or, why I love working with indie authors
The title of this piece is as much for authors as it is for editors.
Editors lament the difficulty they experience sometimes in convincing independent (indie) authors that their manuscript needs to be professionally edited (and proofread) prior to self-publication.
But indie authors just want to get their book out there into the world, as quickly and as cheaply as possible. Right?
The editor may feel they are banging their head into a brick wall. Yet, they remain oblivious to the indie author’s battle with the two-headed demon of time and money.
I’m not usually prone to such violent analogies, but this topic calls up strong emotions. What I mean is this: people can take a view on something and hold onto it tightly – too tightly – despite mounting evidence to the contrary. They may be bleeding from the head yet insist they are fine. Really.
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that words have power.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.
That’s how the saying goes.
A HORSE?
Every writer is a unique beast, but if you really want to compare them with horses, consider the strength of that comparison: horses are powerful, sensitive, courageous. Treat your author, the heroic beast that they all are, with due respect.
Indie authors may vary widely in the nature of their work and how they want to build their writing career. For example, self-publication may seem like a reasonable route because the indie author may:
- want to develop their writing skills
- seek to build an audience or following as an independent author
- want to build up their confidence before they approach an agent or publisher
- have other reasons for wanting to self-publish.
To the indie author, engaging a professional editor may feel like taking a risk (or not). It could be the most challenging experience of the writer’s life, or the most fun, or neither.
The nature of that relationship depends on both the author and the editor.
The author–editor relationship
As an indie author, apart from getting a well-edited manuscript, what is it you really want from your relationship with an editor? To learn about the craft of writing, to feel supported, to know you can entrust your manuscript to a true professional …?
As the editor, apart from doing a good job and getting fair pay for it, what do you want? An appreciative client, an author who trusts your judgement and advice, who will return to you with their next manuscript …?
What else?
LEADING (A HORSE) …
A highly skilled, sensitive editor can seek to embody the values, principles and strategies of leadership by building trust with their authors, and through empowerment and encouragement. Indeed, the editor–author relationship has the potential to be one of the most intimate and influential of professional engagements.
There are plenty of examples of such relationships, spanning years or decades – perhaps even all of their professional lives.
One of the most interesting is that developed between editor Thomas Wentworth Higginson and poet Emily Dickinson.
Leading, not forcing
Editors who don’t understand that their role is to facilitate, rather than force, will understandably experience frustration, again and again. ‘Why don’t/won’t they listen to me?’ the editor thinks.
The answer is that the role of the editor is to help the author, by pointing out problems or potential problems, and offering options for resolution by the author.
Edits should always be ‘suggested edits’. It is the author’s prerogative to accept or reject (or revise) the proposed amendment – even if that makes something within the manuscript ‘wrong’.
Responsibility for a poorly worded or inaccurate statement belongs to its author, who ultimately will be held to account for it. Their writing career and reputation depends on how they handle that responsibility.
And an editor who is concerned about being associated with a work can always decline to be named (credited) within it.
… TO WATER
Water is the essence of life. In literature, water can be taken to symbolise fertility, birth and rebirth; purity, cleansing and the washing away of sins; and further, ease, grace and fluidity.
And just so, there are different types, stages and levels of editing in the creation of literary works. As with water, the different elements can take a variety of shapes, forms and purposes.
- In a publishing house, the publisher, publishing director or publishing board (or publishing committee) has the final say on all major decisions relating to the publication of a book, including approval of contracts, budgets and plans.
- The commissioning or acquisitions editor engages with authors in that fertile, early birthing phase. Together, they take the kernel of an idea and set out to collaborate and agree on how it might be brought to fruition.
- The developmental or structural editor works with the author at the big-picture (chapter or scene) level to clarify the form and shape of the book. Who is it for, and how will they read/use it? What’s the best way to optimise the narrative (or information) for the primary reading audience?
- The line editor or copyeditor focuses on writing style at the word and sentence levels, to ensure consistency in voice, tone, register, grammar, syntax and other language elements. The aim is to finish with a polished work that is ready for typesetting or layout.
- The production editor or managing editor has a much broader remit than the editing roles described above. They are responsible for assigning or commissioning services such as editing, proofreading, design, typesetting (layout) and printing, and ensuring the budget and schedule remain on track. (Indie authors also have to take on all these tasks, or commission others to do them.)
- The proofreader’s role is to correct surface-level errors after typesetting (layout). It is perhaps the most misunderstood of all the editorial roles in publishing. The most important thing to remember is that proofreading should take place after copyediting and layout – click here for more information about what a proofreader does.
Many, if not most, indie authors have very little knowledge or experience of the publishing process. They often have to learn as they go – and sometimes the lessons are tough! An experienced editor can help to steer the indie author onto the right path for their book.
JUST LIKE A WORK OF ART!
Apart from itself being a work of art, how is the process of producing a book with a publisher like the creation of a work of art, like a sculpture?
- The sculptor plans their work before they even touch the materials, deciding first on the correct type/form, consistency and volume of materials needed for their creation. In a commissioned literary work, the author and editor must first agree on the theme, subject, topics and audience for the book.
- Next, the sculptor makes a clay or wax model to serve as a kind of ‘sketch’ before they begin to carve the wood, stone or other material. Here, the author submits a plot outline, summary and/or table of contents for discussion and agreement before they go ahead and write the manuscript.
If they have already written the manuscript, the conversation with the acquisitions editor may start in a different way, but the book’s purpose and reading audiences are usually at the forefront of their negotiations. - Our sculptor may be done with the project when they have completed the artwork and created a statement of intent or a description of what the work means to them. But with a literary work, it’s only when the author has submitted the manuscript that the work of producing a book can really begin in earnest.
SO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WATER?
A powerful analogy of editing with water is through the idea of fluidity and movement: skilful editing facilitates the creation, recreation and refreshment of ideas, stories, myths and other narratives in literary works. Dams and blockages can stop or divert the flow to a new (sometimes better, sometimes worse) destination.
AND THE HORSE?
Horses lend us the wings we lack.
Leading a powerful, sensitive and courageous beast to water is an act that should come as naturally as life itself. (Remember, though, that a horse can probably make it to the water by themselves.)
A writer whose creativity is fully charged can produce work that dazzles like a fountain in sparkling sunshine.
And their editor’s engagement can bring forth fresh perspectives, directions and motivations.
Thereby demonstrating that you can lead a horse (author) to water (editor) for a refreshing drink or splash together. Providing there is trust.
