No Holes Without Flashlights

The life of an author is a great deal of fun.  Long nights spent talking with your imaginary friends, intense research rabbit holes, making up lies complete strangers will believe, and talking with readers at public events are just a few on a long list that makes living in the world of words an absolute delight. 

There are other aspects of the career path though, that aren’t as enjoyable.  For example, I’ve never met an author who described marketing, the technical challenges associated with cover design and interior formatting, or keywords and pricing particularly indulgent or even merely satisfying pursuits.

The truth is, committing to a career writing books is a lot of what Robert Downey Jr. and Russell Crow call “hugging the cactus.”  It’s often a solitary slog through long days of getting paragraphs just right, crafting personalities who clash and cohabitate in equal measure, and enticing interest for others in something that easily brings you happiness without any traps for them.  We spend countless hours begging shops and libraries to carry our books.  We become addicted to social media and the high of seeing that next review, even if it’s only three stars.  We spend more money than we will ever admit on conferences, festivals, and swag, pushing ourselves to become an “overnight success.”

If you asked, many authors would describe the editorial process as perhaps the sharpest point on the literary cactus.  It’s not the easiest thing to do… pass off your pile of moments of inspired greatness to another human with the foreknowledge that their focus will be to rip it to shreds.  It’s a challenge to “kill our darlings” for the greater good of a story, and harder still is being faced with a page full of more red swiggles than black text.  It can sometimes be enough to make you question your sanity when you chose this life.

Yet for me, the editorial process is one of my favorite things about being an author.  I recognize that I am not in the mainstream with this opinion, and I also recognize that the term “normal” may not apply to me… and I’m not quite sure I want it to.  That being said, I truly love the editorial adventure.

I had the privilege of sitting with my editor last night.  As I worked on my latest novel with her, I was reminded that as an author, there is no greater assist in crafting the spectacular than handing my work to someone who sees it through a different lens of perspective. My editor is the Amazing Kalli Connor, and she loves storytelling almost as much as I do.  She has a terrific ability to coax from me new ways to improve the tale, make the characters distinctive three-dimensional people rather than flat foils, and add sensorial depth to my worlds. 

Brainstorming with an editor, whose goal in life is to make my books amazing, challenges me to become a better writer.  Every time we sit together, a flurry of imagination flies through the room.  We play “what if…” and “that would mean…” and “is there something else hiding in there…” with so much enthusiasm, it simply doesn’t feel like work.

After several hours (six or seven, actually) of discussion and discovery, I came away with a plethora of new ideas to incorporate into my book… and each one will make the story so much better than it was when I began writing the thing two years ago.  She allows me to see my work the way a reader does – with fresh eyes and no expectations… except that it all makes sense.  Most importantly, Kalli has once again saved me from myself, identifying one of my biggest failings… this book actually starts at chapter three!  Don’t laugh.  That struggle is real.

Most writers don’t find a great deal of excitement ripping apart sentences and paragraphs, flipping a phrase around because the tense is wrong, or dissecting the story structure to remove the dead weight.  But for me, the editorial phase of book creation is the part I most enjoy.  Seeing a story evolve, grow, and become more interesting after having been under my editor’s microscope is tremendous fun.  Sure, I have some great ideas, but without an editor, they remain just that – rough draft ideas.  With an editor who not only shares my enthusiasm for the craft, but who also is not afraid to tell me when I can do better… that is when I accelerate toward success.

So, yes, I have a vast array of rewrites to work on… and I know there will be more coming as Kalli digs deeper into my story, but I’m so grateful.  My editor makes me a stronger writer, which means the stories I release into the wilds will be far more entertaining for readers.

Collaboration through the creative and editorial process can be simultaneously poignant, tentative, revealing, and exciting.  Drake helps me stay afloat and paddle through the unknown territory of a new story that needs to be told, while Kalli smooths out the rough parts, helping me identify the holes so readers don’t fall too far without a flashlight. 

​In my work as an editor, I hope that I embolden my clients’ passion for storytelling the way Kalli inspires mine