BY TERRI WAGNER
Before We Edit
“We have accepted your manuscript, and are offering you a contract.” Those words generally make an author jump for joy. As your future editors, we have mixed feelings when that offer comes around. First, we are as excited as you are about your being offered a publishing gig. It somehow gives you that confirmation you really are an author. And it gives The X another feather in its publishing quiver. Only later does reality seep in, and seep is the right word.
Here at The X, our contracts lay out your manuscript’s future. It is a map to a finished, polished, published piece. It is as much our work as yours. Our names only appear as fine print on the frontispiece, but we know (and by then you will know) it was a team effort.
The X contract will give you a fairly specific timeline so you have a pretty good idea of when that book/anthology is coming out. And marketing comes into play the day you sign the contract, so we don’t leave that out either. But that moment between “I got a contract” and “my book is printed” (we still use that term although in fact most are digital these days) is a million years (so it seems) of hard work, haggling, and compromise.
After the contract is signed, we schedule a launch meeting. We write up an agenda to discuss the entire “map” to your published piece. We set dates, work up a master plan on editing, and marketing, and try to address an author’s descent into publishing madness.
However, there is this space of time between “accepted, contract, launch meeting” where an author’s attitude is unfortunately sometimes set in a dangerous and possibly contract-breaking way. So, today, I want to warn you about some things you might want to consider just after you sign that contract, and before that launch meeting.
First, do not assume that an accepted manuscript means all that remains is some tweaking, and you are good to go. We provide access to your manuscript’s evaluations. Please take the time to look that over, and seriously assess each review comment.
These evaluations are done with a professional eye to assessing the value of a work. It is the first place we note troublesome issues. Here is where you will find what you did well, and more importantly, what you did not do well. Sometimes, and this may hurt to hear in the initial excitement, what we decided was “there’s potential” here. When you see words like needs character development, needs clarification, needs some background, climax peters off, etc. PAY ATTENTION. Those comments are for your benefit, and editors you work with WILL address each of those issues.
Second, never assume one round of editing is going to be enough. This is for the long haul. We want you to look professional, and likewise, we want The X to look professional. That takes effort, time, and sweat equity. Prepare for the haggling. As editors and authors work together, things can become dicey. The odds are that the “I’m the author, we do it my way” spiel will not end well. Ultimately, you may regret that attitude.
Dicey, haggling, and compromise are not exacting words. They simply point out that an author and an editor are going to “see” things a bit differently. We promise our editors will work with you. Think of it more as the truism: the whole is more than the sum of its parts. That finished manuscript will include your vision, your editors’ refinements, and together will be a whole neither of you could have accomplished alone.
Editors are not out to get you; they are out to protect you, and polish your work. It is not only our job, but our joy. I may hate to send back a chapter for the fifth or sixth time, but I will not stop until it is right. Why? We both want that perfect professional piece. When I am working with an author, and the light bulb clicks on in their head, I’m somewhere pumping my fist.
Third, bring your own “map” to the launch meeting. If you did that first step of reading the manuscript evaluations, you know what is going to be discussed. Come prepared to ask questions, support your viewpoints, clarify your meaning. Come prepared to learn. Editors very, very rarely say “my way or the highway.” Most of the time, it’s “how can you write that so it’s better understood by your reader?”
Once I had the opportunity to do an amazing and insightful project BEFORE editing was even discussed. On a Google doc, the author wrote this is what happened in chapter one; and I wrote, this is what I read in chapter one. The light bulb went on for both the author and I. Assuming we are both on the same page is a rookie mistake made by both author. When the author comes prepared to discuss evaluation issues, we know this is going to be a signature piece for the X. And frankly we want all our works to be signature pieces.
So after the contract signing, the self-congratulations, the relief and joy of having that title “author” begins to wear off, settle down, and prepare for business. The sooner the author is ready to tackle the issues, the easier the actual editing process becomes. And if the initial process (before actual editing) seems to take too much time, take heart. It usually means the actual editing will be clean, fun, and quick (and painless).
Terri Wagner lives, writes, and edits from her home in Alabama. Her most recent project, Terra Mechanica: A Steampunk Anthology, was released in May 2014. Her next project, The Mage and the Magpie (The Bookminder Book 1) by Megan Wiseman, is slated for release in August 2014.
Other works to Ms. Wagner’s credit include Shades and Shadows: A Paranormal Anthology, Mr. Gunn and Dr. Bohemia by Pete Ford, and Conjectrix (Vivatera Book 2) by Candace J. Thomas.