Well, the editing for my previous project is done, at least from my end. The editor still has to make small changes, bit as far as I'm concerned, it's over and done with. And when that happens, it's time to start a new project.
For me, as a writer, this is probably the most grueling part of the entire process. If I'm at the beginning, the very beginning, it means I don't have any idea what I'm writing about. Where do I start? What is my story? Who are the characters? Why am I doing this? It's very frustrating. Having to start all over again.
But this is part of being a writer, the finishing and moving on. I get that. But the moving on bit...having to get my head out of the previous novel and in to the next one, usually overnight, isn't easy.
Especially when I'm switching genres, as I frequently do. I have several pseudonyms, and I have to publish at least one book a year under each pseudonym. That's a lot of switching. It's exhausting and more than a little confusing. Sometimes I can't even remember what genre I'm supposed to be in.
It would be great if I could take a few days to find my bearings, but I don't have that luxury. I make a living writing books, but that means I actually have to write. I can't take a week off between projects. I simply can't. I have to move from one project to another as seamlessly as possible.
Which means getting an idea sooner rather than later. I sometimes feel a little desperate, and that leads to some rather ridiculous ideas. Like the cat and the monkey...never mind. That one is not only silly, but it's not even in a genre I write in. How about the young girl who is betrothed...nope. That's a book I read last weekend. Mustn't plagiarize.
I go through dozens of ideas, most of them not at all useful. Then I get a hold of myself. I remember that I'm a writer, and I've done this before, and I'm only allowed to freak out for an hour. Once I lose my mind for a little while, I'm miraculously able to find it again.
And when I do, the ideas falls from the sky, land in my brain, and make their way out my fingers.
What a relief.
I'm in the middle of the editing process. Or really, at the beginning. Or maybe just past the beginning. Whatever. I'm editing, with the help of an experienced editor. It's not my favorite part of my job, but it is a necessity.
Every time I write a book, I think that this will be the one. I'll finally take a look at the finished manuscript and declare that this book needs no editing. The editor will fix a few typos and declare the book perfect. That's what will happen.
That never happens. There's always something that needs fixing. And it's usually one of two things. Either I've written too much or I've written too little.
The first problem isn't really a problem. My editor typically removes the offending chapters and we move on. The second...well it's connected to how quickly I write and how much I hate going backwards.
I can finish a decent first draft in just 2 or 3 weeks. That's pretty quick for a book that's over 100,000 words. But sometimes, in my haste to get the first draft finished, I...jump around a little. Sometimes, just sometimes, I'll forget to stop and impart little bits of necessary information to the reader. I might skip entire scenes, scenes that really need to be included. I don't even notice, probably because I'm the writer. I already know those things. I sometimes forget that the reader doesn't.
So my editor will sometimes have to remind me that I jumped from here to there without warning. And then I have to do my least favorite thing. I have to go back and fill in the blanks. I hate that. When I'm done with a book, I like to be actually done. I like to move on. I like to start a new book.
But it doesn't always work that way. I'm a professional, and that sometimes means making sure the previous book is actually up to snuff before I can really move on. And though I might find it tedious, I do it. I do it because I have to, because the book deserves it, and because I like seeing my books on the bookshelves.
But I don't have to like it.
As a professional writer I find myself having to deal with editors for every book I write. Sometimes it's an editor I've worked with before, but every once in a while it's an editor I've had no experience with. Such is the case with my current novel. The editor assigned to handle my book right now is a lovely enough lady, and older one, who has been editing historical romance for 25 years. She's very good at her job, or so I've been assured. I've also never worked with her before.
I'll be the first to admit that I'm not great with people. That's why I'm a writer. It allows me to spend my days all by my lonesome and not have to talk to anyone. Except when it comes to getting the book ready to publish. Then there are editors to deal with.
Let me stop for a moment to point out this little fact: I love editors. They have never failed to improve my books, and I'm not just talking about fixing typos and adding in missed words (though I greatly appreciate this, too). I have certain weaknesses as a writer, weaknesses editors are VERY good at hiding for me. For example, I over write. I'll keep going and going and going like an Energizer Bunny with a pen. I've written right past the end of my novels most of the time, and every time my editor will let me know exactly where the story ended. It can't go on forever, after all.
This is just one of the many things editors have done for me, so I love editors. Love, love, love. But I'm not great with people, so actually having to talk to someone about much of anything is a bit irritating. I suck it up because it's part of writing professionally. But I don't love the editing process.
Editors can probably sense this about me, and they're generally very polite and patient as I creep through the process. I've done it a dozen times, but I'm still leery of it. Not because my words will be changed (this is inevitable) but because I'm talking to PEOPLE. Dreaded PEOPLE. Still, I've always worked well enough with the editors in the past. We've meshed and sometimes even bonded over our love of the written word.
And yet this time...I don't know. We're certainly not meshing. She's not unreasonable and I'm not rude or anything, but we don't really get along. Like the coworker down the hall that is a perfectly nice woman and is good at her job but you can't stand her. To be clear: It's not that I can't stand this woman. We just don't exactly get along; there is little rapport between us. If we were working in an office, we'd tolerate each other but our bosses would probably make sure we didn't work together.
But my editor and I have to work together. So what are the options? Well, I guess we could not work together. She could not do her job, and I could not do my job, and absolutely nothing could get accomplished. It's an option. Not the best option, but it is an option.
I suppose she could appeal to her boss, tell him she doesn't want to work with me, and have another editor assigned. I've heard of that happening a time or two (not with me), but that seems extreme. We don't hate each other. She even thinks I'm funny in a strange sort of way. And I think she's a lovely lady (I use that word because she truly strikes me as a lady). Besides, as she's already told me, never in her career has she refused to work with an author, and she doesn't want to start with me.
So where does that leave us? I asked this question of my writer's group the other day (mostly because this is the kind of stuff we talk about) and I was surprised by their responses. Most of them advised me to refuse to work with the editor and demand someone I could develop a rapport with. I had to admit, I was surprised. Where did this attitude of entitlement come from? And I'm not just talking about writers. Why do we feel if something is too hard, or if someone isn't exactly easy to work with, that we should just abandon it all together?
Not meshing with someone isn't a good enough reason to freak out and get all demanding, especially for a writer. Life's not always easy. Things aren't always ideal. In fact, things are rarely ideal. In this particular case, the editor and I don't love each other, but we're both professionals. If she does her job, and I do my job, and we use a lot of email instead of phone calls (because emails can be less grating), then this editing process will eventually go away.
So what am I saying? Mostly that when a writer and an editor have a personality clash, it's time to put on your big girl panties and just deal with it. The editor can't rewrite your entire book, and he or she isn't out to make your life miserable. They're doing their jobs. Writers, myself included, owe them the same courtesy.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have phone calls to not make. Mustn't talk to people, after all. It would spoil my hermit-like image.
