Editorial Input
Earlier this month I received my editorial letter on the third book in the Templar Chronicles series, DIE SCHATTEN (The Shadows).
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, an editorial letter is just that – a letter from your editor. In it, the editor will point out and explain any changes and revisions they would like to see made to a manuscript before it goes into final production. The intent is clear – to use the editor’s input and the author’s skill to make the best volume possible.
How the editorial letter is used varies from editor to editor. Some editors will make vague suggestions about what they want done. Others will provide detailed commentary. From talking to some of my writing friends, it has also become apparent that a fair percentage of editors don’t seem to have the time to bother with an editorial letter at all.
I’ve been extremely fortunate in my career when it comes to this phase of the writing process. My first editor, Amy Pierpont, not only would send back detailed editorial letters pointing out conflicting character issues, unresolved plot threads, and areas that just weren’t as clear as she might want them to be, but she would also redline the entire manuscript. Sentence by sentence. Page by page. Her detailed input helped shape my early writing and helped me improve at a faster rate than I could have done on my own. I’m indebted to her for that, particularly when I think about how rare that type of input is getting to be in today’s publishing environment.
My current editor, Tim Sonderhusken, was apparently cut from the same editorial mold as Amy. His editorial letter for DIE SCHATTEN contained fifty specific points/comments that he wanted me to address in the final version of the manuscript. These varied from a simple comment that the first chapter was “the perfect way to start the novel” to a detailed analysis of one of the secondary characters motivations and how this needed to be adjusted slightly so that it would not overshadow one of the primary characters goals. And he’s done this for each of the three novels I’ve turned in to him to date. While Tim doesn’t redline the manuscript itself, it is quite evident from his editorial letters that he has gone through it line by line and taken the time to do a very careful analysis of the work. He usually gives me a few days to work through his commentary and then we get together to discuss things in more detail. What makes this more amazing to me is the fact that English isn’t his mother tongue. I’m writing original novels for the German market, so Tim is taking my novel, written in English, reading it, converting it to German in his head, and making suggestions to improve what will be the final German language version of the book. That’s impressive. And there is no doubt that the process works. Each and every time our partnership has produced a stronger, more marketable book and that is good for both sides of the equation.
I have thirty days to turn this manuscript around and I’m about halfway through. (Which is good, because I’m halfway out of time, too!) I’m enjoying the work because, while it can occasionally be frustrating to rewrite something several times, I know that in the end both myself and my fans will be happier with the finished product.
I’m curious to hear from other writers about their editorial input. What editors do you particularly like working with? Why? Is there something your editor does at this stage of the process that you’ve found to be especially helpful? Is there something you’d like to see more of?
Let’s talk.
