092: 5 Things Your Editor Wants to Tell You (But Probably Won't)

 

It's a behind the scenes episode! Hear what your editor is REALLY thinking (but probably won't ever share with you.)

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5 THINGS YOUR EDITOR WANTS TO TELL YOU (BUT PROBABLY WON’T)

Hi, friends, welcome to five things your editor wishes they could tell you, but probably won't. This is inspired by a video that I did. A while back, I think it was on TikTok initially talking about this, and I don't I think what's interesting about being in this position now is I've been on the other side of it. I've been a writer who has hired an editor and not known what to expect. I've been a writer who even before that was like thinking about working with an editor but didn't know what to expect. I just didn't know a lot about the process. And I didn't know a lot about editors in general. So there was just a lot of mystery. And I have a few episodes that I've done that talk about editing. And you can go check those out if you want kind of like FAQs about editing. And you know how the process works, at least for me, because every editor has a slightly different process in terms of the services they offer, or just how they work with clients.

But yeah, I think it's important to kind of talk about, and also this one's just fun. It's just fun for me to share things that, yeah, I probably won't ever really say to clients directly, but I sometimes want to, and I can just put it all in this episode. So I think this will be fun if you are someone who has worked with an editor, but even if not, even if working with an editor is not a possibility for you financially, or you're just not, it's just not something you want to do. That's totally fine. By the way, you don't have to work with an editor for your book. But maybe this will still be just kind of interesting to learn about what goes on on this side of things. So the first thing is something that I just kind of hinted at, which is that editors know, it's expensive.

They know it's an investment. We're not under any sort of illusion that this is just such a minor expense. And like, why doesn't everyone do this? And what's the big deal? Like we're aware, a lot of us are also writers, and probably writers who have hired editors, again, that that's certainly my case, I hired an editor. And I know it's a big decision. And it's a big expense. It is, in my opinion, not just as an editor. But as someone who's who has worked with an editor, it is money well spent with a good editor. If you have a bad editor, then unfortunately, that's different could be a different story. But if you have a good editor that you trust, that is so valuable. I am 100% convinced that if I had not worked with this editor on my first book that I would not have had agent interest and I might not have signed with my with my first literary agent.

Because the version that I sent her was a pretty different version than what I ultimately ended up querying with, I made some changes to the story, she pointed out some things about my main character that I just wasn't in a position to see because it was my first book and I was still figuring things out. And, you know, again, like no writer can view their own work objectively. So it was just such a good decision for me I'm so happy with with it. I'm so happy that I did it. So yeah, it is a big expense and we are very aware of that but hopefully it's a good investment for you. It's worth it. And editors for the most part are you know gonna be willing to work with you in terms of like payment plans and doing what they can to help you for this but it doesn't change the fact that it is an investment so just want to get that out there that people who do this like we know it's a lot of money. Number two ties into this though.

And number two is that editing is so much work, which is part of why it's so crazy. And I don't think writers if you haven't edited I don't think people are always fully aware of how time consuming this is and how much mental energy is required to edit a book. No matter what type of editing you are doing. When I was working in corporate when I was working as a librarian, when I was in school, high school, college, there were some certain things, certain tasks that I could procrastinate on and just get done the day before they were due. And it wasn't a big deal, because it turned out fine. And in fact, I was a pretty big procrastinator in undergrad, like to the point where, I mean, I just procrastinated like crazy on writing papers and assignments and whatever. And it usually worked out, okay, because I would get this burst of energy, I could cram, I could get things done, and it was fine.

Editing does not work that way. You cannot cram and get a big burst of energy and just edit a full manuscript the day before it's due like that. That's not how this works. It's not possible to speed it up, you have to be very focused. You can't be distracted when you're editing because it requires such a close read, again, no matter if you're reading to give people feedback on the plot, and the characters and the story and all that, or whether or if you're editing to look at punctuation and grammar, etc. You can't skim it, you have to pay close attention to what you're reading. So it's just not possible to speed it up. And it's not possible to do at the last minute like you really have to plan for it. And it just yeah, it just requires such an intense amount of focus and effort. And because it's it, you're doing a lot and it's a such a specialized kind of skill set to be able to edit a book and edit it well. So all of that goes into number one about it being expensive.

But yeah, it just it, it requires a lot of time. And I don't think writers always know that. Because if you're thinking about it from the outside of like, let's say a manuscript evaluation, which is the type of editing that I offer, where I'm doing, I'm just giving you feedback on plot, dialogue, conflict, world building, pacing, etc. You can look at that and just be like, well, you're just reading a book, like, how hard can that be? Like, no, no, it takes it takes a long time. And it also takes a long time not just to go through a manuscript, but to organize my thoughts, and write my editorial letter, which is a six to 10 page document that I give writers, I leave comments in the manuscript, but I also write this letter for them, and to organize my thoughts to pull out relevant passages from the text to support the things that I'm saying, to provide evidence to the client of like what I'm seeing to back it up. And that all takes a long time.

Okay, number three, your editor wishes they could tell you, but probably won't, is that it can be challenging sometimes to know how critical to be in your feedback and your tone of what you are providing to the client. Now I know I'm talking about editors as one entity here. And I think that most -- I'm sure that 99.9% of editors would agree with me about points one and two. This one I'm not as sure about obviously, I don't know every editor and have it pulled them on this. But I do have editor friends and have gotten to know other editors through social media and stuff. And it's, it's just something that I know can be difficult for some people. Not every editor struggles with this, but there are some that do. And this is something I've struggled with a lot more in the beginning when I was just getting started. If you're doing something like copy editing, where it's just okay, is there a comma here or not? Does this need to be a period? Is it missing an quotation mark? Does this need to be an em dash like, there's not, there's not really room for like, you don't have to worry about your tone.

But if you're doing developmental editing, or a manuscript evaluation, you are giving feedback to the client. And then includes writing out your thoughts and organizing them and all of that. And it can be tricky sometimes because for me, I'll just share my own perspective on this. I never want to present an editorial letter and an edited manuscript to a client that makes them feel like shit, and makes them feel like they just need to give up on their story. There's no hope. Why are they even writing -- I never want a writer to feel that way.

But I also never want to gloss over things and just give the writer a pat on the back and they'd be like, this is so great. Like just a couple of little things you need to change but like oh my gosh, this is such a good manuscript like great job. It's going to sell so many copies like gold star, it is amazing. Like, I never want to give false encouragement either. So it can be, it can be challenging to find the right tone, where you want to present things and be like, these are things that need to be addressed. But also give them encouragement and say, like you were, you're doing this, well, like this little part here, this little insight into the character's internal world that you're doing on page three, like this is fantastic. This is really effective, because of xy and z.

So yeah, and I think in the beginning, I was much more hesitant to be critical, because again, I'm a writer, I know how it feels to get feedback, especially if I'm editing someone's first book, like I know how much hard work they put into it. And I don't want to be discouraging. But I think in the beginning, I was I was more hesitant to be critical. And now, I think I have a lot more of a balanced tone, where like, I will definitely tell you what's effective, and what's working in the manuscript. But I'm also going to, you know, I'm not going to be vague and ambiguous about what I notice are problematic points in the manuscript.

So if anyone is not familiar with this type of feedback, when I say feedback, I'm not talking about like, I really like this, this is great, or I don't like this, I think you need to change this. It has, it's not my personal feelings, I will occasionally insert a comment in the manuscript that's like lol like this, actually made me laugh out loud. I was reading, or like, as a reader, I did not see this plot twist coming at all this was shocking to me, like, great job, I was caught off guard. I will occasionally put those type of comments in where I'm providing my own thoughts as a reader. But 98% of my feedback is more objective.

So that when I'm saying, okay, like in the world building section, for example, of my feedback, in my letter, I'm saying, you have contradictory explanations for the magic system on page 17. In this passage that I've laid out for you here, magic is explained in this way. But then on page 140, the character uses magic in this way, and even says to character be, insert, quote. And then I'll say, you know what might want my suggestion is like, really get clear on the rules for the magic system, because it needs to be consistent. So what I'm doing is I'm looking at the text, and I'm analyzing it and pulling out reasons to support the thoughts that I'm sharing with the reader, or sharing with the author, sorry, with the writer. So it's not just like, I think this needs more conflict. It's like no, based on all of these points in the manuscript based on X, Y, and Z. Here are objective reasons why the conflict is lacking. And if you insert more conflict into the story, here's what it could do. So that's what I'm saying, when I'm talking about feedback, just want to make that clear.

Okay, point number four thing your editor wishes they could tell you is that we get so attached to your story. And we get so attached to you. I spend weeks, days and days weeks with a manuscript and it is hard not to get attached. When you are spending that many hours with something, I get attached to the characters, the book, the world, for every project that I've worked on, even books that I feel like need a lot more work before they are ready to be published or edited again, or queried or whatever, doesn't matter, I get attached. I also get really attached to the writer, to the client, to the point where like, you know, sometimes people share with me specifically what their goals are, like, longterm. And sometimes people don't, but and I just have like an idea of what they want to do with the book after it's done. But in it at any rate, I want success for you. so badly, success, whatever that means for you.

Some people success is just publishing their book that they've written that they've been working on for 15 years. Like, that's amazing. Oh, that's so exciting. Some people's success is querying and finding an agent. And I want that for those writers so badly. Like I really desperately want them to find representation, if that's what they want. Some people it's being able to publish a couple of books a year and eventually get to the point where they can quit their day job. And like, I'm so excited for those writers to support them and I want them to sell a shit ton of copies of their book. And what's hard about editing is that when our project comes to a close, where I send you the manuscript, maybe there's a little back and forth, you have a question about something I clarify, we have a conversation, and we're done.

You know, that's it like I can't control what clients go on to get agents, I can't control who gets published where I can't control how many copies something sells. And it's really hard to see sometimes that clients, you know, don't always find the success that they've been hoping for. That's really, really hard. But it's also really cool. When clients do find success that they've been looking for, again, in whatever form it takes whatever success means to them, then I can celebrate with them. And I get even, like, I get so excited, and it's just the best feeling in the world. So yeah, I did not expect that level of emotional attachment when I started editing. But it's, it's a real thing. Whether I'm working with someone for a couple of weeks on editing a manuscript or working for six months with someone in a coaching program and supporting them through the process, like it's, it would be hard not to get emotionally invested and attached.

And number five, I hesitated to put this in here, I almost kept it at four and didn't talk about this one. But I can get into it a little bit more in this in a podcast episode that I can on something like a social media, you know, 45 second video, so that's why I want to talk about it. The thing that your editor wishes they could tell you but probably won't, is that if you are a good client in the sense that you are respectful and kind and a good communicator, you sign your contract on time you make payments on time, like you do your best to uphold your end of the of the relationship. If you do that you are like so much better. It's so much more likely to just have an editor who goes above and beyond and bends over backwards for you. 99.5% of the people that I've worked with, over the years that I've been working with writers have been amazing. And I'm not just saying that to be like, Oh, they're amazing. They're great. Like, no problems. Everyone's very receptive. Everyone's very grateful and appreciative of the work. They are, everything's done on time, they pay me on time, they get their work done on time, like everything's great, everything's lovely.

We have such good relationships, people end up coming back, like I have repeat clients that I love working with, it's just fantastic. And by the way, like if something comes up where you need to push a deadline, or like you need a little more time for something that's totally fine. You know, editors are not unreasonable. But it all comes down to how you ask. 0.5% of clients, really only like one or two -- well, really only one I'm thinking of who is really not a great client -- what those not great clients have in common is that they feel entitled to the editors time, they feel entitled to get more than what was agreed upon. They want the editor to do things for them that that more in the original contract, they expect a response right away, the free editor to be just at their beck and call. They demand things instead of asking, they're late with payments, they don't sign contracts on time, there's just everything just becomes so much harder. Working with those types of clients.

Again, I'm reasonable, like I understand stuff comes up, I'm more than happy to work with people to shift things around to accommodate them if I can. But I think a lot of this just comes down to like customer service, right? Like if you're demanding and you expect something from someone and you're rude, then that editor is not going to want to, you know, bend over backwards for you. Now I'm very happy and proud of the work that I put in even with those few difficult clients, I gave them a great experience. I turned in my work on time. I completed the work for them on time. I was really, really proud of the work that I did. I know that I put all of my heart and soul into editing their work, like I know that my site is completely clean, and I gave them a great experience. But I have had other clients, you know, the great clients, like the 99.5% of people, if they come to me, and they're like, hey, you know, I just wanted to ask, would it be possible for you to look at this, you know, book blurb that I'm writing, like, I'm happy to pay, just send me an invoice. And if you have a moment great if not, that's fine, too. I just thought I would ask.

I am so happy to do those extra things for my clients because they ask they're just like, they don't feel entitled to my time. You know, it's like, of course, I'll do that for you and I'll do it for free. I've also, you know, if someone just wants me to like proofread a query letter before they send it out, and they've worked with me before as a client, I'm happy to to do that, I'm happy to look at that one page for them. Technically, some of these things they should be charged for, but I don't, because I'm like, you've been a great client, I've loved working with you, like, I'm happy to do this for you.

So again, every client gets a great experience, no matter what it's just, if you are respectful, and you understand that the editor is busy, and is running a business, and is not just there to serve you and be, you know, 24/7 you are so much likely to have an editor who will do those extra things for you who goes above and beyond. And really just becomes like, I don't know, I almost feel like I'm becoming I've become friends with some of my clients, because we like have such a great relationship, and I love working with them. And you would think that would be common sense to, like, treat people with respect and, you know, kind of communicate openly with them and be polite, but I think, unfortunately, it's not. But on the whole again, I do want to reiterate that, like I've had just so many wonderful experiences with clients, writers.

Truly are, like, on the whole 99.9% lovely people who are understanding and open to feedback and just like just wonderful people to work with through this whole process, from the time that they fill out the form on my website saying, hey, I'm interested in working together all the way through the project closing like, it's just, it's an amazing experience. So, yeah. So again, I doubt any editor will, like, come out and tell you that. But yeah, it just, and I think in the past, like something that I did learn a lot from those couple of problematic clients where they were just, it's like, I had to have really strong boundaries in place as a business owner, and as an editor or coach, whatever. I had to feel comfortable pushing back, I had to in a polite way, of course, but it really taught me a lot about boundaries. And it was a good experience for me.

So in that sense, even though it wasn't fun at the time. It did teach me a lot. And again, on a whole writers are lovely people, we love working with you. It's just, it's so rewarding. So all right, well, I hope that was interesting and illuminating kind of talking about, you know, again, this this side of things and, and what your editors probably thinking but whatever, you know, admit to you. Thank you for listening and tuning into the podcast. I really do appreciate. Appreciate that and appreciate your support and messages and sharing the podcast review in the podcast, if anything, it really means a lot to me. And I hope you have a fabulous week and we'll see you next Tuesday. Thank you so much for tuning in.

Katie Wolf