How I learnt what not to do when editing a photobook
Learning how to become an editor through mistakes
This year, I worked alongside fellow editor Kelsie on Henghui Sun’s photobook, Art and Solitude: The Story of Vincent, for our Advanced Editing assignment.
I felt confident in my editing abilities before going into this project: at my internship, I’d edited manuscripts and short stories. I’d workshopped with other writers in the course. I’d been edited by classmates.
I was so confident that I decided I didn’t need to do any research before going into our first meeting. I’d just be copyediting words, after all. Anything I didn’t know, I could Google. Then we met up and I realised I knew nothing, and I had already failed my first step as an editor.
- Be prepared
Every piece of writing you edit is different, whether it be fiction, non-fiction, or captions to a photobook. Each author has a different intention, a different vision — thus, you must treat every piece of writing as a new experience.
Being prepared — having a list of questions to ask, knowing what your goal is, and knowing what your task is — is one of the most important things you can do as an editor.
I didn’t even comprehend the possibility that we would have to put in more legwork than a simple copyedit. As we talked to Henghui, Kelsie and I realised he was after a bit more help than that.
Henghui expressed to us that, as English is not his first language, he didn’t feel confident in writing the captions for his photobook. So we offered to help write them. But this is where my panic mode kicked in — how was I going to help write captions without dictating Henghui’s voice? How would I know what he wanted to say? Of course, the answer seems obvious now. But in my I’m-so-stupid-why-did-I-think-I-could-do-this delusional fog, I didn’t think of the most simple solution: ask.
2. Understand intention
The key to answering these questions is to ask your author what they want to convey. It’s not about an editor putting their two cents in whenever they get the chance. Editing is about preserving the author’s voice — finding ways to make it clearer and helping to improve their writing.
Henghui told us he wanted to show not only Vincent’s life as a tattoo artist, but also the isolation he experienced outside of work. This gave us something to work with — a mould that we could begin to shape.
“Editing is about preserving the author’s voice — finding ways to make it clearer and helping to improve their writing.”
It was in this process that I learnt that if I was ever unsure about what the author wanted to express, it’s better to ask than to assume and mess up the meaning. As they say, we all know what happens when you assume something.
3. Don’t be afraid to use your voice
I’m a pretty passive person. Before I speak up, I often psyche myself out. I ask myself “why does what I have to say matter any more than what anyone else does?”
As a result, I tend to keep my opinions to myself. I’ve always found it a hard line to walk between making suggestions to an author or just “letting them have this one”. That’s why I love copyediting so much: it’s just me and the grammar.
During this assignment, I watched my fellow editor Kelsie express her opinions in such succinct and tactful ways. I realised that I needed — and wanted! — to do the same. Her confidence made me more confident.
There were some captions that Henghui added in which described what was going on in the photo. We tried to advise against this — captions should express what the viewer can’t see in the picture. One photo showed a set of keys in the door, and through our discussions we found out the story behind it.
Henghui went to visit his subject’s house, but upon arrival found a set of keys in the door. Vincent, the subject, opened the door to find Henghui with his set of keys in his hand; he hadn’t left the house in two days, and was unaware they were there.
Kelsie and I encouraged Henghui to include this image and caption in his photobook. This encouraged me to speak up more. I began to give my opinion on the layout of the book, where I thought certain images would work better than others. But I realised, speaking up wasn’t making me a dictator. It was creating a collaborative environment. Ultimately, it was Henghui’s book and he could decide whether to take or leave my suggestions. I was just there to help out where needed.
4. Be supportive
At the end of the day, the role of an editor is a supportive one, not an assertive one. As cheesy as it sounds, I think just being there for the author to help out in any way we can is the most important thing we can do. It’s good to remember that editing is not about fixing the author’s writing, but finding ways to make it clearer and helping to improve it.
If we picture editing as a car ride, would we editors be in the backseat? I think sometimes, yes. But when needed, we can jump in the passenger side and give the author directions, trying to make the journey to the destination as smooth and worry-free as possible.
