How to Please Your Editor—Without Losing Yourself
By Guest | September 22, 2013 |
Photo by lilivanili
Today’s guest is Katharine Britton, author of the recently released LITTLE ISLAND (September 3, 2013, Berkley Books/Penguin). Little Island, her second novel, is a family drama about four generations who gather for a weekend on their small island in Maine. It doesn’t take long for the tragedy that has defined this family to resurface—and for painful secrets and old resentments to emerge.
According to New York Times bestselling author Nancy Thayer,
Katharine Britton’s Little Island flows with such luscious writing I wanted to slow down to savor it and a plot so compelling I tore through the book as if I were reading a page-turner mystery.
Follow Katharine on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
How to Please Your Editor—Without Losing Yourself
My first novel was (note the past tense) about two sisters, ages seventy-two and eighty, estranged for sixty years who reunite in their childhood home on Boston’s south shore. The story unfolded in shifting time frames, with chapters alternating between the 1940s when the sisters were young, and present day. An editor liked the story and was interested in buying the manuscript, with one or two changes: She suggested I make both sisters younger and the older sister nicer. Since this was the first bit of interest I’d had in a manuscript (twenty-five editors rejected my first one) I considered her advice and realized that, one: if I made the changes, the story would be stronger and, two: if I didn’t, she would reject it.
I made the sisters fifty-eight and sixty-seven, set their childhood in the 1960s (making the estrangement forty years rather than sixty), and softened the older sister. The editor bought the manuscript, and then suggested I change the title.
My goal was to be a published author. False pride was not going to help. I had to be practical. Still, I wouldn’t have made the changes if I hadn’t agreed with them.
My second novel was about Grace, a sixty-four-year old woman whose mother has recently died. (Again, note the past tense.) She’s planning her mother’s memorial service, based on a note she found beside her mother’s deathbed: Grace, flowers, by the water, have fun! Grace loves to garden and lives on an island, so the first two requests present her no problem. “Fun,” however, is not a word Grace associates with her family gatherings. She has three grown children, who arrive on their small island in Maine with significant baggage—as well as their luggage—in tow. My editor liked the manuscript, but suggested I make it, not Grace’s story, but her older daughter Joy’s. The reason for the change was not inspiring: the publisher wanted to sell more e-books. (Younger readers enjoy younger protagonists and younger readers buy e-books.)
Still, her request presented me with a challenge and the opportunity to learn more about this older daughter, an empty nester with a fear of the water, who had played a small, but important, role in the events of the weekend. The premise of the novel remains the same. I simply expanded and elevated Joy’s scenes.
Each time I go back into a “finished” manuscript and start to ask questions, I discover new facets to my characters. These lead to new connections with other characters and create interesting plot twists, which I then get to resolve. Each time I’ve followed my editor’s advice and revised a manuscript under her guidance I’ve grown as a writer. And sold the manuscript.
Do I think Little Island worked the way I originally wrote it? Yes. Does it work better this way? Very possibly.
My advice: Write your book. The one you want. Take your time with it. Enjoy the process. For most of us, there’s not a lot of money in this profession, so we need to love the writing. When an editor becomes interested and makes suggestions, take them to heart. No one forced me to make those changes, and no one will force you. There are lots of editors out there, and also many self-publishing opportunities. Make the changes only if you agree with them and will still love your story and characters during and after the revision. Because, remember, when the book is published, it will be your name gracing the front cover.
Would you consider making changes to your manuscript based on an editor’s suggestions? A trusted reader’s?
Many thanks to today’s guest.
You can read more WU guest posts by visiting this link.
This is excellent advice. I wholeheartedly agree. I always tell aspiring writers to listen to what everyone has to say (I also followed this advice when it came to parenting). Just hear them out and roll it around in your mind. If the advice resonates with you, terrific. Make those changes that will make your novel better and you a better writer. If the advice doesn’t resonate, terrific. Let it go and move on. You are still a better writer for having considered it.
Glad you agree, Dina. And good point about likening it to parenting!
It sounds as if the story was more important than the characters in these books.
I don’t think I could do that – change a character’s age by twenty years, change the years of their childhood from the 1940s to the 1960s.
It’s an intriguing idea – and you wouldn’t have agreed had you not felt it would make the story stronger – but you asked would I consider making the changes an editor suggested, and my answer – at my current stage of writing – is no.
Relatively minor changes, certainly. My beta reader makes suggestions, or my test readers (I’m serializing the novel, Pride’s Children, on my blog as I revise it), and if what they say makes sense WITHIN the novel I’m writing, I listen very carefully, and I’m planning how to incorporate their ideas.
But the characters are so locked into the plot and my reasons for the way they are are supported by so much backstory, that the changes you describe would be impossible.
I am impressed that you could.
Alicia
What you will and won’t compromise on is a choice every author could face, ABE, and one worth thinking deeply about. Good luck with Pride’s Children.
Thank you for this.
That’s a tough call. I think what Dina said above is the best approach–think on it, look at the possibilities, and if it really resonates, then go with it.
You speak of editors buying a novel. I don’t understand. Do you go directly to editors instead of an agent?
Ann, I do have an agent. She sold both of my manuscripts to the same editor at Berkley (Penguin, USA). The feedback came from the editor at the publishing house both during the acquisition process and during the revision process, which happens once the manuscript is sold. Hope that clarifies!
I’ve done so twice now. In my debut historical Burning Sky (WaterBrook/Random House) my editor suggested I combine two characters (a secondary and a minor). I did, and was very pleased with how doing so focused and strengthened the story.
My second novel, due out in April, required more extensive work. I rewrote a third of it in 6 weeks’ time and tweaked (often heavily) the rest, with time left over to smooth things out. The only day I took off during that time was the day I had a small launch party for Burning Sky, in August.
I’m still in awe of the changes my editor asked me to make, how she was able to wade into this genre blending novel and figure out what was strong, what was weak, and how to address the latter without undoing the former. I trusted her from our first working experience, and though it was the most daunting writing I’ve ever attempted, I waded in.
“Each time I go back into a “finished” manuscript and start to ask questions, I discover new facets to my characters. These lead to new connections with other characters and create interesting plot twists, which I then get to resolve.”
Yes! The edits on that second novel, The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn, took me deeper into character, uncovered connections I wish I’d made from the get-go, and made several of my character relationships stronger (and one of them far more treacherous). But it wasn’t until I began digging that those connections became clear. It’s still my book. It resolves the way I always intended it to, and all the major plot turns are still hit, but what happens in between, and what happens internally to the main characters, makes for a much more satisfying journey now.
Lori, Sounds like we had very similar experiences! Congrats on your novels!
I do have a trusted fellow writer who has a lot of experience in critique groups. I’ve learned a lot from her over the years. She not only tells me what works, she lets me know what doesn’t work and gives suggestions on how to fix it. I take her comments and suggestions to heart, and I’ve made changes accordingly. I trust her.
In sharp contrast I had another writer friend whom I thought I trusted. She was clearly uncomfortable with the fantasy fiction I wrote and did her best to pressure me into writing so-called realistic stories her way. Her comments were seldom useful or constructive. It was more along the lines of “Why can’t you write like I do?” Needless to say she’s an ex-friend now.
Would I follow the suggestions of an editor? It depends.
Writers definitely need to consider the source, Laverne. At the end of the process, as I said, it will be your name on the cover. The writing is, for me, the best part of the process. (As opposed to marketing.) So I try to enjoy every aspect of it. I like revising more than writing first drafts, so sometimes being invited back into a manuscript to make changes is a welcome invitation!
I have a trusted critique partner who often makes suggestions, many of which I am initially opposed to. However, 90% of the time her suggestions are right on the mark, and this helped me be more open to my editors suggestions with my first book (West of Paradise), which will be released next year. I didn’t agree with all her suggested changes either but I have to admit that my novel will be stronger and better because of it.
‘Consider’ is the operative word here and one that Dina (first comment) captured well. None of the suggestions you shared with us seemed to invade the core of your stories. There is a tipping point, however, where an aggressive editor/agent wants, essentially, a different story (as per Laverne’s ‘friend’). It’s your baby so don’t just roll over and give it all away without very good reason.
Well said, Alex!
For some reason my website is not being “found.” I’m a bit of a luddite, so it’s probably something I’m doing wrong.
For those interested, it is http://www.katharinebritton.com. (You can read chapter one there.)
Katharine,
Such solid and thoughtful advice. We do need to be mindful not to lose our stories but also open enough to embrace possible shifts and change. But writing the story in our hearts is something I always need to hear. I’m in the midst of writing my second novel and my thought always wander to what the reader will like and what the editor will like and I forget sometimes to write what I like. That’s the story that sold, the one that just emerged, and that’s the one I need to finish, and worry about the changes later.
Amy xo
Thanks, Amy Sue. Your comments sound heartfelt indeed.
Katharine, very well said.
Though our stories arise from our experience and passion, they only thrive when read. So no matter how much we may want to hold them as they are, as our babies, your advice to listen to this level of feedback and to consider it is spot on. Editors are the part of the literary food chain best suited for this task, so I’m learning to listen to them. It is getting easier, and now it’s often fun to have someone else’s passion for the project stir the scenes, arc or dynamics. Giving up the writing as solely mine has been liberating. I also has the side benefit of making the process less isolating.
I also trust that editors whose agenda is to cast an author’s work in their own image will not flourish in their jobs. There are other editors who love their roles and a great at them.
(My recent blog posts Starting Over and The Novel as Performance Art point out the joy of seeing writing and storytelling as fluid. There are endless ways to get to the point–and the denouement.)
Tom,
Well said and spot-on!
“…it’s often fun to have someone else’s passion for the project stir the scenes, arc or dynamics. Giving up the writing as solely mine has been liberating. I also has the side benefit of making the process less isolating.”
Would I consider making changes to my manuscript based on an editor’s suggestions?
Yes. I have. I will.
The key is being selective – filtering changes that resonate positively, should leave one’s writing style intact.
A killer-tough editor is best. They murder darlings so much easier than authors do.
I can tell that you love to write your stories because you said that the revisions bring in new connections and plot twists which you “get” to resolve instead of “have” to resolve.
Congratulations on your successful revisions and publications!
Thanks and the same to you! Katharine
A willingness to hear other ideas and rip things out at the seams — or at least create new ones — is something that defines “writer” for me. (That and perseverance!)
Thanks for this post, Katharine. Your books sound fantastic.
Therese, I had a teacher once tell me that “perseverance is always rewarded.” Sounds like that’s been true for you as well. Katharine
Great post! I’m going through something similar with my agent–we’ve been back and forth multiple times on this manuscript. The latest improvement I’m being forced (lol and it almost feels that way) is to make a couple of my minor characters either more relevant throughout or cut them entirely. Arg. Even thought I KNOW it will make the book stronger, I still whined a little when the suggestion came.
I remember the first time I heard the saying “Writing is re-writing” I thought “yeah, yeah whatever.” ha! Now having spent the past two years rewriting this book, I TOTALLY GET IT!
This a great article. Thank you. It has always been my fear that publishers will change things in my book that I don’t want changed or to the point where it is almost unrecognizable. The advice you gave is very helpful. It really has to be your decision in the end because it is your work.