An Editor's Point of View

I know how it feels. I’ve been there. Your manuscript is like your dream home. You’ve spent months—years maybe—developing the blueprint, laying the foundation which was created from an idea, an experience borne from your mind, molded from your perspective. You know each path to each room to each character’s story better than you know your own. You’ve revised, restructured, rewritten, re-examined, and reorganized the architecture a dozen times. Now it’s time to turn your work over to a professional, an inspector, someone who can see what you cannot. You’re biased and blind to any imperfections. You’re too close to see the flaws in the construction. You only see the end result of the high-gloss paint on the outside of the structure.

Thus the relationship begins between the writer and the editor. A good collaboration starts with trust in each other. It’s important that the author know that the editor is experienced and usually just as excited about your manuscript as you are and wants your book to be the best that it can be. And it’s just as important that the editor handle the author’s hard work with respect, acting only as a guide and not an overseer. It’s a team effort. The editor is not out to change your blueprint or destroy your dream house. But he or she may need to rearrange the furniture a bit.

Most editors experience two types of authors: those who trust their editor’s experience and comply with the reliable suggestions offered and those who argue and question every correction and change. Now, don’t get me wrong. The author has every right to ask questions and communicate with the editor in an effort to be on the same page, so to speak. But when an area of the story is clearly in violation of grammar and style such as POV consistency, unnecessary clutter of detail, incomprehensible sentence structure, and gaps in the action, there should be no doubt that revisions must be made.

Good editing is hard work. Every word, every comma is scrutinized along with the story-line itself, the consistency in characterization, the choreography of the action within the settings,  the realistic voice of the dialogue, and so much more. When an author asks the editor to justify every deletion and insertion and sentence structure change, the editing process is delayed while the editor stops and cites excerpts from such sources as The Chicago Manual of Style to prove his or her expertise.

The editor is not out to destroy your dream house or change your blueprint, but rather to shore up the weak supports and make it the best that YOU, the author, are capable of making it. Besides getting paid, the editor’s only reward is that he or she had a hand in presenting a well-crafted work.