I'm a Writer and I Love Editors

            So, you wrote a book. Now, what? That was the question I asked myself as I was finishing the first draft of my first manuscript Finding Home. This may shock you to know, but the first wasn’t good. Neither was the second draft, but it got better with editing. That’s the thing they don’t tell you when you start writing.

Even the greatest of writers need editing. Not even Jane Austen hammered out the perfection that is Sense & Sensibility on the first draft. It took many, many months of self-editing and then working with an actual editor before what we know as the story of the Dashwood Sisters found its way to us as readers.  This was one of my first and most valuable lessons as a writer, the importance of editing!

            Not just in my own editing, which is important but in bringing in a professional. I don’t color my own hair. I don’t pedicure my own feet. I don’t groom my own dog. I hire professions to help add the smile to those things, that’s why I hired an editor. Their technical skills and know-how help shape my story into the best that it can be. There are different types of editors. There are line editors that assist with the word choice/grammar/spelling/context of the story. There are continuity editors that help you shape the story itself. What’s missing. What doesn’t make sense…etc. There are proofreaders that go through a manuscript and pain-shakenly identify any typing, spelling, or grammar errors.

            I am, no doubt, oversimplifying the various types of editing available out there. That’s because this blog post is self-edited and not edited by a professional (hence my stance for their needed role in this process). Editors are critical in helping writers put out the best version of their story. The investment in time spent self-editing and developing a relationship with a professional editor is crucial in offering the reader a brilliant story.

            This has been such a wonderful experience for me. Even though it means that I need to let go of my control, just a little, and embrace constructive feedback. Let’s face it as storytellers we are sensitive little flowers, whose ego is easily crushed like a petal. However, with the right editor and the right relationship your petals will grow stronger. I’ve seen my writing blossom over the last eight months. There are many root causes to this, but the greatest is due to the guidance and constructive feedback from my editor Gemma Brocato, USA Today Best-Selling Author (Check out her fantastic books!!!). It can be painful at times, but it’s been such an amazing experience and at the end of the day my writing will only grow stronger through the power of editing. It’s like any muscle. It needs to be worked and it needs to be worked in the right ways. Editing helps stories be worked in the right way.

            So, I’ll type it and I’ll type it LOUD AND PROUD! I’m a writer and I LOVE editing and the amazing people taking on the role of editor.