A guest post by Lisa Kilian of What Not To Do as a Writer
There comes a time in every writer’s life when the plot is adequately twisted, the characters are adequately developed, and all the typos have been eliminated with a laser gun. You think.
Actually, you’re not sure if any of that is true because you’ve been staring at the same document on your computer for so long you’re kind of wondering if maybe you didn’t go blind last week. You think you’re reading words. You think those words are good. The dreams about your story have stopped and now all you dream about is book parties and signings and big wigs and wine.
You think you’re ready to submit. To publish. To throw caution to the wind and send that manuscript off for some close reading. Except you haven’t been able to read your own manuscript closely for months now and you’re honestly not sure what it says anymore. Your characters could be marrying dogs or lost somewhere else in the muddle, you have no idea.
That’s why you need an editor.
Someone who doesn’t know you or love you but knows writing and loves reading freshly pressed work. Someone who will look at your characters and say, “Hey, cool story, but did you notice Sally marries a dog on page 23?”
When I receive a manuscript to read, I welcome it with open arms. And the brave writers who have sent their words to me wait patiently in the background brimming with nervous energy. It’s a great relationship. We email back and forth about little things. We laugh. I read and make notes.
And then I send the editorial letter. And that’s when the fun stops.
Right there, in one convenient document, is an overview of all the concerns I have regarding their manuscript. Plot holes, flat characters, lagging prose, over-telling, over-explaining, back story — all of it. Their manuscript is suddenly less pristine and more of a mess and I know I’m not gonna be the one to clean it up.
Receiving an editorial letter after you’ve paid to have your novel edited sucks. It just — sucks. That’s pretty much the only thing I can say. But! That same editorial letter that sucks so much to read is also the heart and soul of what you paid for. You asked someone professional with an objective eye to read your manuscript and deconstruct it — and that’s exactly what they did. And they even went one step further and gave you suggestions on how to clean up your mess.
Still, I can hear it through the email; the writer’s happiness just deflates. I receive an answer just dripping with defeat. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Steel your skin and prepare your mind before you open that letter. And remember these things:
1. What is a Finished Piece to You is a Rough Draft to Me
You may believe your manuscript to be finished and polished — but if you’re sending it to an editor, it’s not. Why else would it end up on an editor’s desk? There are things going on in your manuscript that you are simply blind to because you no longer have the distance and objectivity to see it. Why would you? You’ve spent months with your nose to the screen trying to figure out how to finish this thing.
2. Just Because You Receive In-Depth Edits Doesn’t Mean You Suck
Everyone receives in-depth edits. Everyone receives suggestions for change. Everyone has to get edited. I, too, am a writer. And my critique group always makes suggestions for changes. They even tell me ::gasp:: that something is not working. And I get sad. I go home. I take a nap. And then I rewrite.
3. By All Means, Get Angry — Just Don’t Call Me
When you receive edits and they seem overwhelming, you’re going to get angry. And you’re probably going to be angry at me. That’s the nature of the beast. So get angry. But remember that it’s not me you’re angry with. Frankly, you’re upset with yourself because you sent something that you thought was ready to go and it turned out to not be so ready after all. And that’s okay, really. It’s human nature to get upset when things are hard and writing is just that. So read your letter, take a few deep breaths, hit a punching bag, and take a nap. Seriously. Naps fix everything. When your emotions are defused and you’re ready to get back to work, then you can email me.
4. I’m Not Here to Make You Feel Bad
My job is to make your writing better, and by default, make you a stronger person. My job is not to take your money and rip your work to shreds. It is not in my interest to be snarky and make you feel like shit. I don’t want to make you give up.
I want to make your writing better. I want to make your writing better. I want to make your writing better.
That’s the first and last concern on any editor’s mind when we read your work.
Lisa Kilian is the author of the blog, What Not To Do as a Writer. She has had essays published at Beyond the Margins, Best Damn Creative Writing Blog, and Write It Sideways to name a few. Follow her @LisaKilian or email her at lr.kilian@gmail.com She would love to read your work.
This is the article I would have written – had I your courage. Geez. So on point. I posted it everywhere I social network. And I mean everywhere!
Ah, this is what I mean when I say editors are not in it to be mean and make you want to give up. Nobody likes giving deflating news! But that’s what we’re here for. Plus, it just feels so good to see a writer who got a really crushing editorial letter come back strong and get published.
Silly me, I meant this last comment as a reply to Karen Elliott. Thank you for your kind words, really. You may think I have courage, but I really only have so little.
Forgive me for not humbly agreeing with the almighty editor… I have worked in the publishing field for decades, on both sides of the desk. Editors can help your writing, but very often, they can also destroy it. Editors often develop their own patterns, and try to fit plot, character, or style to their own comfort zone, which may be in direct opposition to what the writers try to achieve. When that happens, the life and spirit of the story can be sucked out of the book, which becomes similar to all the other books the busy editor had worked on. The book loses its identity. And I am talking about honest editors… don’t forget the great number of scams out there, the “publishers” that promise to sell your book if you go through their “editorial” changes. Dare to write your own book – it is entirely possible that it may only need a good proofreader!
Ha, you don’t have to agree. And I am most certainly anything but almighty. I’m a just a person, more specifically, a girl.
I have heard of this happening with other people’s work and it is something that I am consciously aware of every time I look at a manuscript. Which I why I don’t line edit. All I do is make sure the plot doesn’t have holes, that the characters are believable, lovable, and memorable, and that the message the writer was hoping to send is the one received. I do not rewrite lines, I just make suggestions. And with all suggestions, they should all be taken with a grain of salt. When a writer receives an editorial letter, they can say yes or no to the changes; the choice is theirs.
So they are daring to write their own books — and they’re daring to have them double-checked for clarity.
Nobody “only needs a good proofreader. ” That is the worst kind of cocky horseshit.
Any editor worth a damn will only improve your book and strengthen your voice.
This is stuff I needed to re-hear. My agent edits, and I don’t always agree; however, she is usually right.
Not always, but it sure does feel good to get another perspective, right? I’m still in search of my ideal reader. I’m jealous. :)
LOVE this post. It’s everything I kind of already knew but definitely needed to be reminded of before sending my manuscript out for a critique. It’s still not quite ready for a professional edit, but when it is I will send it out fearlessly and read the editorial letter with this post beside it. I’ll also (try to) remind myself that I sent it for an edit because I wanted to fix what was worong with it not because I wanted to know what was right with it!
Thank you. I especially like the bit about reading your letter with this post beside you. I’m learning to write the letters with these thoughts beside me as well. This post tends to be more for my own personal reference than anyone else’s, ha!
Great post, Lisa.
What great information. Those who are thinking of self-publishing should read this post. No matter how polished you think your ms is, it needs another going over, preferably by an editor before it’s self-pubbed or sent out for submissions.
While I agree that editors can at times be wrong in their calls, having an editor go over your ms can be very helpful.
Thanks Karen!
I feel like I should point out that I can’t edit myself. I always have my critique group or another reader go over everything for me before I send fiction. There’s always something I’ve missed that my many second sets of eyes catch right away. None of us can get it all right all the time.
Well said. Every time I get edited, critiqued, proofed and the comments are less than glowing, I get that sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. I don’t nap, but a good night’s sleep works wonders. And then I start fresh the next morning. And while I agree with some of Arbel says, most of the comments received, whether from editors or critique partners always make me think in a different way and it usually benefits my writing. You don’t have to incorporate every comment, of course, but they’re always thought provoking and ultimately beneficial in some way, whether for the current work or the next one waiting around to be written.
Different thoughts, exactly. My readers will always mention a little things about my characters that I never noticed before. And then it’s like a whole new set of possibilities open up and I can’t wait to flesh them out.
This is where I would direct an editor who recently offered to edit a few pages of my manuscript. I accepted her offer with the grace that is expected knowing that having another person, beyond my writing group, would improve, or have the possibility to improve my manuscript. When she sent me the edits she would make, I replied with a thank you and to understand that it will take me several days to respond back. Why? Because I knew there were bound to be things she said I wasn’t going to like. She was upset that I would wait days before responding, I believe she should read this and understand that edits are hard truths and as a writer, we do not want to respond in the heat of that truth. thanks for the advice
Yuck! Good for you for knowing that you’ll need to give yourself time before responding. I tell my writers to just wait before responding. Read their letters and edits, drink it in, and just wait. And that I’m in no rush to hear from them. Because anything I hear any time soon, even if it is cordial and nice, is still most likely driven by emotion.
Keep up the good work!
It is, frankly, my fear what the editor will show up that’s had me dragging my feet. After seeing this, perhaps it isn’t quite as scary, after all. Thanks for this.
I’ve noticed nine times out of ten that my suggestions are things the writer already knew about, but didn’t want to admit to. And as a writer, I’m totally guilty of this as well. It’s just human nature. We love to deny.
But no, please don’t let it be scary. Think of it as surgery. Scary going in, but you’ll feel much better when you’re out.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for a thought provoking article. I write and I’m an editor. I remember way back when I was in university and how I felt when I had a term paper (and later a thesis chapter and many years after that, reports written for my work) sent back to me dripping in red ink. There may well have been some good feedback in there, but it took a few re-reads to get past seeing everything that was apparently “wrong” with the paper and find the hidden gems in the feedback.
I’ve found that putting myself in the shoes of the author and making a point of asking clients what works for best for them in terms of being able to receive, process and respond to feedback generally leads to happier clients because they understand I’m on their side and genuinely want to support them in producing the highest quality manuscript possible.
Thanks Sue! I like your process. I try to find little ways like that to make writers not only more comfortable with me, but to humanize myself to them too. Working over email makes that difficult. But you’re right; the more questions asked, the better off we’ll all be. Communication is key after all.
Thank you for your comment!
Thank you for this, Lisa! The more that’s written about the dreaded/longed-for Editorial Letter, the better writers can understand what we editors do, why, and how it truly matters.
When I was a poetry student in college about a thousand years ago, we always used the Golden Rule of workshopping: first say something nice. Always. And this is perhaps the most useful piece of advice I would offer any aspiring editor today.
When I write that initial Editorial Letter, I write a long, involved draft, with all my recommendations for change and explanations of how the manuscript isn’t yet ready, while the ms is still hot in my hands. Then a few days later, before I mail it, I sit down and add a first paragraph full of the kindest things I can possibly and in all sincerity say, keeping in mind as I write that every recommendation for change echoes in the writer’s head like the inside of a gong and every compliment is a faint whisper on a distant breeze, while—simultaneously—my professional reputation stands or falls by my commitment to honesty.
Only a couple of times the bulk of the news has been simply recommendations for change, and for that I truly am sorry. But more often than not, those recommendations can be softened by truthful praise for everything the writer has already done right.
Only then do I hit them with the mountain of work ahead of them.
I find this approach helps them gird themselves for that mountain of work (and it’s always, even for the most polished craftsperson, a mountain of work). It also gets me almost universal gratitude and a good deal of client loyalty, for that meticulous professional attention to those manuscripts that I know they all love so.
Hey Victoria!
I’m so glad you commented. To be honest, I’ve relied on your blog to help guide me through the tough stuff when needed. And you’re exacty right; the good news first approach does work wonders. I love it when I can find things in a manuscrpt that I really love. That, no matter how fresh the draft is, there’s always an element of it that makes it so incredibly unique and special. And I hook on that thing as much as I can.
After all, that’s the only way I can get through my own revisions.
Thank you, really, for commenting. I’m such an admirer of your work and your appreciaion here really means a lot to me. :)
You’re very welcome, Lisa. Thank you for the kind words!
I’ve been lucky so far in that when I edit for others, they don’t go for the jugular. I have, however, had a few slink away into the shadows lol. Likewise, I know I can’t be objective enough with my own writing, which is why I always find another editor to help. Personally, I find receiving an edit EXCITING! Here, in this one document, is all the advice I need to fix the problems in my MS. Here is what I need to make my book BETTER in many ways. It’s an exciting times. If a writer can look at the feedback that way, they’ll be better off. If not… well, maybe they shouldn’t be hiring an editor with the hopes of hearing “This is brilliant! Don’t change a thing. I am refunding all your money.” LOL
Ha, luckily I haven’t had any jugular moments. But slinking into the shadows is common and it does hurt, honestly, because it makes me feel like that person is considering giving up on account of what I said. And I know it’s no fault of my own, but I do hate it when writers let me have that power over them.
And yes! I LOVE getting edits as well. As long as I’m in the right place for them. Sometimes, I’m still too fresh in my work and that’s when the edits hurt. I feel that many writers could protect themselves so much better just by really being truthful with themselves when deciding whether or not they really want their work edited.
I don’t know if I can hit the “like” button hard enough without damaging my mouse. Since I paid a lot of money for that mouse, I will just give it a demure click. However, I agree with every sentiment expressed in that article and was nearly jumping up and down in my seat.
As an editor, I do my best to be nice, caring, and considerate of the authors I work with but I have had an unfortunate number of them resort to grade-school namecalling, insults, and even going to my boss because they felt that I was trying to “hijack” their manuscript (no joke, I wish I was kidding).
I hope that this article reaches people who don’t understand that editors are not, in fact, evil, hunchbacked figures that walk around casting literary lightning at people – we’re people. And we’re people whose sole job is to help the authors get their work perfect so that you can achieve that dream of publication.
Thank you, Elizabeth. This is exactly what I’m talking about. Editors are not snarky sons of bitches that just can’t wait to rip into your shitty work. We’re not. We’re just not. We love our job and we love performing it to the best of our ability. And we can only do that when writers understand that fully. Besides, if we have to put ourselves into the writer’s shoes to make them comfortble during the process, I think it’s only fair that writers do the same for us.
Thank you so much for your kind comment and for being kind in general. :)
You can smell the truthiness in this post.
I’ve always written for monies, and had pro editors — so it surprises me when writers tell me they don’t have an editor for a novel, which is only THE LONGEST, TOUGHEST THING YOU CAN WRITE, and then I surprise them with a whack upside the noggin with the Manhattan Yellow Pages, which I keep handy because it is far thicker and heavier than the Seattle Yellow Pages.
The Evil Secret to All Writing: Editing is Everything
https://epicblackcar.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/the-evil-secret-to-all-writing-editing-is-everything/
Well done, Lisa! A fresh pair of eyes is priceless (even when you’re paying for the service!)
What an interesting article and spot on, I might add. Personally, I have enough people out there who absolutely love whatever it is that I’m writing. I need someone unafraid to look at my work objectively and give me their honest opinion. I may not agree with that opinion, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t want it. A writer’s greatest asset is keeping an open mind, especially when it comes to our own work. To all the editors out there who shape beautiful babies out of our hideous monsters… thank you.
Wish I had written this. Excellent summation of the editor’s frustrations with their clients. Really, we wish it could be easier on your ego…honest.
Thanks for the great read, Lisa!
It goes to show that some people are just under qualified but got lucky and was hired for the said job. It’s a total waste of time. Waiting for that person to deliver the report and it didn’t pass to your high standards. Frustration. Stress. It’s okay to get mad and fire them. It’s not personal. You’re just doing your job as a boss. Totally, understandable by all people with a competitive and hard working spirit with high standards.
Ah, this is what I mean when I say editors are not in it to be mean and make you want to give up. Nobody likes giving deflating news! But that’s what we’re here for. Plus, it just feels so good to see a writer who got a really crushing editorial letter come back strong and get published.