Who needs an editor?

From Loretta:

I hit the email Send button Sunday night at 8pm, which means that YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS is in the hands of my editor as you read this.  It also means I'm brain damaged, so don't expect much.

Last time, some readers asked for more about the writing process, and this seems as good a time as any to provide some of the many Valuable Insights that stun one over umpty bazillion years of writing for a living.

Here’s one:  It isn’t over until it’s over.  When I send in the manuscript the first time, I do jump up and down with joy but it’s not the big bounce you’d expect.  This is because, before very long, that hunka hunka deathless prose is going to bounce right back at me.  It’s called Revisions.  There may be authors who get it all exactly right the first time around but that is not moi. 

I leave some holes in the plot or there aren’t enough smoochies or some curst thing or other.  And for you, Elaine McCarthy, who asked about Dreaming Up Stuff, let me say here and now that I would pay good money for the secret to dreaming up smoochies with the same ease I experienced early in my career, when I was fresh and innocent--and when, perhaps, less was demanded of us in this area.  Which is not to say it ever was a piece of cake.  Such scenes are deeply dependent upon the personalities and problems of the characters involved.  This is because the smoochies in a romance are supposed to be about emotions and the development of a committed relationship.  It is not supposed to be merely an exercise in finding interesting variations on fitting Tab A into Slot B.  I am not writing the Kama Sutra; I’m writing a love story.  OTOH, one does like to make it interesting.

They do get done eventually, and then I don’t remember the trials and tribulations of making it interesting while still keeping it romantic.  In this way, writing a book is like giving birth:  One forgets the pain.  Sadly, there are no epidurals for writers.  But I digress.  (When do I not?)

Revisions.  I like them, because it’s a time to unload some of the responsibility, finally.  It’s the first time anyone else reads the book--and my Anyone Elses are experts.  Early in my career, I did give the manuscripts to friends, to look for ghastly errors and such.  I’ve found that method unsatisfactory.  People tend either to get caught up in the story (not a bad thing, I admit) and not notice problems or they get caught up in minutiae, and fail to see the big picture.  A good editor sees the big picture and can tell you where the gaps are or where it’s too crowded or not full enough or whether it doesn’t flow well in Chapter X--and, yes, whether the smoochies pass muster and why or why not.

I would not make a good editor.  I often have a very hard time articulating what’s wrong with a book; it’s harder still to be clear about what’s right with it or how to make it right.

One finds on reader loops that many people are quite clear about what works for them and what doesn’t.  I wonder, though, if they’d be able to suggest what would make a problematic book work.  If a story element or a scene is confusing, would they be able to pinpoint where the author’s wandered into Confusion Land or what she might do to clarify things?  I’m not sure I could do it.  And I’d have an extra hard time doing it if, for instance, I wasn’t wild about the genre or subgenre.  Or maybe wasn’t nuts about the author’s style.  Or disliked a certain type of character.  And could I look at the book from the perspective of readers who love that genre or style or type of character?

Editors do this--and more--all the time.  And they like to do it!  Most of them will tell you it’s their favorite part of the job--and the one they wish they had more time for.

Me, I’d rather write the books.  And when I read one, I just want to sit back and let the book do the work.

What about you?  How do you think you’d do, sitting at the editor's desk?  Your dream job or your nightmare?  And if you’ve done it, what do you think of the job?

Comments

[Marie]

If anyone needs a place for other people to read your work and give get good critiques go to critiquecirlce.com. I am seriously addicted. Why else would I be up at 4 a.m. my time. Geez it is getting late and tomorrow is going to be busy since it is my birthday. Sorry just looked at the clock for the first time in 3 hours I am trying to do revisions of my own.

[AgTigress]

I think that some of the experiences are rather different for non-fiction writers, but others are similar. I have often been immensely grateful to editors for rescuing me from errors, confusions, omissions and repetitions that I had either not noticed, or was not sure how to correct. The editor of my first full-length book transplanted a whole chunk of my introductory chapter into the concluding chapter - and she was right. It worked much better that way. On the other hand, I have also encountered editors who drove me to distraction by their determination always to miss the point. As an editor myself (usually checking articles or chapters in multi-authored volumes) I have often agonised about the subtleties of moulding a contribution into conformation with the house-style and the other parts of the book, while still allowing the writer's voice to remain distinctive. I once edited a catalogue chapter that was written, in English, by a Dutch colleague. Her spoken English is very fluent, but when written, there are oddities. I had the task of making sure her chapter was in grammatically correct and understandable English, but still in her style - it would have been absolutely wrong to have imposed my own style upon it, to have erased its Netherlandishness, so to speak.

Novelists don't have to worry about some of the things that drive academic writers wild, like the accuracy of footnotes, references, bibliographies and indexes (why is it that modern indexes, done with the aid of computers, are such rubbish compared with the indexes we used to compile laboriously by hand on hundreds of 5" x 3" index cards from the marked-up page-proofs? You young people don't know what real work is like! Typing everything on a manual typewriter! Re-typing numerous pages because of one small alteration! Carbon copies! Walking barefoot through the snow to school...). In some academic fields, like mine, we also have to grapple with photographs, drawings, charts and tables (which also means captions, numbering, lists of illustrations, copyright fees and acknowledgements), and for popular non-fiction, we often have to deal directly with designers (usually in the form of three-way author/editor/designer meetings). As with editors, a good designer, who understands what you are trying to do, is WONDERFUL. One who doesn't 'get it' can be incredibly frustrating.

But for all this, I should not have the courage to write fiction, even if I had the creative talent. It is so personal. The thought of being taken to task for the way in which I had written a spoken conversation, let alone a scene of steamy passion, and having elements like that analysed and discussed, just makes me cringe. I am sure one can learn to be objective about it, both from the writer's and the editor's viewpoint, but I don't think I could do it.

Sorry this is so long - but the subject is a fascinating one.

:-)

[kay]

I think it would be incredibly hard to write or edit. I know its hard to write, I've been trying, my first attempt is boring a whole through my back from the library table, my second is giving me headaches. And, when I read through some of my dialog, I think what horrible writing and I'm not even a editor, which is why my first book is boring a whole through my back. Just thinking about sending it off to an real editor makes my stomach churn. I'm amazed at all of you published writers who can keep on writing and meet your deadlines and still do all the other things that life throws at you. As far as editing, I know when I don't like a book and I know why I don't like a book, I think though I'd have trouble pointing someone in the right direction to correct it.

[Katie]

Lately, I've actually been wondering if I'd make a good editor. Right now I'm polishing my own first MS, so I could be totally clueless here, I know. I also know that, since I'm not published yet, I have no outside verification of my writing skills.

Yet, from my own very critical viewpoint... I'm a decent writer. I write emotion well, good dialogue, strong POV, and my grammar skills are above-average, thanks to my English-major mother/teacher... but I struggle in the non-romance side of the plot... in making enough "happen" in and around the getting-to-know-you. And I know that's a pretty serious fault.

But when I critique others... when I happen across those who have a couple good things going for them... maybe they've got a plot line that grabbed my attention, or their voice or writing style just pulled me in... THEN, I find it easy and enjoyable to read the story and pull out what (I think) would make it stronger... whether it's character inconsistancies, or re-structuring of the dialogue to make it more natural. Anyway, it makes me wonder if I'd enjoy being an editor.

Or maybe I'm not good at any of it. There's always a chance I'm clueless, right?

[Sharon]

I know I couldn't be an editor, I'm not good at defining what is wrong with a book I don't like let alone knowing how to "fix" it. What I would like to do, however, is be what I think is called a COPY editor. All of the incorrect pronouns, wrong names in the wrong places, etc., drive me crazy. My problem would be that it would take me forever to get through one as I would probably get caught up in the story the first time through and miss grammar or punctuation errors except for the obvious ones.

[Elaine McCarthy]

I find it loads easier to see what's wrong with and how to fix someone else's story than my own. I've had plenty of practice (countless writing workshops, critique groups, and staged readings where the audience comments afterward) and I'm often astonished at how the original writers don't see the opportunities they've already created for themselves. On the other hand, there's nothing to beat pleasure of writing when it's going well and no angst like the angst when it's not. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

[Patricia Rice]

I'm lousy at editing my own work. No way would I attempt it on someone else's. Yeah, I can find holes and inconsistencies because I have a critical mind, but if I didn't enjoy the genre or the writing, I'd much prefer to trash the sucker than repair it. "G"

Personally, though, I think anyone who edits, should have been put in the position of being edited. A little sympathy for the mind-boggling juggling we do to complete an entire book would go a long way.

Love the smoochies, Loretta. I have full confidence you have them all in the right place.

[Pam Rosenthal]

My husband and I wrote a movie review column together many years ago. And since it didn't lead to an early breakup of our marriage, I'm happy to say I still show him everything I write before it goes to my editor.

Perhaps what he's best at is catching me saying something too many times, usually because I didn't know how to say it right the first time. But he's also got an eagle eye for those moments Loretta mentioned, when physical hotness goes faster than emotional development and makes for confusing rather than provocative reading.

I've profoundly grateful to him, and I'm afraid he's going to have his hands full next month when he gets the next mss.

[Jane George]

I've helped two critique partners with the plot arcs of their books. I enjoy breaking stories apart, making a massive sticky-note board, and then moving or crumpling the notes as needed. It's exciting when I suddenly see what needs to happen and it all falls into place like a puzzle.

I have no desire to do this to my own stories. :-) I just dive in headfirst and jump up with my hands in the air when that calf is roped, so to speak. Luckily, my critique partners owe me. Bwa-ha-ha.

Huge congrats, Loretta, on sending off YOUR SCANDALOUS WAYS!

[Kalen Hughes]

I've spent waaaaaay too much time in creative writing workshops and critique groups. I'm a fairly good editor, but I do have trouble when a book simply doesn't fit in with my tastes (but then I think this is why editors and agents tend to take on books the LIKE, not just books they think they can sell).

[Susan/DC]

I have the soul of a copy editor and can spot misplaced commas, dangling participles and the use of "that" instead of "who" to refer to a person at 100 paces. That, however, does not mean I'd be a good editor of the kind Loretta mentions, as I'm so far down in the trees I can't see the forest. When I try to lift my head to see the whole, my comments tend to sound like a text message sent by a 16 y.o. -- "Great smoochies!" and other non-helpful generalizations. Not at all useful to an author.

And for AgTigress, you forgot to mention walking to/from school uphill both ways.

[Gretchen F]

I would be the worst editor in the world, because I know nothing about writing except what I've learned here. Besides, I think it would spoil me for reading, which is what I do best. AgTigress, I had forgotten (mercifully) all the 3by5 cards, carbon paper, footnotes, and other stuff we used to struggle with when we did the dreaded "Term Paper". I am so glad real life doesn't require full documentation and precise margins.. Loretta, I would just like you and all the wenches to know how much I appreciate your hard work, and the editors'work as well. Now I feel lucky when all I have to do is mop the kitchen or grade papers! I look forward to reading your latest!

[LorettaChase]

Oh, I remember with horror the 3 x 5 cards and having to retype. And retype. Like others here, I'd make a better copy editor than an editor. It is a real challenge, I think, to make a book better or more readable while still respecting the author's style. The Chicago Manual of Style says, "An author's own style should be respected, whether flamboyant or pedestrian." This is advice to the copyeditor, but it applies to the editor as well, I think. A good editor "gets" what we're doing, and helps us make it better. I've been very fortunate in this way, and it always amazes me that one editor can do this with so many different kinds of books, different voices, different plots, etc. Me, I get all bent out of shape if I see comma splices and "that" where "whom" should be and dangling modifiers.

[Wirdald]

Dream job. I've wanted to be an editor for years, but there are not a whole lot of editing positions to be found in Smalltown, USA. I appease my need to edit by working at a small-town newspaper and editing anything friends and relatives will give me. Hopefully, when I start a master's program I'll have more opportunities to do what I enjoy -- edit fiction. I'll probably be a TA for some undergraduate classes, and heaven knows, half of what students write in term papers is fiction!

[Beth]

I'm an English teacher who has critiqued numerous essays of mind-numbing quality. I've perused a few manuscripts for friends who really don't want to hear anything beyond, "That's great!" I've even tried to write a book and decided it's horrible hard work, so am now content to read and appreciate that genius others set to paper.

[Jill A]

I also think my dream job would be an editor - I don't feel the drive to create, but I do feel the need to improve things - as awful as that sounds! I don't know if I'd be a good fiction editor, but I've done some copy editing and some general editing of reports etc. and I enjoy both; I like to feel that I'm helping in the creative process, but I'm not a creator myself.
I should emulate Wildald and find a volunteer editing job - kudos for working towards your dream! :)

[Helen]

Do editors ask for more smoochies for thematic or commercial reasons?

[Helen]

Do editors ask for more smoochies for thematic or commercial reasons?

[LorettaChase]

Helen, I think the answer is Both. Smoochies sell. If they didn't do well in the marketplace, the editors would ask us to reduce them or leave them out. I tend to leave them out or give them short shrift the first time around because...um...they're HARD to write. Much harder for me than dialogue. However, so far it doesn't seem that I've ever been asked to do one that didn't really fit or was superfluous or gratuitous. As I've said, I've been pretty lucky in my editors.

[Francois]

I'd be terrible on the grammar side but if I don't like a book I have to keep at it until I work out whats wrong. Sometimes its a personal preference, but usually there'll be a disastrous plot construction or failed character that a good reader could have flagged up. Thank goodness for editors!