Lilith Saintcrow

Good morning. My plan of “something nice to do for me” this week has been shot–it turns out Legion utterly sucks. I may go see it at Cinetopia anyway–at least I can sit in a dark theater, have a glass of wine, and laugh at the utter FAIL. It kind of burns me–dude, I am so ALL OVER this concept, as anyone who’s read the Valentine series can probably guess. Unfortunately, between concept and execution there lieth a huge gap, and the more committees are involved, the more that gap runs the risk of edging over into total-failure area.

This brings up something about publishing, actually. A LOT of people are involved in bringing each book to the shelves. Some, like the cover artist and the marketing department, have very little to do with the actual book. Others, like editors, are more involved. Getting a book through the publication process involves walking a line between listening to people who know their jobs and what they’re talking about far better than you, and making it easy for people to listen when you’re the expert. I have evolved some simple rules about this process, but I think I’ll wait for a Friday post to explicate them further.

However, I want to talk about one of those short rules today.

YOUR EDITOR IS NOT THE ENEMY.

I don’t lose sight of the fact that I am the content creator. For the characters, I know what’s best. It’s my job to tell the damn story and produce enough raw material that we can trim it into reasonable shape. (Which means I am responsible for my deadlines, but we knew that.) I’m also way too close to the work to be able to see it objectively. So, 99% of the time, the editor is right.

That other 1% I feel comfortable explaining or outright fighting, when I know something has to be a certain way. I have to very seriously consider what is worth going to the mattresses for. There aren’t many things worth that kind of ruckus, or even a small ruckus. There are a big list of things that are My Responsibility as the actual damn writer. Being a jerk to the editor is not one of them.

I see a lot of new writers (and a lot of unpublished writers) operating under the unconscious assumption that the editor is an enemy at worst, a suspect ally at best, and someone to be on guard against. I’ve had one or two nasty revenge-editors, but those are the exceptions. The overwhelming rule is that editors are your friend. They believe in your book. They fight for it in acquisition meetings, they twist arms to get marketing money, they work and agonize over polishing it until it’s as good as it can be. The editor wants what you want: a successful book that earns money. Their energies are concentrated to that end. You are a fool if you don’t realize that and make it as easy as possible for them to be your advocate.

It’s like having a lawyer–they can’t fight for you effectively and do their job if you don’t give them what they need in terms of paperwork and information.

So. My lesson for today for aspiring writers: try not to be a dick to your editors, even unconsciously. Remind yourself that:

1. They are people too.
2. You’re on the same side.
3. They want your book to succeed as much as you do.
4. They know how to play publisher-office politics better than you, and they will on your behalf.
5. They talk to each other, and if you’re a jerk, it gets around.

It’s really, really hard to keep these things in mind when you get a revision letter. So much of a writer’s emotional life is wrapped up in rejection and judgment. It’s really easy to think the editor is your enemy, when they’re just trying to get the thorn out of your paw. No matter how hard it is to overlook the fact that they’re Judging Your Precious Werke, DO IT. Make the effort.

It’s not the only thing that will make your career sustainable, but it sure as hell helps.

‘Nuff said.

Related posts:

1. Heart Your Editor, Man
2. Wallow, Then Get Back To Earning The Cookies
3. Critique Is Not A City In Indonesia*

Tags: editing makes one cranky, pennyworth advice

This entry was posted on Monday, January 25th, 2010 at 9:22 am and is filed under Deep Thoughts, Real Life, Writing (About). You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.