Here you will find advice and insights on a wide variety of topics from our members.
Both Sides of the Desk: Lessons and Tips from an Author and Book Editor
My dreams of becoming an author began early in my childhood. I felt instinctively that telling stories was my calling (and reading them was a close second).
Many years later, I was delighted to learn that reading books and helping to make them could become an actual paying job. I continued to write, usually late at night or on weekends. After seventeen years as an editor, my own novel, The Lending Library, sold to a publisher—seven years after I wrote the first draft.
As an author and as an editor, I’ve learned important lessons that helped me, and that I hope may help you.
The Writing Process
Write for yourself: The legendary author/editor Toni Morrison, said, “If there’s a book that you want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” In Big Magic: Creative Living without Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert claims: “…This, I believe, is the central question upon which all creative living hinges: Do you have the courage to bring forth the treasures that are hidden within you?”
Write for the joy of discovering those riches within you and try not to worry too much about who else will read your book.
Don’t compare yourself to others: Other authors will sell more books than yours, or win more prizes, or receive more rave reviews. Some authors put out at least one book a year. It is not helpful to my writing to think about this. My pace is my pace. Your pace is your pace. On that note…
Discover what works for you: My process is my process. Your process is your process. For me, the pleasure of writing is in the discovery: I don’t always know where a character or a scene or a plotline is going to take me but I know that finding out as I go is how I write most creatively. You might benefit from the Pomodoro method or from writing early in the morning. You might have to set the manuscript aside for a few days or weeks and come back to it with fresh energy. You might need to bribe yourself to do the work or find a writing/reading partner to hold you accountable.
Kill your darlings (or at least put them through the wringer): At least two of the revisions I did on my manuscript stemmed from how reluctant I was to make my main character suffer. But guess what? Conflict is interesting. I found my agent soon after the first revision; she was able to interest my publisher after the second. It’s unlikely that both of those are coincidences!
There’s no shame in asking for help: No one writes a perfect manuscript. Before you send your manuscript to agents and publishers (or afterward, if you’re not getting the interest you’d hoped for), seek outside feedback from beta readers or an independent professional editor who can help you overcome your own blind spots. (Friends and family love you too much to be totally impartial.)
The Submission Process
Getting a publisher is hard. So is finding an agent: Being in publishing didn’t assure me an agent or a book deal. It took work, research, and luck to find a wonderful agent, and for that agent to find a fantastic editor who loved my book and saw its potential. It’s exceedingly rare for a manuscript to be snapped up by an agent and sold in an auction within days of submission. More often it requires dozens of queries to agents and submissions to publishers to find that one special person who connects with your work and is willing to go to the mat for it. It did for me.
Give editors the benefit of the doubt: When my agent sent out my manuscript to editors, the wait was excruciating. Even though I was in the business, I couldn’t understand why it took editors so long to read my manuscript. Then I remembered that most editors are overwhelmed and overstretched (I certainly was!), and as much as we want to read and respond quickly, there are only so many hours in the day.
The Publication Process
Trust yourself, but be open to guidance: An editor strives to help you make your book the best it can be, and will have important insights into what potential readers will find compelling, moving, and meaningful. That doesn’t mean all of your editor’s suggestions will feel right to you. Take his or her experience and advice into account while trusting your instincts about how to preserve the spirit and heart of your book. It’s a delicate balance.
You care about your book more than anyone else: Or at least, you should. Your editor will act as your in-house cheerleader and point of contact to the other members of your publishing team (in sales, marketing, publicity, and production). But even if you have a passionate editor (and agent), you are the #1 advocate for your book. Today, authors are expected to do much of the heavy lifting of promoting their work and building community. Speaking of which…
Get ready to ask for help: Don’t be shy. Mobilize your friends, family, and writing community. Reviews matter. Preorders and sales, especially in the initial weeks after your publication date, matter.
Support fellow authors: It’s never too early in your publishing journey to connect with and bolster other writers. Explore groups of authors who write books similar to yours or whose book will debut at the same time as yours. Read and share reviews when you love an author’s book, and show your appreciation for them on social media.
Every Part of the Process
Develop a thick skin: In college, I met the poet Louise Glūck and worked up the courage to ask her for advice as an aspiring young writer. “Develop a thick skin,” she told me. I was disappointed at the time, but now, I get it. There is so much rejection, correction, heartache, and self-doubt inherent in the writing and publishing process.
If you’re serious about getting your book published, you may be stunned by how many changes your agent and editor suggest you make. Later, you may get some cruel reader reviews. Try not to take other people’s opinions personally, and don’t let them keep you from believing in yourself, or—heaven forbid—from writing. In other words, don’t let criticism stand in the way of your commitment.
Read for pleasure. Read for inspiration: An important part of an editor’s job is to read widely. You want to know what readers are loving, what’s working (and not). It’s helpful for authors, too. But even more, read for yourself. It happens to be one of the best (if not the best) things you can do for own writing, and it will remind you why all the hard work you’re doing is so meaningful.
Be kind to yourself: In Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic podcast, she encourages writers to be kind to themselves when they’re struggling to write. Could you imagine saying to a friend, “You’re an idiot for writing such a bad first draft?” Or “How can you be having writer’s block? Get your act together!” Treating yourself harshly will not help!
Show your love to local bookstores: Local bookstore owners and booksellers are heroes. My favorite local indie has supported me over the years, and even put me on a Beach Reads shelf with Jennifer Weiner and Taylor Jenkins Reid (I almost fainted, then revived myself with one of their incredible croissants). These stores want local authors to succeed, and aside from helping your career, I promise that they will enrich your life in so many untold ways.
Revel in each milestone: Writing a book is a huge accomplishment, no matter what ultimately happens with it. Reward yourself along the way. Take a long walk after you reach 1,000 words or watch an hour of funny animal videos after you send out a batch of submission letters to agents. Treat yourself to a cupcake or (better yet) a new book each time you finish a full draft or a revision.
I wish you courage, luck, and delight in your journey!