I'm thinking about becoming an editor. What kind of education do you need? Where do you start?
I started as a beta for my friends’ fanfics. Then I started doing pre-submission edits for the manuscripts. Then one day the publisher of a friend’s manuscript was having a meltdown on Twitter because he’d just lost the editor who was doing the work on something that had to be done the next week--and a friend of that friend said, “Oh, Gehayi will do it.”
And I did. It had been edited and published before by a different publishing house; it just had to be checked, basically. And after that, the publisher hired me as a freelance editor.
That was back in 2009. I left that house in 2012, and I’ve worked for two more publishing houses since, counting my current employer. And I’ve also continued freelance editing for private individuals.
I don’t have special training, unless you want to count being good at English and getting a very thorough grounding in spelling and grammar while at school. (You will run into people who think that Spell-Check is a sufficient editor, alas.) Research is often a big part of my job as well. It helps to like research; it can generate a lot of obstacles and plot twists, should you need to suggest them.
One caveat. The big problem with editing is that unless you go to work for one of the Big Five and have a regular salary, you’re not going to make much money. Small to medium publishing houses often pay editors by the word count in the manuscript...fractions of a penny for each word. This is not unusual in the industry.
tbh, no, not really. i just kinda wing it. like, generally, i aim to help/make people happy, but… i don’t have an actual Creed™
20: would you rather live in narnia, middle earth, hogwarts, or somewhere else?
uh, out of just those three: hogwarts, so i can have magic and stuff while still having modern technology. out of anywhere though? put me in the mass effect universe, or breath of fire 3’s world.
30: pick one of your favorite quotes
“even if it makes others uncomfortable, i will love who i am,” from janelle monáe’s song “Q.U.E.E.N.” honestly that line has made me tear up on multiple occasions (and actually cry once lmao)
OH MAN also good point about the law, like, dumbledore had zero right to just...take Harry? And dump him somewhere wtf? Also, Sirius getting to grow up and actually be an adult is Everything to me, and Remus being accepted and loved and supported for 12 years and Harry getting the family he deserves oh god. EMBARASSING QUIDDITCH DADS YES. And consider Harry showing them the Marauders map and they have a moral panic "should we take it from him?? He is in danger but this is our LEGACY"
okay I am regularly infuriated by Dumbledore’s actions on Halloween of 1981.
First of all, Dumbledore not only kidnaps Harry, he makes someone else do it. He literally gives Hagrid, who trusts Dumbledore, and is also trusted by others and is a good person, orders to kidnap a baby. Had Dumbledore been there in the wreckage of Godric’s Hallow, you know, I know, Dumbledore knows, that Sirius probably would have put up more of a fight or argument about taking Harry. Hagrid, however, wouldn’t have any motivations other than doing what he believes is best for Harry, Sirius knows that, we all know that, and Dumbledore uses Hagrid’s good will for his own ends.
(Like, throughout the series Dumbledore is definitely not above using those who feel like they owe him (remus, hagrid, harry) by having them do things for him. and I think that is truly disgusting.)
And Dumbledore knows that he is making Hagrid do something illegal. Dumbledore knows what the Potters’ will contains, most likely, and that they leave guardianship of Harry to Sirius (or he could at least rightly assume) but there’s no reason that Hagrid would know that he’s outright refusing custody of Harry to his rightful guardian.
So first of all there’s all that lovely manipulation of Hagrid. Oh man but what I wanted to talk about was how fucking illegal all of the shit Dumbledore does because it’s the perfect example of Dumbledore taking the law into his own hands because he believes he knows better than everyone else.
He decides the custody of Harry. Because...well honestly he just does. He ignores the last wishes of Lily and James, the protestations of McGonagall, but mostly he just decides that he’s Dumbledore so he’s better, and he can just ignore the law if he feels like it. And his reasons to McGonagall are straight up bs, like, that he’s doing it so Harry would be humble, wtf is that, there are probably plenty of families who would take him in and raise him as a muggle, or even raise him as a wizard, but teach him well about humility and shit. Instead, Dumbledore knows that it will be better for his plan if Harry grew up unhappy, if he saw Dumbledore as a savior, would be more willing to die if he didn’t have too many people or happiness tying him to the world. He knew that a battered, abused child would be more easier to manipulate.
Honestly Dumbledore let a child suffer emotional and physical abuse for ten years and then made himself a savior by pulling the child out of it, making sure the child would then feel indebted to him.
It’s just all so fucking gross god I hate Dumbledore.
do you ever think about remus and sirius and the adopted family harry could have had and CRY. because i spend a lot of time thinking "what if harry had been adopted by sirius instead of given to the dursleys and then sirius and remus got together and everything was FINE" or "what if sirius and remus HADN'T DIED"
DO I??? ONLY EVERY SECOND OF MY LIFE. I have unfinished fic about this.
could you imagine how much happier everyone would be if Dumbledore had like, followed the fucking LAW and followed Lilly and James’ will? IMAGINE. There was literally no evidence against Sirius, no reason for Dumbledore to even put Harry in someone else’s custody temporarily.
So imagine Sirius like, coming with Hagrid to Privet Drive or something okay, and it all comes out like, what Dumbledore had been planning to do and Sirius would easily admit the switch with Peter and okay Remus would be furious at Dumbledore and so betrayed, because as disillusioned Harry is in DH when he learns all about Dumbledore’s dark past, Remus would have that same moment here, and I think that Sirius and Remus are both smart enough to kind of start putting together the fact that Dumbledore has plans.
But anyways, like in that fic I have, I have this idea that Sirius, coming from the rich, high class, knows a bit about Wizarding Law (of which I am assuming there is one, although from the world building we get in the books there doesn’t seem to be much) and would know about how to get a lawyer and such and at least threaten to protect Harry legally. And as determined he is in this whole endeavor, he’s also terrified, and he’s like home alone with Harry for like half a day before he ends up contacting Remus out of sheer fear and panic. Because like, for so long he’s just been focused on keeping Harry with him, and that’s kept the fear and grief away, but as soon as it is all settled it all comes like, crashing down on him and Sirius just doesn’t know what the fuck to, which is why he calls Moony, bc Moony was always the best at actually planning, and Remus comes over and Sirius is just kind of standing in the middle of his living room holding a baby and crying and looking confused, and so Remus just takes the baby and takes Sirius by the arm and guides him to the ground and basically the three of them just sit there crying for a while.
And Remus moves in, but he only intends for it to be temporary, but then when he does try to leave, Harry throws a fit, bc of course Harry would have abandonment issues after watching his parents die, so Remus ends up just moving the fuck in.
And one day, Dumbledore shows up at their door, to like argue for his plan, or talk to them or whatever and Remus’ jaw does a twitchy thing, but he can’t bring himself to slam the door on Dumbledore, so he calls Sirius in, and Sirius has NO qualms about slamming doors in people’s faces and basically things are just very cold between them and Dumbledore for a good while (mb my own feelings towards dumbeldore are making their way into my headcanon here)
There’s some angsting about full moons, bc Sirius doesn’t want to leave Remus alone, but they can’t risk the baby, so Remus just ends up using the shack again, and Sirius angsts about it, and gets all sad when Remus is all hurt bc Padfoot wasn’t there to keep him safe
ok but like apparently babies are really good for post-werewolf sads, and like, the first time it happens remus is like, lying in bed feeling all icky and Sirius pops lil baby harry next to him and Harry just like, curls up between Remus’s shoulder and his cheek and naps and Remus is like “omg i am not a monster” bc it’s impossible to hate urself when a baby is like, all curled up next to u and sleepin, and so begins a long tradition of harry climbing in to bed with Remus post-moons and when Harry is older it changes, like when Harry is older he’ll read to Remus, or do homework or practice magic or play on his gameboy (bc harry totally had one of the first, orginial gameboys bc sirius and remus would have been into that ok) but it just becomes a little ritual between the two of them.
AND OK YOU ARE THE ONE THAT SAID “and then sirius and remus get together” so we’re gonna talk about the slowwwwww get together buuurn. like maybe they had a thing in Hogwarts, like in those last few years or right after, and that started fracturing during the war, with all the mistrust and the fighting, and they’re both still so fresh and raw with their grief you know, and are just dancing around each other, unsure of where they stand, like, are they just tolerating each other for safety bc they’re upset and just doing it for Harry is the other only tolerating them bc they’re all they have left now and part of Remus is always afraid that he should leave that he doesn’t really belong, bc Harry is legally and technically Sirius’, and where does he fit in and he’s constantly putting the two of them in danger and he is always feeling like he should leave, in the back of his mind, but then Harry will smile at him and babble at him and he knows he can’t, and it’s that awful cycle of doubt you know.
and after one particularly hard moon Sirius has like, a complete freak out and Remus like, doesn’t really wake up for days and Sirius basically just spends every second he’s not taking care of Harry sitting with Remus, and sometimes both at once, and once Remus really wakes up, he wakes up to Sirius, as Padfoot, pressed against his side. And he just absentmindedly starts petting him, and then Sirius abruptly shifts back and is all like “Moony!” and basically throws himself on him in a hug, and Remus is like “i’m okay you know that I’m always okay” and Sirius is just like “i thought that I almost lost you what would I do if I lost you you can’t leave me” and cries, and Remus just kind of holds him and pets him and then of course Sirius, an impulsive emotional mess, kisses him and remus the thinks about stopping and asking, but instead he just kisses back and they’re good it’s good, they’ll talk about it later and they’ll talk about their fears and insecurities and work their shit out
oh my god also imagine it as the series plays out, imagine how much Sirius and Remus would love Ron and Hermione and imagine Harry getting to go home at holidays and bringing his friends. And even inviting the entire weasley clan once because he wants to treat Molly and imagine Remus and Sirius meeting the twins and secretly aiding them and imagine their collection of old school books and everything they’ve collected and imagine Hermione reading through them and them giving her books on the next holiday and just...IMAGINE ALL THE HAPPY FAMILY MOMENTS THAT WE GET IN OOTP (as few as they are) EXCEPT FOR SEVEN BOOKS
imagine remus and sirirus who would trust harry enough to tell him about the prophecy and then all the shit in OOTP doesn’t happen and imagine how much fun they would have teasing Harry in HBP, imgaine in COS when they hear about the Valentine how much they tease Harry (but never GInny) about it, imagine Sirius and Remus storming in and yelling at Dumbledore for allowing Harry to complete in the triwizard tournament. embarassing quidditch parents remus and sirius who show up to every match with GO HARRY banners and all sorts of embarassing shit like that (Dean Thomas draws them little harry caricatures once and immediately is in charge of doing so forever and ever). Remus and Sirius showing up with Molly to watch the third task and being there to comfort Harry afterwards. remus and sirius cheering and bragging about harry’s OWL results. sirius exclaiming relief when Harry isn’t named prefect bc A PREFECT FOR GODSON???? PLZ NO.
and most of all imagine Harry realizing that he must die in DH and how much more heroic and painful it is when he has so much to lose. imagine him talking to James and Lily and expressing guilt at leaving these people behind. and imagine how huge of a sacrifice it is on his part, to know that there is love and home behind him, and that he has to leave the people he loves in order to save them
