Many of our members are currently writing, or planning to write, autobiographies and memoirs. John Mahony is an experienced editor who has worked extensively with autobiographies, and he’s sharing his expertise and experience to answer many common questions – on memoir writing as well as how editing works.
John has been editing since 1999, mostly in non-fiction and some novels and film scripts (he’s also a screenwriter). His profile on Reedsy, with testimonials and covers of published books he’s edited, is at https://reedsy.com/mahony-john and can be contacted at jmahony@mail.com.
1. How might authors begin an autobiography/memoir with an interesting hook?
Instead of beginning at the beginning, i.e. starting straight off with your childhood and parents etc., an interesting way to start is by describing a key event or experience in your life, and relating that directly or indirectly to your overall story. Then you can proceed to the usual chronological order of things if you wish.
This is quite a common approach used in recent decades for famous people’s autobiographies. It grabs the reader’s attention and encourages them to read further.
An example I’ve read is a tennis star’s memoir that started by plunging the reader into his experience of facing a relentless machine shooting balls across the net to him when he was young – so all the fatigue and pressure of trying to become a pro was encapsulated in the scene. Much more interesting than starting it with when and where he was born.
2. Why do we need human editors when we have AI and Grammarly?
I was in contact with someone doing a PhD on AI’s potential effect on book editing, so I asked her if AI will run me out of business. Her response was: “I think for now AI will definitely not do that. [Good editors] have a wealth of knowledge and experience that can’t be trained by a data set.”
The same goes for the less subjective and complex process of proofreading: I’ve seen theses where, although the basic grammar was improved by AI, there were still plenty of errors of grammar and in other areas. There’s no substitute for an experienced human when it comes to such a complex and subjective thing like writing, where nuances and human reactions and opinions are so important.
3. How can you balance getting professional editing with keeping your own voice?
It shouldn’t be a problem with a good editor because they will recognise that you have your own unique voice and not attempt to interfere with it unless there’s a serious risk of confusion or lack of readability. Also, a good editor will often suggest ways to rewrite things that are unclear or unusual rather than apply their own style. If the issue is important to you, or if there are specific areas of concern in this regard, it’s a good idea to raise the matter with your editor at the beginning.
4. Do you need a proofreader after an edit?
An editor often has to pay a lot of attention to wider issues like structure, tone, nuances of meaning, and formatting, as well as giving comments and suggestions about the book, so hence may miss some smaller errors and inconsistencies, especially when a book is in bad shape. Further, giving suggestions to the author that things need adding, rewriting or rethinking means the author may then introduce errors in the manuscript later.
Finally, in the professional publishing context, when a book has been typeset the typesetting process often introduces errors into a book that weren’t there before.
So the answer is often yes, but there can be situations where the above kinds of factors are not in play, so a proofreader may not be needed.
5. Beyond word count, what influences editing costs?
It comes down to what level of editing an author wants or needs, and the quality of the writing. I always ask for a fairly large sample of the work before giving a quote (e.g. a few chapters) so I can accurately judge what’s needed and therefore give an accurate quote.
Decades of editing and proofreading experience means that, once I know word count and writing quality, I know approximately how long it will take and therefore what it will cost to edit. My biggest tip to authors wanting to keep costs down is for them to do basic things like spellchecking (which can pick up grammar issues too) and apply correct formatting before sending a book to an editor because there’s no sense paying professional rates for things you can do yourself.
5. What does a good editor bring to a manuscript?
They enable you to write the book you want to write, and can often help you decide or realise what that book is. Without a neutral professional reading your work and giving suggestions and corrections, seeing things you may not see, even the most experienced and successful authors don’t reach the full potential for their books (which is why they all use editors). As a screenwriter, I’ve seen this so often in my own work and it’s why I’ve always sought professional feedback.
Is a style sheet needed in the editing process?
Although it’s often not required, it enables consistency in many types of usage in a book. It can also help an author maintain consistency when they make their own later changes to a book after the initial edit, and can be of use to a later publisher of the book.
6. Is it the editor’s job to fact-check?
Generally no, unless something looks wrong or odd and is thus worth checking. A writer of specialist material is assumed to have a good grasp of their subject. It can be the editor’s job if that is specifically requested by the client, but usually it would lead to costs increasing way too much. The good news is that an experienced editor will have done very wide reading in their own time and have very good general knowledge, which enables them to flag or query any facts that appear doubtful.
7. What makes a biography commercially viable?
Being famous helps. Failing that, a few factors include a new perspective or approach to the typical life story; great, evocative writing; or experiencing a well-known period or event in history from a personal, original viewpoint. For example, I edited a memoir of a Chinese woman recently who was both a participant in and victim of the 1960s Cultural Revolution – so even though she had no public profile or fame, many readers would be interested in that aspect of history and her personal story.
8. What are some things to do about writer’s block?
Take a break from the project and do something relaxing that gives you pleasure, especially something physical like a long walk. Sometimes, if you stop thinking about a book for a few days or weeks or months, you’ll find ideas pop into your head. I’d also advise doing a rough plan of how you see the next part of your book progressing – this will make the actual writing part much easier and less stressful.
9. How do you overcome self-doubt as a writer?
One way is to recognise and accept that self-doubt is a natural and common part of the writing life and process, and indeed any creative process. Most of the world’s great writers have experienced self-doubt (which unfortunately is one reason many of them have self-medicated through alcohol).