Friend. That's an easy one. An average editor will find problems with your story that you, as the creative, will overlook. A good editor will not just find the problems; they will note areas that can be expanded and give you suggestions for changes. A great editor will do all of that while also adding multiple perspectives, some technical advice and moral support. Your editor is your friend. Always.
One editor recommended I expand my novel. I was worried about that because I had already gone well over the typical YA word count, but I was also thrilled because I felt as though there was something missing. In addition, this editor felt the ending fell flat and needed to be rewritten. Again, I agreed. I hadn’t been happy with the original ending, but I needed someone else to tell me exactly what I needed to hear. Among the many helpful tips she gave me was one I never considered: It was too fast-paced. She said I needed to slow down and let the reader catch their breath. She said it was hard to find a place to pause because there was so much action and reading the manuscript was exciting but exhausting. Slowing down the pace required rewriting a large part of the book. It was worth it. She was right and my book wouldn’t be what it is without her.
This editor wasn’t the only one who offered valuable feedback. Others made similar points. They suggested changes to settings, characters and sentences. They encouraged me to kill my darlings – delete those phrases or even full paragraphs that were meaningful to me but took away from the novel itself. For example, one of my characters remarked, “Let me simple this up for you,” which was marked by three different editors at three different stages as a sentence that was confusing and poorly written. To me, that sentence makes perfect sense – even now. But at some point, I had to go with the experts and say fine. I’ll strike it. Grumble, grumble.
Keeping all of this in mind, you don’t have to make every change your editor suggests. Knowing when to plant your flag and say no is difficult, but sometimes necessary. Again, through boring personal anecdotes, I will explain to you what I mean.
An early editor of mine is an expert in young adult literature. She knows her stuff and I would return to her every time. That said, she also gave me some feedback I knew was not correct. There is a throw-away line early in the novel in which my character mentions the need for “a decent presidential candidate.” My editor, the well-vetted YA expert, said this was unequivocally not indicative of how a 16-year-old would think. I firmly disagree. Being active in political campaigns, I know many teens who are passionate enough about politics that they devote their spare time to volunteering. Having teenagers myself, I'm also aware of Young Democrats and Young Republicans clubs on high school campuses across the nation. To say teenagers don't care about politics is not just wrong, it's insulting.
Another matter came with the name of a real-world location. Have you ever heard of a university in Columbus, Ohio called Ohio State? I haven’t. I have heard of The Ohio State, though. Every editor who looked at my manuscript told me to remove “The” when I mentioned The Ohio State. Even after I explained the name of the school is THE Ohio State, they argued with me. I’ve had to stand firm, repeatedly, over the course of two years because of a three-letter article.
Those were instances that were easy for me to argue. I said to each of the editors that they were wrong, but I was polite in my explanation. My character does care, at least a little bit, about politics. The character who attended The Ohio State would never refer to his school without the defining article. These are issues that, while somewhat annoying, can be easily dealt with. There are others that are matters of preference or opinion. Those are more difficult to argue.
A singular editor told me I’m not capturing the language of the modern teen due to my lack of profanity. I’m also not realistic in the portrayal of the modern teen as not being sexually active. These are areas where I refused to budge. While I am aware many teens use profanity in their daily speech, I made a conscious effort to avoid non-family friendly language in my writing. While I’m aware sexual activity is a reality, this isn’t what my book is about. I want this book to be something any 10-year-old could read to their grandparents with no awkwardness. Therefore, there is no graphic language and the romance is as minimal as I could get away with for this story. Apologies to readers who want something a little steamier. I assure you there are plenty of options out there. Despite what this editor wanted, mine isn’t one of them.
Lastly, one of my editors (and one of my beta readers) complained about my main character being a Mary Sue. If you have read through this blog, you already know my problems with that particular turn of phrase. However, I have to argue that Nell is not a Mary Sue - the character who is perfect and desired for no other reason than she is. Nell is described as forgettable in appearance and insecure. Not to spoil the book too much, but she also makes mistakes - some that won't come to light until book two is released. Therefore, if you want to know what mistakes I'm referring to, make sure you get as many people as possible to buy this book. Book two won't happen if book one isn't a success. Yes, I just turned my complaint into a pitch but let's be real, this whole website is a pitch. I'm not writing this blog for my health.
Once again, I digress.
My response to those who referred to Nell as a Mary Sue weren't what I first thought, which was a lot of nonsense words born out of rage. Instead, I calmed myself and said the novel is told from Nell's perspective. This is how she sees herself. While I was willing to make some changes, this is who she is. My editor responded that I needed to make her whine more. Teenagers are whiney. This doesn't read as real because of the lack of whining.
I hate whining.
Ask my kids. The one way they could always guarantee to never get anything they wanted was to whine about it. I don't want to listen to whining, I don't want to read about it and I certainly don't want to write about it. To me, whining is the worst character trait one can have short of cannibalism. Still, I had to listen to my editor and understand where she was coming from. In reality, Nell would probably be whining about being dead - so I added the exact amount of whining I thought I would be able to stomach without throwing the book into the giveaway box alongside some other books that will remain unnamed because I'm not here to disparage my fellow authors no matter how sparkly their vampires are*.
I heavily encourage you to take every word said by every editor to heart. Be willing to make changes. Also be willing to fight. When you do fight, be firm, be polite and, most of all, be assured that your work will be at its best without the changes suggested by the expert.
*I know what you're thinking but I assure you, I read all of the Twilight books like my life depended on them. I just didn't think I needed to keep them around to read a second time. And before you ask: Team Jacob.
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