Today, we welcomed our newest content editor, Emily Ward (who joined the Entranced Publishing team in May) to the blog. She visited to chat and answer a few questions about herself.

 

Eden: Hi, Emily. Tell us a little about yourself. 

Emily: Hey, Eden! I’m an editor and writer living in Oregon. I’m currently studying Linguistics and Social Science at Western Oregon University. I’m married, and we have two crazy cats. I love reading and writing, as you may be able to guess. I love that we’ve come up with so many different ways to tell stories — movies, books, plays, TV. My favorite way is definitely the written word, there’s just something great about how words work together in this amazing way. It’s one of the reasons I decided to study Linguistics, too, is because language is so fascinating to me. We can do so much with it!

 

Eden: How did you come to be a content editor with Entranced Publishing?

Emily: I’ve been writing my own fiction ever since I could hold a pencil. In the past five or ten years, though, I’ve become more serious about it, and it’s moved from a hobby to something much more serious. I started critiquing fiction for other writers on websites like Critique Circle and I beta read for a lot of friends over e-mail. I’ve also helped with various small newspapers and magazines. My college classes have helped me learn even more about English and writing, and I knew I wanted to pursue freelance editing as a career because it felt so right. With Entranced specifically, I previously beta read for Eden, and she told me that Entranced was looking for content editors. I’m very excited to work with everyone here at Entranced.

 

Eden: What do you think is the most important quality for an editor?

Emily: I think it’s very important for an editor to look at the big picture of the story. The details are super important, of course, but it seems to me that wether a story is overall satisfying depends on the progression of the characters and the plot and how the beginning, middle, and end work together. An editor should be able to work with the author so that the characters go through a meaningful journey and the plot comes to a powerful climax and a fulfilling ending. 

 

Eden: What about editing is so appealing to you?

Emily: As I said before, I love stories and I think it’s fascinating that they have so much power. I don’t necessarily think of my job as “fixing” something, more like polishing it up and really getting the story to shine. I love that about it, that an editor and author can work together to bring the story to its full potential. I love that process!

 

Eden: What do you look for in a good story?

Emily: There are so many things that can make a story good or great. I think it’s neat to see how different writers can have completely different strengths. Michael Crichton is all about the thrill and bringing his reader to the edge of her seat while John Green is about character and relationships, but I’ve absolutely loved books by both of them. In general, though, a good story needs to pull me in, whether by the characters and their emotions or by the plot and the directions it goes. A great story will have both. If I wante to be more specific, I’d say I love strong, funny, protagonists I fall in love with; an intriguing, original plot; intense romance; and endings that make me go, “Wow!”

 

Eden: Well, Emily, we thank you for stopping by the blog today. Is there anything you’d like readers to know before you go?

Emily: Just that I’m very excited and optimistic about Entranced Publishing and its lineup. I have no doubt that readers will enjoy the books coming up!

 

We’re all pretty excited about Entranced Publishing!  Thanks for some great answers, Emily!

 

Eden Plantz is Marketing Director and Managing Editor at Entranced Publishing.