Editing
When to turn the page (over to someone else)...
So, I went and did it—
I hired a freelance editor to help me pare down a manuscript.
It’s not something I’ve ever done, nor ever even really considered, until I was faced with competing demands on my time—a book I’ve sold will need revising, I’m wrapping up a spec screenplay I’ve promised to get in my agents’ hands, and some of the other development projects just have more priority over the novel in question.
But I’ve decided to go this route not only because of time constraints, but also a sense that the kind of editing it needs—a haircut, not open heart surgery—is something that I’m open to collaborating on. I know roughly where the cuts need to be, I know what (generally) we’re trying to streamline (and how much), so if I can get someone new to approach the book with that kind of targeted mission—and the kind of cold-eyed objectivity I probably lack now that I’ve been inside this book for so long—then I can decide whether I want those cuts are not.
Now, I’ve had editors before; great editors at every publisher I’ve been with. But that was only AFTER a book was sold. This is pre-sale, a book my agent and I hope to shop when the manuscript is cut down to a more manageable, marketable size. My agent already did her “developmental edit;” i.e, Does this book suck? Does it work? What the hell are you doing? And provided a roadmap for where and why we need to wrangle the word count down. And I’d never expect more than that at this stage since she’s got a ton of other clients. At the end of the day, it’s still -my- book. But given this weird paradox where I’m not in a hurry to ship the book back to her (we’re not looking to place it until next year), but also don’t have time to devote to sitting down with it again, I’m willing to give this freelance editor thing a spin.
Will it work? Will I find it productive? Only time will tell. But the contract is signed, and when I get the suggested edits back early next year, I’ll follow up here to let you know.
I’m often asked what I’m reading and I tend to read a lot of different things; I also tend to bail on books faster than ever, because I’m simply not going to plow through a book that’s not working for me (note that I didn’t say a “bad book;” there are plenty of great books and bestsellers that just didn’t light my fire). Here’s three that I have stuck with and I’m enjoying quite a bit—
Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword.
Keith Rosson’s The Devil By Name.
And just this week,s Richard Chizmar’s Memorials.
Again, just a few books I’ve been reading at the moment.
Next week, I’m going to discuss the brief life and quick death (and perhaps eventual resurrection) of Scott Knox…
As always, feel free to—