“The profession of book-writing makes horse racing seem like a solid, stable business.”
~ John Steinbeck (1902-1968)
Respectfully, I would like to add to the Steinbeck equation the responsibility of professional editing . . .
Working with a Professional Editor
“Should an unpublished writer spend money for an editor? I did my own due diligence and searched for ones that edited many books in my genre (found one through my writers group), and paid each one handsomely. It was well worth it. Got me traditionally published, each time.” ~ Nzondi Hall
Not a Butcher of Writing . . .
“Become a motivator of writing, not the butcher of it; similarly, become an editor, not the copy editor.” ~ Ehsan Sehgal
A Good Editor . . .
“A good editor is someone who cares a little less about the author’s needs than the reader’s.”
~ Dene October
The Interaction Between the Editor and the Writer
“The editor-writer relationship should not be thought of as adversarial.” ~ Benjamin Percy
An Interview with Ernest Hemingway
Interviewer: How much rewriting do you do?
Hemingway: It depends. I rewrote the ending of Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, 39 times before I was satisfied.
Interviewer: Was there some technical problem there? What was it that had stumped you? Hemingway: Getting the words right. — Ernest Hemingway, The Paris Review Interview, 1956
“Murder Your Darlings”
“Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it – wholeheartedly – and delete it before sending your manuscript to press. Murder your darlings.” — Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, On the Art of Writing, 1916
The Ego
As a published author, the focus of today’s post is nothing new to me. We write. We conclude that we have completed a flawless piece of written art. Not quite yet! I forget how many self-editing steps I take for each of my writings. Still, there are errors. Easily correctible mistakes that look at my embarrassed self. Why should such oversights not take hold of other writers? Of course, it should! If you work with a professional editor, trust that individual; for s/he has seen many an erroneusly compiled manuscript. However, make certain to do your part: self-editing. Also proofread with diligence the draft that your editor has sent to you. That draft is for your attentive reading, after all.
Enjoy your written draft, but do not assert that it is the best that can be done with it. The ego must rest throughout the process of writing, revising, proofreading, self-editing, but also during all the steps your editor offers you toward crafting your raw draft for the public eye.
Self-Critiquing One’s Own Writing/s
“Your manuscript is both good and original, but the part that is good is not original, and the part that is original is not good.”
~ Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)
Hemingway and Self-Editing
Interviewer: How much rewriting do you do? Hemingway: It depends. I rewrote the ending of Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, 39 times before I was satisfied. Interviewer: Was there some technical problem there? What was it that had stumped you? Hemingway: Getting the words right. — Ernest Hemingway, The Paris Review Interview, 1956