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January 25, 2012

Editing secrets

To a writer doing it all yourself:

Once you have a first draft in hand, what are the steps forward? I personally recommend letting a MS (manuscript) sit overnight, perhaps longer.

When you pick it up again, you are no longer the writer, you are the editor. Assume that someone else wrote this — in other words, free yourself to slash paragraphs, revise, rearrange, rewrite, toss out whole chapters (well, put them aside to see if it flows better without that subplot diversion).

To an editor, the words are not golden. The editor takes a loftier view — what is the arc of the story or narrative? Does the piece flow from beginning to end? Does it pull you along, anxious to find out what happens next, or how an argument rounds out?

Do you hear a voice in the writing, a consistent surefooted presence? If there are characters, can you tell one from another by the tone? Do you see the setting, or understand the premise? And the Perlongo test: if you pick it up at any random passage, do you immediately know what is happening?

Another take: Who are you writing this for? Visualize that person as well as you can. Male? Female? Young? Working? Cheap? Student? Filled with anxieties? Desperate for love? Ambitious? Depressed? A minority person? Looking for a fast buck? a cheap thrill? Relief from her/his dreary life? Nostalgic? Picky? Dense? Easily distracted? In a quandary? Now look at your piece to see how that person would read it. Did the writer connect to that reader?

As an editor, I’ve seen a lot of pieces in which writers have poured their hearts out — which is a good thing, as that’s where the value lies. But look from the reader’s eyes; she/he is not looking for your problems unless it sheds light on or mirrors her or his own. The editor and the publisher are there to build a bridge, if possible, between writer and readers.

I have a specific mission these days, on the question of writing, editing, and publishing. It’s based on my personal experience of writing, writing, writing without a lot of direction, and I had succeeded, in my own mind, in crafting believable stories out of thin air, building contrast and conflict, character change and resolution, with creative story lines. But when I stepped behind the editor’s desk and saw what others were doing — quite similar to what I had been doing — and I was also responsible to publish and find readers for same, my mind changed on what was valuable in writing. That and a writing class with Bill Richardson, who had one message: write yourself.

It’s easy to make stuff up, and fun too. Some popular authors do just that. But as an editor, I can tell you that that dreck gets wearisome. The MSS that made a difference to me were honest, they may have changed the names but it was obvious on reading this kind of material that it was carved out of life, sometimes painful life, not cardboard. It changed my attitude, and I understood why Hemingway might spend all day to write one true sentence.

That change may have migrated to my own writing, though I now understood that it wasn’t pounding out words that counted, that honest writing was hard. It didn’t come naturally like conversation, it was more like confession. And who wants to confess, day after day — not me.

So that’s where I see value in writing. The more crafted a piece, usually the less true it becomes. But don’t forget punctuation, spelling, grammar — well, that’s what editors are for.

OK, that’s off my chest. More later.

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