Trusting the Editor – Advice Appreciated

That’s a bummer.

Does the editor work with very much of your kind of writing? Editing educational text and fiction stories is a whole different ballgame.

Dear James,

Yes, its very possible that this isn’t the editor for you, no matter how skilled and accomplished the editor is. The clues are here:

You wrote:

The story doesn’t really have the feel that I was going for anymore. I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but it kind of sucked all the passion I had for the story right out the window….I know several college professors who use this editor when they go to publish very important papers and all speak highly of this person.

This editor may be fantastic at academic, formal, cerebral writing. And not good at fiction and emotional writing and passion.

I’ve had copy editors suck the passion out of my words, too. They placed words and form over content and meaning. They shied away from my passion. That is not my style. I had to find another editor.

You aren’t crazy.

If it were me in this situation, I would trust myself. Listen carefully to the changes made, weigh them, and get other opinions. Use your cartel as sounding board.

I second Margie’s idea to use your Cartel as a sounding board. Do you have a Cartel? Now’s the time to find one.

I completely agree with the others.

As someone who has worked with several editors (I employ 5 at the moment), they each have their own style and experience.

Maybe instead of jumping into an editor relationship, find a good beta reader. Someone in your cartel may be the perfect person. You might even find someone in this group too.

Ease yourself into the editing process and when it is time to work with one again, interview the editors and maybe ask for some names of books they have worked with.

Putting yourself “out there” can sometimes be hard, but a disagreeable editor relationship can really stifle your Inner Writer. I know that is what did it for me.

Good luck!!

Hi James,

Sorry I couldn’t get back to you earlier than now.

As for talking to this editor, a professional editor knows not to take feedback to their edits personally, so you’ll hopefully have that working for you.

If it were me, I’d begin the conversation telling her what I liked about her edits, give a couple specific example, and what I appreciate. Then I’d say something like “I’m concerned that maybe my voice is getting lost here, so I wanted to ask you a few questions….” I would then ask her what she was going for and what she envisioned when she cut this or that. Aiming for an open dialogue.

When I start with editors, I make sure they know what I am going for, what emotional tone I’m trying to convey, and I ask them to look for it, to make sure its coming across. I make sure, as best I can, that we are in agreement about that before she begins editing.

What you’re going through right now is pretty common.

I hope this helps.

This is a great discussion, which touches on issues many of us will face when we deal with editors. I wondered initially if the editor was trying to make the story more generic, to fit expectations and be more publishable, but reading the whole back and forth tells me that it wasn’t that. Instead, I loved Angie’s comment about telling the editor the feel you’re looking for before they even start reading the piece, and I love the way you’re now collaborating to create the story you want and learn to be a better writer. Good going, James.
I suspect it’s always hard to get that first set of edits on a story. It often feels to me as if my baby has been murdered, but, when I take a step back, I see that there’re a lot of helpful comments to address. Sounds like you’ve found that place, James.

Hi James,

Thanks for letting us know, and congratulations! She sounds professional.

Is she going to re-do any of what she did prior based on your concerns?

I’m so glad you went back and talked with her. I would have wanted that if I were editing for someone: the feedback and the opportunity to discuss their concerns about what I had done on the first time working together.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by  Margie Deeb.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 10 months ago by  Margie Deeb.

Great news!