Working With Editors: A Necessary Evil

Ok, to be fair, editors as a group are not evil. But their influence can feel oppressive to writers who've just poured their hearts and souls into their work.

So first thing to keep in mind when someone has just eviscerated your manuscript is that you and your editor often have very different goals in mind.

Yes, you're both working towards the common goal of preparing your manuscript for publication, but that road is often torturous and full of pitfalls.

Editors, generally speaking, want to cut as much "fat" out of your writing as possible. In the world of writing, writers are the artists and editors are the engineers. I.e. You want your sentence structure to flow lyrically and paint vivid images. They want it clean, precise and as short as possible.

Basically, they want it written like this.

This is partly because the publishers want to spend as little money as possible publishing your book, so they can make a whole lot more. So don't be surprised if you hear "Well, trim 10,000 words out and you'll be ready to go."

Your job as the author is to work with the editor to the best of your ability without sacrificing the key pieces of your writing that you feel are essential. It can be easy to think, "Well, this person is a professional. And if I don't do what they tell me, they might decide not to publish my book after all."

Remember, if you've gotten far enough to have someone in the field professionally edit your work, someone you're not personally paying, then you've done something right. They wouldn't be wasting their time if there wasn't something really worthwhile in what you've written. This also means that to at least some degree you know what you're doing.

Take criticism when offered, and often you'll find that the suggestions your editors make will serve to enhance your work. But don't be afraid to stick up for yourself, or for your characters. You created these people, and in this world, you're their only advocate.

This doesn't mean that you should be combative, but explain why you didn't make a change. Perhaps your editor doesn't know the grand picture the way you do. Perhaps you're holding some important plot piece back for a later time.

I found several instances of that last one in my novel over the last year. I realized that, while releasing such information when I wanted to, it would make a much bigger splash. But I also risked confusing and alienating my reader before they could ever reach the point i was trying to make. So I fixed it.

The upside is that nothing happens really fast in this business, so no matter what you decide, you'll have a reasonable amount of time to think, rethink and reconsider.
Topics: Writing , Author , Novel , Authorship , Control , Creativity , Publishing , Editors