Fine Art • Non-Fiction • Academic • Fiction
“The English language was carefully, carefully cobbled together by three blind dudes with a German dictionary.” Dave Kellett
Fine Art Book Editing
Among her ongoing endeavors, Ann is the Editor of Via Lucis Press, the publishing entity of Via Lucis Photography.
Via Lucis Photography and Via Lucis Press are part of a long-term project to document Romanesque and Gothic churches in France and Spain. The projects include the photographs that are represented on the site, an initial book called France Romanesque which will be finished in 2010, and custom art prints. France Romanesque is illustrated by these photographs by Dennis Aubrey and PJ McKey, with text by Dennis Aubrey, edited by Ann Aubrey Hanson.
Academic Editing
In the academic realm, Ann has edited numerous and diverse academic books, among them:
- O Rare Ralph McInerny: Stories and Reflections on a Legendary Notre Dame Professor, by Christopher Kaczor (2010). Published by St. Augustine Press.
- The Ethics of Abortion: Women's Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice, by Christopher Kaczor (2010). Published by Routledge.
- Hellenisms: Culture, Identity and Ethnicity from Atiquity to Modernity, by Katerina Zacharia (2008). Published by Ashgate Variorum.
- Genocide in the Middle East: The Ottoman Empire, Iraq, and Sudan, by Hannibal Travis
- Between Religion and Culture: Three Generations of Iranian Jewish Women from the Shahs to Los Angeles, by Saba Soomekh
- The Church: Christ in the World Today, author and editor Ann Aubrey Hanson (St. Mary’s Press)
- Gulag Voices: Oral Histories of Soviet Detention and Exile, by Jehanne M. Gheith and Katherine R. Jolluck (Palgrave Publishers, a Macmillan Press)
- The American Bourgeoisie: Distinction and Identity in the Nineteenth Century, by Sven Beckert and Julia Rosenbaum (Palgrave Publishers, a Macmillan Press)
- Political Culture in Panama Democracy after Invasion, by Orlando J. Pérez (Palgrave Publishers, a Macmillan Press)
- Master’s theses and Doctoral proposals and dissertations
Non-fiction editing projects have ranged from memoirs to professional books, among them:
- Eldercare: Precious Presence, by Dr. Alex Kodiath
- Policies and Procedures: Social Services Handbook, by Dr. Alex Kodiath
- Precious Legacy: A Family’s Flight from Hungary, by Maria Csanadi, published by Grafikus, 2009.
Fiction Editing
This category ranges from crime thrillers to mysteries to children’s books.
While many people can write, not all writers can edit. Editing takes a sharp eye and an excellent grasp of the intricacies of English. It also takes a love of the language. Editors do not edit because they thrive on correcting writers; they choose to edit because they love the written word and its latent power and drama. Ann is a grammar and punctuation geek. She loves books like The Transitive Vampire and Eats Shoots and Leaves, mainstream grammar books that delight the true language aficionado.
Editing takes careful, constant study, and an innate awareness of the rhythm of language. This is especially true today, when even television newscasters (who one would think would know better) mix up their use of “I” and “me.” People often use “I” instead of the required “me” because they have a sense that the more formal-sounding pronoun is the correct one. They have forgotten the simple rule of dropping “the other”: when in doubt, drop the other person and check your grammar. For example, take the sentence, “Ted gave the puzzle to Nick and I when he was finished with it.” Correct, or not? To test, drop Nick from the sentence: “Ted gave the puzzle to I when he was finished with it.” See, simple. Obviously, “I” was used incorrectly in place of “me.”
When Ann edits books and other documents, she doesn’t merely read for content and continuity. Instead, she instinctively seeks to correct any errors in the following:
- punctuation
- spelling
- grammar
- vocabulary and word use
- sentence structure
- subject and verb agreement
- clarity
- consistency
- redundancies
Levels of Editing
Ann offers various levels of editing:
PROOFREADING: This involves the correction of misspellings, punctuation errors, and formatting errors. When proofreading, it is assumed that the document is complete, that all information is correct, and that it has been edited at the highest level.
COPYEDITING: This includes all of the tasks mentioned in Proofreading, but includes correction of grammar, word usage, capitalization, and formatting. At this stage, it is assumed that the document is complete and all information is correct, but that the document has not yet been edited at this level, including consistency of word usage and style throughout the document.
EDITING: At this level, it is assumed that the document is complete, that the information is correct, and that little or no editing has been completed. Depending on the quality of the writing, Ann may do moderate to heavy rewriting, reorganizing, and sentence analysis. At this point, it is her task to make your writing as clear and coherent as possible, which means she will often question exactly what you meant to say in a particular sentence, paragraph, or chapter. Along the way, she is compelled to proofread and copyedit, since those are inseparable from the primary editing task.