12 Feb Be your own intern
I’m regularly asked for advice about how to break into developmental editing. My own example isn’t exactly helpful: I fell into it in 2010 because I knew someone who gave me the chance to do it, and then I did what I could not to screw up the opportunity. One job led to the next until I’d built a track record and authors began asking for me the next time around. While it’s true that the stars aligned for me—my benefactor was in a pinch (all of the dev editors he worked with were busy at the time) and, I think, he pitied me (I’d just been laid off)—I did have some qualifications: I have an MFA in creative writing from the University of Washington, taught fiction writing at UW Extension for 10+ years, and have been banging my head against the fiction-writing rock for 40 years. Still, I wouldn’t have...