The Writing Life – Editors: The evil red pen or a blessing in disguise?

I forget what day of the week it was when my first batch of edits were sent from the publisher. I do remember I was very excited about the entire process and of course, because I would finally have a book on the shelves. Still so daggone naïve. {shaking my head}

So I ripped open the package and read the letter that was on top of a rubber banned bundle. The further down the page I went on the letter the slower my heart began to beat. I was congratulated on writing an “interesting” story. That was the best part of the letter. From then on I was systematically told everything I’d done wrong in writing this “interesting” story. Now, by the time I finished reading the letter I had to sit down. My previous elation had drained out of me as quickly as a deflated balloon.

On to the bundle which was my “interesting” story. I flipped through the first couple of pages without even reading the comments because at this point I felt like the ability to read was totally betraying me. It didn’t matter, all I saw was RED. I thought it was because I was upset about the letter so at first I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. But when I re-opened them and flipped through more pages there was more RED, and more RED. I wanted to cry. Really, I did, and I am not a crier at all. But I felt like my dream of being a writer had been shattered by a freakin’ red pen!

Hubby told me to just put it down and sleep on it. So I did. The next morning all the comments were still there and more so because I actually went through the entire manuscript this time. [What’s really bad about this is that I still hadn’t actually READ one comment that was written on the manuscript.] I went to work (at that time a personal injury law firm), dutifully carrying the bundle with me. At lunch time I looked at it again and began to read some of the remarks written in the margins. Not, the ones in the actual text because I recognized the proofreading symbols and knew they weren’t too harmless. By the end of the day I was livid. After reading the comments I really felt like this person—whoever had held the red pen and so mercilessly scribbled all over my masterpiece—had to be possessed with some sort of evil spirit. Without another thought I picked up the phone (my desk phone) and called my editor—you know the one who’d called me at ten o’clock one night to tell me how much she loved my story and wanted to publish it. [Yes, I put that long distance call on my employer’s phone bill. I should feel bad, but looking back, I don’t.] Anyway, my editor listened to me and spoke in a really calm voice when she said, “Nobody is trying to re-write your story. We just want it to be in the best possible condition when we publish.”

Okay, that made sense. And because I was so upset and she was so calm, my head actually stopped throbbing. My breaths came easier and I could read the RED remarks wherever they were on the page without wanting to scream. We went over a lot of the comments and I was assured that I could always dispute changes if I wasn’t comfortable with them. But really, by that evening when I’d read most of the story again along with the comments, I didn’t dispute a lot.

So here’s the thing about edits, when you first get them back you should read them ALL. Then put that bundle of joy (which I know call all my manuscripts when they come back from my editor) in a corner and watch your favorite movie while eating your favorite dessert. For me that’s really depending on my mood—today it would be Miracle on 34th Street and a bag of chocolate covered raisins from Wockenfuss. About two or three days later, depending on your deadline for returning the edits, bring your bundle of joy out of the corner and read the edits again. Then get to work!

Writing is an emotional process but if you want to make it in this business and be professional you have to learn when to check your emotions at the door. I go through all my edits twice, I recognize the mistakes, take the suggestions and use what I agree with. At this stage of the game, twenty plus novels later, I don’t dispute a whole lot. Then again, my bundles of joy no longer look like the infamous red pen has exploded all over it. See, learning to write professionally is a process. With each novel you are expected to grow and to take the corrections and admonishments from the past to heart as you’re writing. The comments of my very first editor replay in my mind constantly as I’m writing a manuscript, so that now I don’t make a lot of the same mistakes. Of course, I’m not perfect—and it’s a good thing I’m not because I’d been absolutely horrible to live with if I were—so I still get edits but my “interesting” story is usually a “great” story now and I’m usually thanking my editor for seeing things that I didn’t see.

The moral of this story is that I survived the horrid edits and have learned how to deal with them. Now, this might just work for me, I don’t know, crazy person that I am. LOL But I’d like to think there’s some logic in here somewhere that may just help the next writer. Or at least I hope so!

Next Installment: The Writing Life: Waiting and waiting and waiting. Is Patience Really a Virtue?