editor perspective

How to Deal with Edits

Tweaked recycled blog post so may look familiar, but it's always a good reminder.

So you're an author. And you're picked up by a small press/e-publisher. You're simultaneously excited and nervous, because you know edits are coming up and you don't know what to expect.

Then you get them. And you wonder...wtf?

Part of my job is overseeing editing. I introduce authors and editors, am copied on all correspondence, and mediate in case any issues come up. Usually it runs smoothly, sometimes there are hiccups. The thing about collaborative edits, when you're bouncing a manuscript back and forth between author and editor, is that there needs to be balance. Writers need to speak up but also listen; editors need to be thorough but also flexible. Both parties need to leave their ego at the door and have the same goal: make the manuscript the best it can be.

But how do you find this balance?Read more