On the (Long) Road to Publication

Last night I sent the first round of my substantive (big picture) edit to my ECW freelance editor. One more step taken on the long road to publication! The revision required more work than I’d anticipated. But that’s okay. The payoff will be an improved manuscript.

 We have editors because it’s hard for authors to judge their own writing. When you’re immersed in the story, it’s easy to overlook inconsistencies and weaknesses. My own problem is compounded by the personal nature of my work. The protagonist/narrator is a lot like me. I’ve never been a murder target, a widow, or a visual artist. And I’m certainly not obsessively tidy. But her personality and worldview are a lot like mine. I see her as a good, if prickly, person. When several of my beta readers criticized Jeannie’s lack of enthusiasm for small children, a shortcoming I share, I was taken aback. In subsequent drafts I made her warmer and more tolerant. (If only it were that easy to correct flaws in real life!)

Editors have an advantage in that they approach manuscripts with a comparatively objective eye. They don’t have a vested interest in fidelity to the way things “really are.” And they don’t have a sentimental attachment to the text.  Sometimes they know better than the writer about what it needs for improvement. So, the writer needs to develop humility. And trust in their judgement.

But problems can occur when there are legitimate differences of opinion. This is especially challenging when the writer does not conform to current standards of political correctness. Or rather, has a different interpretation of these standards. Does sympathy for oppressed people mean that they can never be murderers? I struggled with that question in Grounds for Murder. My compromise was to portray my antagonist as both victim and villain. Which may have been the most accurate way to look at them anyway.

 Now I look forward to feedback from my substantive editor. And prepare to embark on at least one more round of revisions before my manuscript moves on to the copyeditor.