Our Diary

At Book Architecture, we are wont to say that if it has to do with the written word, we’re interested. And it’s true! We could not possibly generate a static list of the services we provide to meet our clients’ rich and varied needs.

That said, there are certainly staples of the assistance we provide and this year, we’re going to spotlight several of those services starting with, fittingly, Phase One. Just to make sure we’re all on the same page regarding what it is we actually do here at Book Architecture. 

A Phase One is the first phase of development editing, a term which refers to the content editing of a manuscript an author brings to us that is already in progress. 

When a client approaches us for developmental editing, they may have other ideas for how we can work together but this, in my opinion, is the place to start. Whether they have 30,000 words or 180,000 words, provided they have reached a convenient stopping point (and if they have reached out to us, chances are they have) we begin with what they have already produced. 

What we call a Phase One is sometimes known as the editorial letter: a written critique on topics ranging from the sweeping to the detailed, which is discussed in a follow-up conference both to clarify the points contained in the critique and to brainstorm solutions to agreed-upon challenges.

This process accomplishes two objectives. It first and foremost delivers great value in and of itself. The critique generated has a macro section in which we detail larger considerations such as audience, genre, tone, opportunities, and potentially missing material if such exists, as well as possible structural revisions, and a micro section which tethers those topics to specific page numbers and presents observations that are too small for their own category but seem important to confide nonetheless.

Secondly, clients can use this experience as a chemistry check to determine if they want the editing relationship to move forward. Editing is largely a matter of fit. It is usually not a matter of anyone’s integrity whether there is a profitable exchange of ideas, but more whether the client can hear you when you talk, whether they agree with your ideas—or, just as good—whether in rejecting your ideas they come up with their own.

A cooling-off period between receipt of the critique and the follow-up conference (and certainly before any rewriting) allows clients space to go through a set of reactions akin to the five stages of grief: defensiveness, disdain, confusion, hopelessness, and then the light of acceptance may crack the horizon. That’s the time to talk.

A break can also benefit us, the editor; our subconscious will continue to wrestle with how to solve vexing problems.

At the outset of the follow-up conference I think it is useful to hear from authors generally about how they processed the critique and where they are now in thinking about their work in progress. Even though it may sound nice, I don’t want to hear them say, “I agree with everything you said.” The point is neither to agree nor disagree, it is to listen to what sticks with us, what resonates with that yucky yet somehow uplifting quality of an issue that we will feel better having fixed.

I then recommend we use the macro section as an outline for our discussion—tangents will happen, and tangents should be encouraged—but this way we can always have a place to come back to when we need to start our conversation over again. I tell them not to worry, that no matter what structure we choose, everything will come out eventually. When we get to each macro category, I likewise usually invite them to go first, otherwise (standard line) “I will just end up saying the same thing over again, whereas if you go first, I can build off of what you are saying.” That is the point of a follow-up conference, you will recall: “to clarify points contained in the critique and to brainstorm solutions to agreed-upon problems.”

Regarding clarifying points contained in the micro section, it is up to the client how they want to use their time. In my opinion (and I will frequently voice this), the best approach to a discussion of this material is to go specifically to the page numbers where my observations need some context or extension. As in, we don’t have to discuss all of them. Some authors will confide that they have not yet dug in to all of the individual entries in the micro section and I will give them the option of reserving some time to discuss these points at a later date.

Whether this conference happens in person or over Zoom, the session is recorded and provided to the client for future reference.