Editorially Yours

I think that some people imagine editors to be frustrated writers—and I suppose that may occasionally be the case. I have known wannabe writers who pay the bills by doing editorial work until that first novel is accepted, but I suspect that most of them are much better at one or the other. (Yes, I'm sure that exceptions abound; I'm just describing what I've seen over the years.)

Me, I'm an editor. Sure, I can express myself in writing, but I don't think I have what it takes to write a whole book or even a long article. What I love to do is what I'm good at: editing what someone else wrote. And that works out well for the most part, because a good writer knows that s/he needs a good editor, so everyone's happy.

I mentioned a while back that I had signed on with a company that helps people self-publish their books. I wanted to try my hand at fiction editing, both just to see what it was like and also to add something new to my resume. Most of the novels I've edited for this company have been just awful. Really, it was painfully obvious why these authors chose the self-publishing route. But there have been a few that had some merit—I remember a young adult novel in particular that was very clever and held my interest right up until the end.

Most recently I did a collection of intertwined short stories. The subject matter was most definitely not my cup of tea—serial murder and every kind of sociopathic behavior you can imagine that would go along with it—but it was extremely well written. Even as my stomach was lurching at some of the descriptions, I was still impressed by the author's style and use of language. I tightened it up a bit here and there, made a few suggestions, and sent it back. For this company I have no direct contact with the authors, but I write a memo that the client sends along with the edited manuscript. 

The client wrote back to tell me that the author was really pleased with my work. He said, "Please pass on to Karen my thanks for such a meticulous job on the manuscript. She’s been able to highlight perfectly the difference between what I once thought was polished and what actually is. The edit has taught me a lot."

And that, my friends, is what I do. He writes way better than I ever could, but I'm the closer.

Comments

[Margaret]

What a wonderful tribute to your work! Appreciation is the best gift.

[Elena]

It must be so gratifying to get that kind of feedback from an author. And it isn't the first time for you, either!

[Kelly]

Hope you did a little happy dance!

[Jeananne]

Comments like that, my friend, would carry me for many days. You may say that the author "writes way better than" you ever could, but it's obvious you complement each other well. Kudos!