Comments on: An author and editor chat

By: Stacey

Stacey — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:55:38 +0000

Thanks to all for your comments, and a shout out to Beth Neal, a client of mine whose first YA novel, MY LAST KISS, will be published next spring by FSG!

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 20 Oct 2013 00:07:03 +0000

Most, maybe ever writer, needs an editor. Simply because what we meant to say becomes what we mean to say when it’s refined through a critical eye. From the perspective of an unpublished writer, I’ve learned only writers who don’t truly believe in their work send it off raw. If we believe in our words, we send them off to fellow writers and editors we meet through networking (something that doesn’t come easy for many of us).

We await their constructive feedback, which can sting at first, mostly because we have no idea how to answer their observant questions, troubleshoot the holes they’ve found in our plot or nix a whole chapter. But given time, the answers come, we rewrite, and if nothing else we have a more complete work.

If the bones of the book are in the first draft, the soul of the story is in the editing.

By: Bethany Neal

Bethany Neal — Sat, 19 Oct 2013 18:02:42 +0000

I totally agree about the fresh eyes thing. Sometimes it can get hard to see the trees through the forest when writing. My editor is great about asking really simple questions that pinpoint exactly what I was struggling to achieve in the story and allows me to fix it. So is my agent for that matter! Thanks Stacey. 😉

By: D. C. DaCosta

D. C. DaCosta — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 14:03:24 +0000

That’s an intriguing interview. Being unpublished myself, I’m intrigued by the idea that neither party felt her first copy was “done”. I guess there’s hope.

I am envious of their working relationship. Having a true partner in your profession is a joyous thing.

By: Michael J. Kannengieser

Michael J. Kannengieser — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 12:28:59 +0000

I have been with my publisher for a little over a year, and I have been lucky enough to work with the same in-house editor for both of my books. However, for my latest novel, Burning Blue, which is set for official release November 4th of this year, I worked with my own editor first, before working with my publisher’s editor, to gain some outside perspective. My editor was very helpful in shedding light on some of the characters in the story who had too much dialog, or in some cases not enough. The in-house editor found a point of view slip and suggested some clarification of some of the police jargon I used — which I thought I had already wrote rather generically. It is good to be able to use the same editor consistently, but sometimes another set of eyes is a great help. However, the high turnover rate of editors suggested here could add confusion to the editing process.