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Every now and then, you run across an editor who actually knows what the hell she's doing. I mean, all editors know what the hell they're doing, to a degree. But the editor who does it best--who does the whole editorial enchilada--well, she's someone special.
I was lucky enough to run across one of those editors recently. My agent had sent her a proposal and a few sample chapters for a new novel I'm shopping around, and she loved the concept, loved the writing, loved the story...but she turned it down. Well, let's back up a bit. She kind of turned it down. |
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You see, midway through the sample chapters we had sent, she felt a letdown. And she wrote my agent to that effect. In short, the section introducing the subject's parents didn't seem right to her. Too chintzy. Too undeveloped. Not in keeping with the rest of the book, with its richness and fuller character development.
I knew exactly what she was talking about. And she was right.
When I had originally developed the concept for the book, it was going to be a nonfiction history/biography. Since little has been published about the protagonist's parents, that section was understandably "skimpy."
But once I got into the book and realized the potential for a remarkably rich fictional adaptation of a true story, I decided to abandon the history and pursue the novel. But I had failed to fill out, to flesh out, the development of the parents.
If I could do that, the editor said, she would be happy to give it another read.
Now, here's where the "she gets it" part comes in. When most editors find a book they love, and then come to a part that turns them off, they stick a big Scarlet Letter on it and send it off to the junkyard. This editor saw past that, took the time to reflect her feelings about the book and how it could be made better, and sent us her thoughts.
The results? I'm hard at work beefing up the weak parts. She can't wait for another look. And by the time I'm finished with it, we're going to have a marriage made in heaven.
I wish more editors were as perceptive as she, so willing to stretch their editorial wings a bit, to go out on a limb and make some suggestions as to how a good book could be made better! Maybe some day all editors will do that. But, until then, all I can say is thank God for those precious few who already do.
So if you've been searching for--hoping for, praying for--an editor who can read between the lines, one who is willing to take a chance on a project she thinks she can support and believe in, don't give up hope of finding her. Sooner or later, you will.
Until then...
Smoke if you got 'em.
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