Inside The Editorial Mind
A lot of writers view editors as a mystery or an adversary of some kind, so I want to peel back the curtain a little and let you in.
In case you’re new here or didn’t already know, I’ve been a professional editor for fifteen years now. I started working at an indie publishing company before I graduated college (my degree is in history, not in English), and I have done a lot of freelance work as well as work for an indie publishing company which I owned. I have now transitioned into offering services to self-publishing authors. Everything from coaching to distribution.
I specialize in fiction and have done pretty much all the jobs a person can do in regards to bringing a book to market. I am, however, not an expert marketer (I have other people I rely on for that). I’m studying and trying to learn marketing, but I’m not far along enough to call myself an expert in that despite having most of an associate’s degree in business which included marketing. I’m also a chapter coordinator for the New England chapter of the EFA (Editorial Freelancers Association) and run a conference for writers and publishing professionals (Neurodivergent Publishing Conference).
I rarely lay out all my credentials like this, but I’m doing it here because I want you to understand who I am and what I mean when I say what I do. I’m not a random schmoe; I really do understand what I’m doing.
I’m also a complete nerd, a goofball, and a weird AuDHD gremlin, so while I have professional clout, I’m also just a person. Which is kind of the point of this article, to be honest. That’s what editors are: people. We are humans — most of whom share a great deal of traits with writers. We are often introverted, love books and reading, are deeply nerdy, and often have cats as a co-pilot. This includes all of the professionals at all levels. Whether you’re talking about the head editor of Tor publishing or a freelancer you’re hiring, we are all complete nerds, and most of us are goofy, sweet, silly, and really passionate about our jobs. Just like you.
When I am working with a client, my entire focus is on one thing: helping my client succeed in the industry. Success in this case meaning connecting with their target audience, their book being good quality and enjoyable, and their work being something the market would receive well.
Naturally, this means some tough words. I have to tell people that their baby is ugly sometimes. My job is to help people which rarely includes blowing smoke up their backmatter. While I do my best to deliver difficult news gently, the reality is that it still has to be delivered somehow. That, and it’s never not going to sting. I also know that, too. As an author, myself, I understand how un-fun it is to have criticism of your novel that you’ve spent who knows how many hours on and is, in fact, your brain child.
Other than outliers (which I will address), no editor ever wants to destroy an author’s confidence. We don’t want to hurt any of you. We aren’t out here twirling our mustaches in sinister amusement. Well, not most of the time. I don’t bill for mustache twirling. I usually reserve that for my D&D campaigns and personal writing. Inflicting emotional damage is a specialty of mine in those contexts. But I’m never out here enjoying the idea of giving a writer a bad day.
In fact, I and most of the editors I know all dread hurting an author’s feelings and confidence. Behind closed doors, most editorial groups have long discussions of how to deliver news to clients. We discuss how to phrase things so it won’t harm the people we care about because we do care about you. We care about you a whole lot and not just because you’re giving us money. Book editing is more than just a profession; it’s almost a calling. It requires long, hard hours of doing exhausting work that is often going to upset people and is frequently under-appreciated. It’s sort of like the old special effects motto: if we do our job, nobody knows we were here.
I don’t delight in beating the life out of a book, either. I’m never out here to change an author’s prose because it makes me happy. If I suggest a change, it’s because it’s what I wholeheartedly believe will benefit the author’s readers. It’s not about my taste so much as it is trying to serve as a bridge between the author’s vision and the reader’s enjoyment. And that’s the key.
At the end of the day, the job of an editor is to be the voice of the reader in the author’s conversation. We as writers sometimes don’t realize how something will be read or don’t realize that our darlings won’t land with our audience as well as we think they might. If something doesn’t make sense to our editor, there’s a solid chance it won’t make sense to our readers. Assuming the editor is, of course, an expert on our genre and audience.
Which leads me to those outliers I want to mention.
There are, in fact, editors who are awful people. Folks who, through ignorance or narcissism, are likely to stomp through an author’s manuscript like a rhinoceros with no regard for author voice, style choices, or author feelings. Some newbie editors are like that — I sure was when I first started. I didn’t know better at the time. I was told, “this is how things are done,” so that’s how I did them. I have no problems admitting I was ignorant at the time. Fifteen years later I have far more experience, perspective, and understanding.
The other type are far more dangerous. Narcissism is an ugly thing, and there are people in the world convinced they are God’s gift to language who think their opinion is the only one that matters. Usually those people are not on the inside of editor communities (because they’re booted out), and they are the bane of most professionals. They’re the folks writers talk about as nightmares in writing groups and who give the rest of us a bad name.
Also, there are people who have no idea what they’re doing and think editing is a way to make a quick and cheap buck. There are a lot of those who are, quite frankly, scammers. I don’t count them as editors; they’re just scammers using our industry.
Good editors — and there are a lot of us! — are worth their weight in gold and tend to be sweet, nerdy people who want to help you and get anxious sending negative feedback. We aren’t your enemy; we are your ally. And we really, truly, honestly care about you, your book, and your writing. And we usually love what we do.