Editors and Coaches help, but the Author Holds the Pen

I’m told Charlotte Bronte completed Jane Eyre, walked to the printer and ‘published’ her book that month.  She let the market decide whether the book sold.  Today, at least for a little while longer, the editor determines whether your book will sell.

How Editors help.  In my fantasy writing world, the editor was a professional with years of experience, eager to coach me.  And, like a good coach would know how to get the best from me.  Finding an editor actually felt like walking into a burning building.  Their world is changing, so beware.  If you need a coach, find a coach.  An Editor is about making money.  They will be honest about your work and give you high level recommendations. 

Barb Shoup of the Indiana Writer’s Center did an editorial review of my manuscript, Between Dreams.  In two pages of notes and one conversation she completely redirected the work.   She suggested I spread the book out on the floor, chapter by chapter like sections of a rug.  It was magic.  I could see what needed to be eliminated, rearranged or added.  Another simple suggestion was to answer the question ‘This book is about what happens when’.  It is the hardest sentence to finish.  But once you do it gives great clarity.  And, it helps in writing the book jacket later.  Her practiced eye and kind guidance was a catalyst.

Amber Cleveland at  Sterling Hope was my coach.  She spoke softly, telling me the hard things in a way that allowed me to hear and then revise.  Our debates crystallized the key elements of the story.  And, the structure she created kept me moving forward.  Everything she did, she did with commitment firm in her belief the novel needed to be published.  Find a coach, be clear on the relationship and do not settle for anyone who is not genuinely vested in helping you succeed.

The Copyeditor Copyediting is a skill you must develop.  It was an honest email from a writer who once supported herself copyediting.  At first I thought she was just trying to get me to stop sending her lists of questions about ‘how to be a writer’.  But now I understand what she meant.  Copyediting is exactly like sixth grade English class.  You were just beginning to like the language and then they spring sentence de-construction on you.  It’s the washing out the underwear bit of the romance of writing.  That sentence is revolting, pun intended, was how one professor puts it.  A good copyeditor probably should get your hackles up at times, if you have pride of authorship.   

Most writers are avid readers.  The reverence for the language is a blessing and a curse.  The blessing makes us want to do it.  The curse is fear we will do it poorly.  Even with a grammar check, we still construct awful sentences.  But, there is a very thin line between your style and correct style.  Writing is subjective but it also has rules that need to be honored.

So, maybe are you writing the next Ulysses or The Sound and the Fury.  Be honest and respect the craft.  The rule is, only when you know the rules can break them…you.

Tips for Authors: Share your writing

If you don’t share your writing, you’re not a bad writer.  And, you’re not a good writer.  You’re not a writer…says the short woman who didn’t share her story for ten years.  With no formal training beyond some college courses, reading ‘how to’ books, attending author lectures and workshops…okay, I just didn’t have the courage to get there.  There was an imaginary line.  If I crossed it, well then it’s ‘good’ or ‘bad’.  Somehow not being was better.

Which brings me to the question, are you writing?  Do you have characters quietly nudging you?  Is there a story rattling around in your head?  Or do you already have a tome gathering dust in the basement?  Your writing takes life when you share it with others.

Better to lurk in the back of the room after an interview or a lecture from one of these elusive beings called AUTHOR.  In the last moment I lost my nerve to speak to Anne Lamott author of Bird by Bird : Some Instructions on Writing and Life after her interview at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco.  She’s brave enough to share her triumphs and her struggles…and on that day without saying a word she challenged me to write.  Read her book if you want some inspiration, or better yet use it for a group discussion to finally face your fears about writing.

There are so many ways to share – more every day.  When I finally found the courage…well, actually I never found the courage.  Amber, my partner at Sterling Hope asked to read it and, sent me encouraging text messages while she was doing it!  My favorite was at 2 A.M.….I can’t put it down.  Needless to say the conversation that followed was almost spiritual.  Hearing someone tell you how your book makes them feel, what they noticed and what they did not understand is at once, humbling and inspiring.  Okay, by now you must be thinking you’re not that insecure about writing.  But if you are, bookmark this paragraph in your manuscript to keep the bar high for anyone who is supporting you.

So start now, here.  Share a comment about your writing life.  The questions and answers you have for others.  It takes on a new and better form.  Because you are a writer, so be one.