How to Deal With Feedback from Your Editor
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Hello, my beautiful cinnabar moths or any kind of moth you’d like to be. Welcome to the Writer’s Triangle Podcast about publishing and all things books. And today I’m going to be talking about handling feedback from your editor. And there are four major types of feedback that we give our authors. One is developmental feedback. One is content feedback, the other is line feedback, and then proofreading feedback. And all of those contain way more information and way more critiquing of the writing than most authors are prepared for. And I think that when you live with the that, the longer that it takes to get your book published, the longer you’ve lived with that version of your book, the harder it can be to take different types of edits. And I find that the developmental edits down to the proofreading edits aren’t all of them are equally hard for authors. And so I want to give you an inside look just from the perspective of the person who’s doing some of the edits and giving some of the feedback and the perspective from a press, why we have some of those edits done and what our thinking is. So you can kind of see that the energy that it’s being done with and the spirit that is being done with and the actual care that’s going into it. And if you’re not feeling like there’s a lot of care and respect for your art and your work going into it, then I think you might be at the wrong press or with the wrong editor. And that’s something that you really need to take into consideration. The last episode, I was talking about pitching books, I was talking about high thought and love with with all of my authors. And I think having that personal relationship with the authors. And you know, I’m not talking romantic love, and I don’t want to run off into the sunset with sunset with them. But I am saying I really care about them deeply. I really care about their success deeply. And all of my authors trust that I want them to succeed. And all of my authors trust that I want them to have the best version of their book out in the world. And because we have that trust, even if some of the feedback is hard, they’re able to say, okay, you know, what I’m going to need a few days with this, this round of, of editing was really hard on me, give me a minute, because I need to adjust. And there are some books that the book that I bought, resembles nothing like the book that I published. And I think that in those cases, when there’s that kind of developmental edit, where it’s a lengthy process, I think our longest developmental Edit process has been three years with one author. And I’m humbled and honored that they trusted me enough that I was seriously wanting to publish their book. And I was just really wanting it to have the best representation of their intentions, and also to tell a consistent story. And we had a lot of conversation back and forth. So when it comes to developmental edit, what I’m looking at is does this story make sense? Does the rules of this world make sense? Is the character development consistent? Does the character development fit the genre? And the age group? And am I lost or confused? anywhere along? The story? Does this drag? What can we do to have it you know, good pacing, just all of like, the
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structures of storytelling is the developmental edit. And then developmental edit is not because I don’t trust the author to tell their story. I do trust them, I wouldn’t have signed them to a deal, right. And so it can be very confusing for authors when they get signed to a deal. And then they have to go through a developmental process. And what that means is that I don’t think that the book is where it needs to be for publication. But I do think that the author can get it there because I’m not rewriting the book, I’m making suggestions, and then the author is rewriting it. And that can be really, really hard. And I think, before expressing anger or frustration, instead ask for space. And that’s something that I tell all of my authors, take some time process what’s being said, and think about is it true to your artistic vision? And if it’s not true to your artistic vision and Then we’re at an impasse, and you have to decide, is making the changes. so egregious that you would rather not have your book published, or making the changes, so egregious that you would always feel negative about the book in the form that it’s going to be published, then you should try and get out of that deal. And if no money has changed hands, it’s usually pretty easy to get out of a deal. If money has changed hands, then you’re gonna have to give the money back. And that’s just the way the cookie crumbles on that nobody’s going to want you let you keep the money and not publish your books are gonna want to get the bounce back for the book that they are not getting. And there have been cases with us where during the developmental phase, authors have said, No, thank you. And that’s just not the story. I want to tell. Even if it is the story that they pitched us. We’ve had that a couple of times, where they’re like, where are you getting the idea that this is what the book is going to be about. And I send them back their exact query letter. And I say, this line, and the query letter said this, and these are the original chapters you sent me. And sometimes doctors, what’s happened is that the author while they’re waiting a while you’re in the granting process, you decided to take the book a completely different direction, you have to remember what you queried and what you represented, because that’s, that is what the agent or press are signing on for right is, is what happened in that initial query. And what did those first three chapters say, if you completely rewrite the beginning of your book and take it in a completely different direction, developmentally, and you just can’t get on the same page, it may be that you do you have to kibosh the deal and go somewhere else. But I say do it respectfully and kindly for us any deal that developmentally the author didn’t agree with us, we still support their book, and we still support the authors and cheer them on and interact with them on social media and, and all of those kinds of things are still really friendly. And I’m really proud of that, because I do want them to succeed. And I hope that they find a home that agrees with their artistic vision and the developmental phase. And this sometimes happens in sequels if the book specifically for developmental edits on sequels, I reread the first book before I read the second book when I’m doing a developmental edit on book two. And if it’s not making sense for book for me to put down book one, pick up Book Two, it’s not going to make sense for someone else. And I advise authors to read the last three chapters of your book and see where you left off the story. And make sure that if there’s going to be a big time job, how are you helping people get into it, and then you have to do the extra thing and a sequel, and you have to make sure it’s also a standalone? And how do you do that, while keeping up a good pace. And this is usually where with sequels a developmental edit can be a little process can be a little bit bumpy for authors. And that, okay, wait, this is too much of this is not enough. And just getting that, you know, sort of the Goldilocks of it, getting it getting it just right, and that part can be a little bit tedious and frustrating. But usually after that, with sequels, everything goes really, really smooth. So that’s a developmental edit. The other kind of edit that redo is called a comp, content edit. And it is a full manuscript edit the developmental edit, I usually do those three chapters at a time, if I know that we’re going into a major rewrite of a manuscript. And so I find it easier to do it three chapters at a time. So that way, it’s not an overwhelming amount of feedback for the author. And it’s not also not an overwhelming amount of adjustments for me, because there’s usually a place in the developmental phase, like, okay, you’ve got it from here, I trust you. Go for it. Content edits. For me, when I’m doing a content edit. I do content edits, because I do read every single word of every single book we publish. And the content edit comes in if the content is just inappropriate, I find that a lot of authors struggle with their age group and having appropriate content for their age group and making sure that it reads for the entire span of the age group. So I’m always looking at lower limits of age groups, and looking at the beta readers. So content edits usually happen either when I read it and feel something’s going on. Pro Brett, or I get overwhelming feedback from our beta readers that it just doesn’t feel like the right age group or it feels inappropriate, or it’s off putting in some way that like if I get a lot of feedback from beta readers that it’s going to be they did not finish the book. When a beta reader does not finish the book I got usually kicks it back to a developmental edit. But sometimes it’s just a matter of the content edits. And we curate our beta readers. So grit lists, it’s not for everybody transgressive literature is not for everybody, middle grades, not for everybody. And we have beta readers and every age category and also separated by the types of things that they like to read. Just like you I curate at pr lists, you curate, your beta realist to make sure you’re not sending somebody who loves safe, middle grade transgressive fiction, usually, we do have some that we request that will read anything. But do we have some that like, No, I would never send them something transgressive, and also with the content edit, it’ll come into play. If a character has a disability, we do have beta readers that do sensitivity research to make sure that the actions of the person that has a disability is consistent with that disability. And that requires reading every single line of the book to make sure that that character is consistent throughout. And sometimes we’ll give content notes for that. So content match is really about does the book fit? Is it appropriate? And is it staying consistent all the way through. And those edits can be really, really hard. And sometimes it can get stuck on a phrase or a word. I have had the experience where I changed a particular phrase. And I was just like, this phrase has to change. It has to be this instead of that. And the author just said, Hey, what about this? Hey, what about this? Hey, what about this?
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And now it’s completely appropriate. They’re fighting for their image of that phrase? And I’m sadly saying no, no, no, but I’m not being frustrated. I’m sure they’re being challenged. And I’m sure that they’re being frustrated. I’m not, I’m expecting it. That’s why I alerted them to the change, because I think it’s going to be one that will be hard for them to see. And I don’t want them to see that change in the line edit. And I don’t want for me, I’m very protective of our editors. And I don’t like to have any sort of conflict between our editors, and our authors. And I don’t want them to blame people that aren’t me for things. And that’s because we’re a small press. And I just want to make sure that there’s good relationships between everybody who’s working together. And I think because I’m the owner, that it’s easier for people to say, Hey, this is my vision. And this is part of my curation of the books that we publish. And I can explain to them my vision and why I have the feelings that I have, in a way that I feel like an editor doesn’t have the ability to do because my editors, they can’t change the vision of a book. And that’s something that is challenging sometimes for the editor when I’m like, Hey, there’s this thing in the book, you’re gonna hate that I love, please keep it in. And sometimes it’s regional dialect. And there are things specific to regional dialects that I do ask the editors to keep in. And that’s really challenging for them. And the province series has a specific dialect. And so they have a phrase UN’s and that is specific to the region in the United States that it comes from. And so it’s really important to leave it in there. It’s grammatically completely incorrect for international grammar. And there are some international readers that they’re like there’s some of those by culturally I was just like what but I enjoyed the story. And that’s acceptable to me because I want to keep it true to what’s going on and the same when we’re doing bilingual editing, where the person who’s speaking Spanish doesn’t have perfect Spanish. And so the Spanish is imperfect because the person speaking it is not truly bilingual and that can be really challenging. So seminar Spanish and address over Collins is a little bit different and that’s because we have several Spanish speakers from several different countries. And just like English, Spanish doesn’t have just one way that is Bokan in every country and neither does English. So those types of things are challenging for editors. And that’s feedback I’m giving the editors and I think that that builds a bond between me and the author. And I think that’s a way that you can talk with your editor and say, Hey, you’re gonna come across this thing, let me highlight it for you, and tell you why it’s there and why it’s important. And finding an editor that’s willing to do that, and finding a press that understand that and an agent that understands that, if that’s something specific to your book, if you have something that’s regional, or you have something that’s bilingual, making sure that they understand what’s going on, and why those things exist, will really reduce the friction in in the editing process, and help you feel more confident that they get your vision and that their editing is going to support that. With the line edit we’re really looking at does the grammar of every single sentence make sense. And I have so much compassion for authors that have to go through the line Edit process, because it is so painful to get your manuscript back. And we track changes to see all of those red lines and 1000s and 1000s of corrections. And the biggest correction that we have to do in line edits, is shifting tensors that are not appropriate or shifting points of view that are not appropriate. If you’re shifting from first to third person and it’s kind of wonky, we have to then decide, hey, we’re going to switch it to all first person or hey, we’re gonna switch it to all third. And the same thing with the times. Sometimes authors like to tell stories in a way that’s a memory. But the reader won’t know that it’s a memory until the end, and they pop in and out of the memory state. And that’s really confusing for a reader and usually doesn’t go over well. And we are thinking about the review process for authors. And when you put a book up on book sirens, I find book sirens. And we also use Net Galley, those reviews tend to be a little bit on the brutal side. Sometimes, when it comes to grammar, we also do library things, and they tend to be fairly gentle, but every now and then, and I kind of feel like some times editors will read books, and use their review to audition for us as a press or to audition for authors to hire to hire. They’re the proofreading or editing services. And I just, if you’re an editor, and you’re doing that, please stop, it doesn’t work, it turns me off and shuts me down. I would rather direct message to me saying hey, I’ve noticed this thing in all of your books. And it would have to be something you’re noticing and every single one of our books, really rough review of the editing of of one book. For me it depends on regionally and what it is you’re seeing as the mistake. And sometimes the mistakes people are highlighting are not internationally Correct. They’re regionally correct. So we added our books, always to the standard of international grammar. International grammar has different rules, we try to use American spelling, sometimes we do have a couple of UK spellings that will slip in and I Oh, not that we don’t catch all of it. Were an American company. But I’m based in Japan. And a lot of our authors are from the UK in Europe. And so we do get a mix and a blend and our own. We’re not perfect on the line edit. But the line edit is really, really tough on authors, because it is 1000s and 1000s of changes that they have to go through. And not every company does this. But our policy is for our authors, we start the process so early on that we’re able to send them a copy of track changes for their book and any track changes that they don’t agree with. They’re able to put a mark by it any changes, additional changes that they think need to be made because sometimes and reading it then you’d be like, Oh, hey, I noticed an extra period here or an extra space here and they’re able to make those changes provided that they track all of the changes that they make. And then we send that off to be typeset. Once that process is done for the minor edit the final type of editing that we do Ru is proofreading and editors love when it sister proofreading good. We have some authors that just have an amazing grasp of, of grammar and it their grammar is so tight. Now we always no Quick Edit, and we highlight them on the editing calendar, their books are actually in a different color. And it does, you know the space around their books. They’re usually a one or two day edit for for the editor. And we absolutely love that. And that’s proofreading. Proofreading is not looking at every line, it’s looking at the bigger space, looking at things at paragraphs and on the page level. Some of our authors are is just a scanning of the page level and just giving that that added support. Watching our editors edit is just a mystery to me, the way that they move through the page is different. So I’m dyslexic, and I’m not an editor, so I can’t really explain the tracking that goes on, that they’re not reading every single word is the point at the proofreading. And there’s still hundreds and sometimes 1000s of changes that come back from a proofread. Usually it’s more in the hundreds than in the 1000s. And at that stage, what it is, is it’s just grammar. It’s just grammatical rules the same with with a line edit, it’s just grammar. And it is changing it from your original grammar to international grammar. When you get those back, getting angry that somebody is correcting your grammar, or disagreeing with them, I think there is a way to approach that, if you have the right level of humility going in to the editing process. And it does. I’ve had my stuff professionally edited, I have a PhD and I had
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my thesis professionally edited. And all every paper I ever turned on in college has been professionally edited. And it is humbling. And I just go in with like, hey, hit me with it. Hit it, let me know. And I’ve found that being open to it and looking at the changes, I was able to improve as a writer. And I still only write in the nonfiction space and a couple of short stories out but I’m not really a fiction writer. And for me, I just look at it as I want to be the best nonfiction writer that I can be. I want to catch my systemic mistakes and want to see like what am I doing over and over again, that I can stop what is a writing habit that is creating a barrier of entry for people that I want to read it, what’s going to be distracting to the reader what’s going to cut their eye and take them out of the story. If you’re going in with the collaborative attitude and a collaborative understanding, and above everything else, trust, not this editor has a better grasp on grammar than you do that they are in a grammar expert, that’s going to help you kind of cool the emotional space and be like, Okay, I sent this to an expert. I wanted them to look at it to the I could look professional, and like an expert. And I trust that they want the best version of my book in the world. And there are times that we have had typesetting errors that authors have alerted us to, there have been times that we have had editing errors that our authors have alerted us to. And because we have this collaborative process, I look at Hey, you’re going to care the author’s point of care and really pay attention and give us another set of eyes looking at this this work so that we’re putting the best version out in the world for the best possible chance to get the best reviews to win awards to you know, be purchased at bookstores to be showcased at book fairs to get our our authors invitations to read their book and host events and, and really become a professional author where they’re making a living off their writing. And that’s the energy that we’re coming with. And if you don’t believe that your team is coming with that energy for you. It’s time to get a different team so that you can trust them, because it does handling. Feedback is about believing that that feedback is coming from a place of positive intention and coming from a place of your best interest at heart. And if you don’t believe that a press or an agent or an editor has your best and interest at heart, then it’s going to make it really hard to trust. And maybe that’s not the right team for you. So having that personal relationship, and me getting on the mic and saying this for any authors out there who end up working with us, you can kind of know what to expect. And for all of our authors, just thank you so much for choosing us to be your press. I love every single book that we published. And I love every single author that we work with. And I’m just so humbled and honored that they’re all just so awesome at handling the feedback process is just amazing to me, they should be just like the writing roles, role models to me. And I’m, I feel very, very lucky that I’m not having any contentious or challenging experiences, I am having a lot of really great conversations, and a lot of food for thought and sometimes debate but it’s always respectful. And if you’re not able to have conversations and debate, and if they’re not able to respectfully listen to your point of view, and you know, be like, hey, last time, but I just got to ask one more time. Can we go with this instead of this? If, you know, if you’re not able to do that? I’m sorry. And you need to have a better team. And at the end of the day, what are you willing to do for your book to be published? I guess is the thing you have to ask yourself, if you have a contract, because once you sign that, that contract, legally, most contracts, the publishing house has the final say. And that’s something to take into consideration about the editing process, I think maybe a question to ask before you sign like what would the process be for your book, I just tell authors before they sign what I think and I’m like, Hey, your books, great. It’ll be edited, it’s going to be prescribed into line edit, I usually say what level of editing that the book is going to get before the author signs so they can have an understanding of what the process will look like for them. So yeah, that’s dealing with feedback from the editor. And I guess, more than dealing with feedback, I kind of spoke up for the editors point of view and my point of view, and also some red flags for you and things for you to think about. And I hope that your publishing process is going awesome and that you’re feeling good about it. Because you know like I always say this podcast is a is a love letter to authors. I just really do love authors. I think y’all are doing amazing work. I love reading and I’m so appreciative of the amount of art that there is in the world. I think all of our beautiful cinnabar moths for listening. You don’t have to be a cinnabar moth you can be any kind of moth you want to be or you can even be a butterfly but I’m not Mariah Carey, and I’m not trying to bite her rhyme. Bye.