An Editor's Inspiration

Today I am working on an extensive edit, where I am having to fill in large portions of text. And I have actually been battling what I call editor's block. Being a developmental editor, it is my job--and really it's a gift--to be able to see how a theme or topic can germinate into a full-fledged trade book. Basically this is called conceptualization. That part came pretty easily to me for this particular project. But somewhere between the conception and the development, I lost my train of thought a bit.

Now I am knee-deep into my edit and the deadline is encroaching upon, creeping into, or threatening to cramp my creative space.

However, what inspiration I thought I lost has returned full force. Want to know how? I began listening to the author speak on a similar topic. Having CDs or DVDs of my authors speaking or doing media interviews is really a point of inspiration for me when I begin to conceptualize or edit their work. I get fired up about their project just by hearing or seeing their passion about whatever it is they are talking about. I get a better sense of their voice, their mannerisms, their coined words or phrases, and other things that connect them so well with their audience. It helps me to be able to take those unique and identifiable traits and add them to the work I am conceptualizing or developing for them. I think adding those elements strengthens the impact of their book as well.

You may be reading this and thinking that writers have to come up with all their own ideas. That is definitely and hugely helpful and most generally preferred. Then there are times when someone who has adoring fans and incredible insights who needs that extra hand putting an actual book together that strings all of their appeal together into one place and on a solid, salable concept. That is where I come in.

So just a little tip: inspire your editor by sending them a CD or DVD of you communicating your heart to a large audience. It doesn't necessarily have to be about the subject at hand, although it really helps if it is.

If you are editing or writing for someone else, what are some tangible things that inspire you?

What I Don't Like About Being an Editor

Just the other day someone asked me what don't I like about my job as a book editor. I must have been going on and on about what I do like and they must have been like, "C'mon, there's got to something you don't like. It can't be all that." I promise you, I tried very hard to think of what I don't like. I was actually at a loss for words. I just kept thinking, "What don't I like about my job? My day-to-day duties? The authors? My coworkers? Freelancers? Agents? Books? Deadlines? Hmm..." I ran and reran the list.

I still don't know. The core of this job is dreamy. I get to utilize every corner, extreme, middle, and far left of my personality traits and natural skills in this job. I can be creative. I can be logical. I can be an introvert. I can be an extrovert. I can be strategic. I can be spontaneous. I can be OCD. I can be willy-nilly--authors can make you willy-nilly. Trust me. If they push hard enough, you'll catch your hard-and-fast wall of preferences come crumbling down, and from some place far away, outside your gut and core intentions, you'll hear your mouth say, "Aw... what the heck?" Ha! After a while, some things really don't matter.

I can be restrained, and I can be flexible. I have to be flexible.

What's not to like about being an editor?

• Bad manuscripts? No. You just fix 'em or reject 'em. Done.
• Difficult authors? No. You read the book How to Win Friends and Influence People and follow the steps in part 3. Done.
• Impossible deadlines? Not here. Speak your mind and say, "That's not going to get done in that kind of time." OR... Adjust your thinking. There's always a way to get it done, yes? Plus, it's good to get the blood flowing every now and then. Done.
• Small cubie? Salary? Really? YOU'RE DOING WHAT YOU LOVE and you are influencing culture. I mean, honestly, you can't fake it. You're either really here or not. Another truth: you are always in a meeting, traveling, on the phone, or glaring so deeply into your computer screen that you can't see anything else anyway. Done.

Help me. What else could there be to dislike? 'Cause honestly, if there is much to dislike about this job, you really can't do it well or for too long. The desire to do this kind of work really does come from a deep passion for words, books, creativity, and people--in a nerdy, introverted kind of way. If there were things about this job that bothered me enough to call out, I don't think I could have lasted in it for eight years and others for twenty-five and thirty years. It's my niche, my right fit.

WAIT! It just hit me! I do not like THE SLUSH PILE. I don't. I really don't. For real, what is the stuff that lands in there? It's horrible. It takes up a lot of time that I don't have and I have yet to publish anything out of it. I used to enjoy going through it back in year one or two. It used to be fun or funny. Whatever. Since I began calculating the ROI (after year four or five), I realize it SUCKS! Busy, I can handle, but wasting time? Not so much.

Ahhhhh... (sigh of relief). There. I said it. And now I feel free.

So what are some other things editors don't like about their jobs? Share.

Happy Anniversary to Me: 8 Years in Book Publishing and Counting!

A Personal Treatise

Not sure exactly why this year is so significant to me. I've had seven others and truthfully none have felt so exciting. All year I've been waiting for today so that I could somehow, somewhere mark this auspicious occasion [stilted language--for no apparent reason]. I do realize that the number eight is not so significant when it comes to celebrating any life event or milestone. Most people look forward to the fives--five years, ten years, fifteen years, and so on.