started off by reviewing the submissions, giving ourselves a better idea of each individual story and the level of edit required. At this point we were also keeping an eye out for any recurring themes and ideas that could be used to give the anthology a more collective identity. After establishing that there were no major structural changes required, we could begin the copy-editing stage. This involved looking for any inconsistencies or errors, and also editing the presentation of each piece of writing to conform to our Stryvling style guide. We found that this stage was most productive when we met up in person and went through each submission together, allowing us to discuss any changes much more quickly. The editing took several weeks, during which time we also helped put together a draft for the back-cover text. We then sent out the edited copies to our writers, resolving any issues and confirming that they were happy with our edits going forward. After a final look over with our course director, we then had a clean copy that was ready to be typeset! At the time of writing this, we are still in the typesetting stage, so will have some further proofreading to do before the book is ready to be printed.

I think my editing skills have definitely improved during this process; I have a better eye for detail and am far more comfortable using track changes and a style guide. I also feel that I have become better at organisation and balancing different tasks through working on these edits on top of other university and work commitments. More unexpectedly, I also found that communication was a really important part of this role—it was vital to express our thoughts effectively and to keep in touch with our writers, ensuring that any edits we made didn’t take away from their intentions with their writing. Overall, I’ve definitely developed my technique and feel far better equipped to apply for editorial roles in the future!

I have really enjoyed my experience of being an editor and working on so many brilliant stories and poems. I’ve also loved being part of the Stryvling Press team—it’s been great hearing about so many exciting ideas during our weekly meetings and the anthology has been such a fun project to work on! I can’t wait to see everyone’s hard work come together in our final title.

Emma Harrison, Editorial.

Find out more about Time and Tide and Emma on our Team page!