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The Writerly Life

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Episode 3

I waited long enough for Colin’s editing letter. Then I bought a ticket to Miami Beach to visit my best friend, Mike.

Colin’s letter arrived while I was waiting to board at the airport. My cell phone dinged, signaling I had email.

I ignored it for 8 days of sun, diving, cigars, stars and sand.

Arriving home, rested and eager, I opened the file.

17 pages.

Now, let me explain what an editing letter is. First off, this is the first such letter I’ve ever received, though a lot of really great editors work this way. Kate, my previous editor at Bantam, preferred to work off the manuscript page itself, marking it up with observations and suggestions. That was, for me, a really schizo experience every time I incorporated her edits. She is brilliant on the page, without question, and no mollycoddler (without question). Kate’s edits were a combination of backpatting and scorched earth. I learned most of what I know about good writing and editing from her. Colin, by comparison, I found to be equally as impressive with his edits and keenness of eye for detail and continuity of plot. But his format is very different.

Colin sent a remarkable document, and my long wait (plus short vacation) was worth it. On those 17 pages, he zeroes in on exactly what he wants me to look at, and suggests fixes or another viewpoint for me to consider. He goes by page, paragraph, and line, to bring my attention straight where he wants it, then gives me his spin on the language or plot point he wants me to scrutinize. Colin, unlike Kate, did very little line editing, leaving my language choices largely intact. For year I marveled at Kate’s talent for brevity; I may have finally learned her lessons, because Colin left much of what I wrote intact, questioning primarily my reasons and meaning. Different styles, as I said, and both very effective.

After I got home from Miami Beach, Colin’s 17 pages of edits took me 6 days to incorporate, working day and night to blend in his suggestions. I accepted about 80% of his suggestions straight up, made a stew of his positions and my own in another 10%, and downright refused to change on 10%. This was par for the course. Remember, writers: it is your book, but these are professionals with a unique and highly developed skill: making your work better, your voice clearer. Listen to them, work closely with them, and only resist when you’re able to support your choices.

The only major alteration was a new ending. Colin didn’t suggest what to do, just made his preference known for a certain result that he felt was missing form the book’s conclusion. I tried his approach and found a goldmine. My agent Tracy and her assistant Elizabeth both flipped for it, and Colin called the new ending a marvel. “As you know,” he wrote me, “I was head over heels for this book before. Now I’m I don’t know what.” That’s a fun note to get, people.

So, here’s where we are. I am officially off-duty for a while. Next, the book will go to copy-editing. An odd brand of editor takes over now, the one who checks authenticity and continuity of my facts, my language (Japanese and Filipino, in this novel), and my grammar. I will receive their edits in a month or so, and am free, again, to accept or reject their edits.

After that, the Simon & Schuster map makers will draw up the maps for my approval. We already have a fantastic cover (Colin says I can’t show you yet, but soon). Colin will write dust jacket copy, a marketing plan will be developed, a book tour schedule proposed. I will see a final galley, meaning it will be my last chance to make changes in the language. After that, hands-off. Then bound galleys will be printed for advance copies, the search will start for blurbs from other writers, and the sales staff will hopefully read and love the book (things work best when the publishers’ salespeople like and recommend your work; they are hugely important cogs in a successful novel).

I’ll keep you posted all along the way. For now, I’m considering what my next project will be. I have an idea, I’ve mentioned it to Tracy and Colin; preliminary responses are good. Right now, however, is the time to relax, rest up. Mike and I are taking a 51 ft. sailboat from Miami to Portland, ME from May 28 to June 10.

My new non-profit, The Podium Foundation (we are starting a literary journal and arts website for the public high schools of Richmond, VA) is going great guns, with new partners and donors all the time. My fantasy baseball team is in last place, and no one is going to catch me. I started out calling them the Richmond Churchills (motto: V is for Victory). They are now the Richmond Ghandis (motto: We’re pacifists, we don’t hit).

Stay well, stay safe, enjoy Spring. Help a neighbor, now more than ever. Think green. God bless.

David

—Posted 4.23.09