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Reviser Editorial

Jay Fernandez

  • WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?
  • WHAT IS EDITING?
  • WHO AM I?
    • Bio
    • Awards
    • Clients
    • Publications
  • WHAT DO I COST?
  • PUBLISHED WORK
    • Clips
    • Development Work
  • TESTIMONIALS
  • WRITING SHOTGUN
  • Contact

WHAT IS EDITING?

I’m glad you asked.

The mission of any good editor is simple: to help make a writer’s work more persuasive, more entertaining, more comprehensive, more memorable, and more impactful. Even the most talented writers benefit from a critical eye with no stake in the process other than wanting to help the author improve her work and make it as strong as possible. I will read for clarity, structure, transitions, style, language, voice, detail, depth, and humor (if the piece is meant to be funny — and even if it’s not, actually).

This often involves a talent for ventriloquism whereby the editor sinks into the work enough to understand the writer’s voice and style, then strives to amplify its strengths and bolster its weaker aspects — basically, the editor pushes the piece closer to what it wants to be (which isn’t always immediately clear to the writer).

When I work with a writer, I try to approach things the way the best coaches do. For example, I’m not just going to show you how to kick a soccer ball. I’m going to illuminate larger aspects of the game that make clear why kicking the soccer ball a certain way in certain circumstances is most effective. Words are such beautiful things. And they can be conjured to make different types of magic. Understanding writing with a capital W is essential to wielding words at the sentence level with power and precision.

I’m a writer, too, and I’ve worked with many editors over the years. Some had a better bedside manner than others, but all had the same goal: to make my pieces clearer and more persuasive to the reader, who is ultimately the one we’re all trying to please, surprise, and move. In my writing, I have made a point to be as versatile as possible — You want a Q&A? Yep. Cover feature? Sure thing. A ghostwritten column? Hit me. An opinion piece? On it. A crossword puzzle? Why not? — and I bring the same approach to my editing work. Whatever it is, show me what you’re trying to do and I’ll help you do it. I want you to feel increasingly confident and empowered as a storyteller.

I’m full-service, which means I will tackle copyediting corrections (punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc.) along the way — I’m a tad OCD, which can occasionally be irritating, so I may as well monetize it.

I work in Microsoft Word or Google Docs using the Track Changes feature, which allows the writer to see every comment and correction I suggest. She is then free to accept or reject (or discuss with me further) every potential change in the piece.

The bottom line: Everything can be improved, and the process can be a tremendously satisfying collaboration if approached in the right positive spirit by everyone involved. So, let’s get to it.

Let’s Talk!

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WHO AM I?

(Bona Fides)

My name is Jay A. Fernandez. For more than 25 years, I’ve been a writer, reporter, and editor, both on-staff and freelance, for dozens of top-tier publications and organizations in Washington, D.C., New York, and Los Angeles. From The Washington Post and ACLU Magazine to City of Hope and the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter, I have fashioned a multifaceted career as a reliable, thorough, imaginative, and versatile content craftsman. As an editor, I can improve most any kind of writing — and do it on a deadline. I simply love language, from the profane to the poetic.

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