Good and bad editors

In Manuscript Critique, I talked about my experience with a good editor. Unfortunately, on my next book (Kentucky Dreaming) with a different publisher, I was assigned a not-so-good one.

Thomas McCormack, the former CEO and editorial director of St. Martin’s Press, once said in an interview, “The most damaging editorial comments I’ve seen have all come from the editor’s inability to take on board something new…(and)unerringly suggests deleting exactly the aspects that make the novel fresh, unique and cherishable. These people shouldn’t be editors, but unfortunately the industry is rife with them."

It’s not the editor’s job to push his or her own views and refer to previously edited books while trying to redirect the writers’ thinking. This is the Bad and the Ugly that lurks in the editorial world. After nearly a year of frustration with this new editor, I asked for and received a cancellation of a three-book contract.

Editing has many definitions. Beyond the basics of plot and story development, there’s light proofreading for simple errors, advanced editing that includes line-by-line editing and copyediting for continuity and heavy copy editing that includes all of the above and makes suggestions for copy additions and removal that will improve the story overall.

It’s been said that 90 percent of writing is rewriting. When thoughts are flowing and fingers are racing across the keyboard, editing shouldn’t get in the way. You’ll have plenty of time to smooth out your writing when the revisions begin.