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It's not easy, being a freelance writer. Or hadn't you noticed?
But every now and again, some editor does something that brings a smile to my face. One of those editors recently did even more than that.
A few years ago, my agent had agreed to represent a novice author and her horror novels. The agent pitched them everywhere, with no success. Then, finally, one acquisitions editor for a major publishing house e-mailed her and said she'd be glad to take another look if the author was willing to make some changes. Faye Swetky e-mailed her client, who jumped at the opportunity.
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After talking with the editor over the telephone as well as by e-mail, the author thought she had a pretty good bead on what changes the editor wanted. She rewrote the book, changed the title to more accurately reflect the new story line, and resubmitted it. The good news? Well, there was none. The editor decided that the book still didn't read the way she'd hoped, and she rejected it.
But wait. More than a year later, the editor wrote my agent and asked if she still represented that author. She said that she had just had a "hole" open up in her publishing schedule, and she thought the author's original book might fill her needs nicely.
The rest, as they say, is history.
The bottom line: An author who thought her book would never see the light of day is now going to be published by a major publisher. And that publisher might well take on some of her other work, too. In short, this may end up being an author-editor relationship made in heaven.
It's one of those "never give up" stories, one of those rags-to-riches tales that we have to keep reminding ourselves as writers really do happen. Perhaps not as often as we might hope, but they happen.
So the next time you're sitting around the Christmas tree, drinking eggnog and wondering what your future as a writer will be, remember this little story. Even after an editor turns your work down, you may still have a shot at the big time.
Until then...
Smoke if you got 'em.
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