The Power of the Red Pen

I'm going to do a throw-back here topic wise and talk about being edited. Because it's kind of the coolest thing about being a to-be-published writer. Suddenly it's not just you pounding away at the keys in the shadows anymore and hoping what you're writing is working. Now there is a whole TEAM to make sure your story doesn't suck!!

My novel GLITCH is in it's last editing rounds now, but it's been through the editing ringer many a time. First, my agent wanted me to do some heavy revisions before he took me on as a client. Then we did at least two more rounds before submitting to publishing houses last January.

Then we sold to SMP and I got my awesome sparkly Can't Believe How Awesome She Is editor, Terra Layton. We talked on the phone after the deal, and she was gushing about how she loved my book and what she thought we could do to make it better. But from the beginning, she was always: it's your name going on the cover, it's your book. So, um, yeah. How lucky did I get!!

My first round of edits involved a fourteen page edit letter and was probably the biggest revisions I'd done since I'd done for my agent in the beginning. She asked a lot of questions in the letter and pointed out problems, but while she made suggestions, she let me figure out how to fix them. Plot points from the end got moved to the middle, some of the Big Reveals were switched around, action was added and finally, the second half stopped sucking ;) 

There have been two more rounds since then, last one was Line Edits, which are the coolest thing ever. Line edits are where your magic editor actually goes in at a close line level and makes suggestions and changes. I was so grateful for these--she was able to help me smooth out transitions, make clearer my character's motivations, and make the thing more of a cohesive whole.

Meanwhile, I've been working on getting a solid draft of Book 2 done, and I look at it and think EEEK! Then I remember, I have the whole team now, we'll make sure it, too, doesn't suck in the end ;)
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Heather Anastasiu is the author of GLITCH (St. Martin's Press/Summer 2012) Glitch in three words: Dystopia, Superpowers, & Love :) Check out my website for more news and updates.

My Love Hate Relationship with Edits

I'm a perfectionist. I can't open a document on my laptop and do a read through without making some kind of revision. Every time I read something, I want to tinker with the words or the sentence structure, or I think of something else that should be happening in the scene.

And it's not just with things I've written myself. I'm that person that is always making edits to other people's writing too. At one point, I was a teacher, and I always turned back papers covered in green ink (green, because red ink apparently can hurt people's self esteem according to our principal).

I was sure that when the time came, I would rock at edits.

This is embarrassing but true: I didn't. Like at all.

My first reaction whenever I read anyone's revisions notes was that I couldn't possibly do what they were asking. Whether it was because "it would change the entire dynamic of the book!" or just because I had no idea how to implement them, my knee jerk reaction was that I couldn't do it.

Which was weird, because I've never been an "I can't" person.

So I did a couple weird things to get through edits.

1. I waited at least two full days after reading the edit letter before opening the manuscript on my computer. I wanted to really let those edit notes sink in and be committed to them before working on it.

2. I talked (and maybe whined a little) about them a lot. Writer friends and publishing industry friends had to hear me discuss edits and why I didn't think they'd work--or maybe they would--many times. Thankfully I had a good support system of people who knew when to tell me to shut up and just get it done.

3. I made a playlist of music which I blasted during revisions--the kind of music that just isn't about to let a person fail. Like this.

4. I took things one step at a time--and I rewarded myself with every step that I accomplished. And I reminded myself when I got frustrated that writing a book is never really a one person job.

And

5. I realized the trick for me was to print the manuscript out and edit on paper. It was a lot of work, a lot of writing in long hand (in green ink), and then a lot of typing everything back into the document. But it allowed me to distance myself from my own words, to view them more objectively, and it guaranteed that I going over everything at least twice (once on paper and once when I typed it in), which (hopefully) meant I wasn't going to miss things.

But of course the best thing about edits, is when they're done, and you can read the first pass pages and see the words laid out like a real book.

Liz Norris briefly taught high school English and history before trading the southern California beaches and sunshine for Manhattan's recent snowpocalyptic winter. She harbors dangerous addictions to guacamole, red velvet cupcakes, sushi, and Argo Tea, fortunately not all together. Her first novel, UNRAVELING (Balzer+Bray April 2012), is the story of one girl’s fight to save her family, her world, and the one boy she never saw coming.

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Being edited makes me happy

This is not going to come as a surprise, but I love being edited.

I wasn't sure quite what to expect when I got my first edit letter. Something awful? Something soul-rending? I've heard enough writers wail about their edit letter and the impossibleness of it that I knew enough to be nervous. But I also hoped it would be like the most amazing critique from a smart writing friend I'd ever gotten -- only BETTER.

Basically, it was. I mean, yes, there were some difficult parts. You want me to do WHAT? But the first time I read the letter, I felt this huge sense of relief. It wasn't scary. I could see where my editor really cared about the story, and all the important things she spotted and wanted me to draw out. I could see where she was trying to make me a better writer.

In fact, once I was finished with editing INCARNATE, I moved on to use the same letter for book 2. Just judging by what she'd pointed out in the first, I could tell what she'd ask for in the second. I revised book 2 according to the first letter so she wouldn't have to ask for the same changes twice. Because how boring is that? This way, we could move on to new things. Better things. More advanced things. This way, book 2 will be even better than book 1. And if the pattern holds, book 3 will be best of all.

I learned that this shouldn't be a scary process. It can be intimidating, sure! But the right editor will inspire and help draw out the most important parts of the book. She will help make a good book great, and encourage the writer to try new things, to stretch herself. The right editor will make a story shine without ever showing that she was there.

So yeah, I love being edited. I love learning from someone as brilliant and inspiring as my editor.

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Jodi Meadows is the author of INCARNATE. (January 31, 2012 - HarperCollins/Katherine Tegen Books.)

She lives and writes in the Shenandoah Valley, Virginia, with her husband, a Kippy*, and an alarming number of ferrets. She is a confessed book addict, and has wanted to be a writer ever since she decided against becoming an astronaut. You can find her on her website and blog.

*A Kippy is a cat.