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ART AT THE HANDS OF AN EDITOR
By Richard Krawiec
I recently saw a statistic that claimed the number of self-
published books, including print-on-demand, increased by
over 100% last year, while the number of traditionally
published books declined. What the numbers effectively mean
is that there are more writers now in this country than
readers. This is not a good situation for writers.
I have no problem with the concept of self-publishing, but
the reality is self-published books rarely get reviewed or
are ordered by bookstores. While there are some self-published
books that deserve attention, in over two decades of reviewing
and editing books, I have found very few self-published books
that deserved to be published. Too often authors rush into
print without taking the time to completely revise their work
and make it as good as possible. Too many writers will spend
hundreds, even thousands of dollars on publishing their work,
attending conferences where their primary aim is to market their
manuscripts, but are reluctant to spend any money working with
an experienced editor to develop their manuscript to the best
of their ability.
I was fortunate to have had good editors work with me.
My first editor, Pat Mulcahy at Viking Penguin, after she
accepted my book ‘Time Sharing’ for publication, wrote me a
5-page, single-spaced letter detailing what she thought I was
attempting to do with my novel, and what parts failed to come
up to her standards. She had a lot of suggestions, both general
and specific, about how I needed to change my novel to make it
work.
I spent a month frantically revising, under her guidance. She
helped me reconnect to my original vision. While she didn’t
actually write any sentences, she was insistent about what
scenes and chapters worked, which ones didn’t, and offered
suggestions on how I might refocus and revise it to make the
work accomplish what I’d intended.
Mulcahy was an editor who saw her job as helping writers
attempt to turn promising work into literature.
I also had the good fortune to work with Gordon Lish, Ray
Carver’s editor, who accepted a story of mine for his magazine
‘The Quarterly’ which, for the better part of a decade, was
one of the more important literary magazines out of New York.
Lish, who was once Knopf’s top editor, showed me how to cut
my story by almost one half and make it deeper. He worked
with me to eliminate flaccid scenes and tighten what remained
to enhance the suspense. I learned from him the difference
between an ending and a coda, the importance of a conduit of
knowledge, how less can truly be more. By the time I was done
editing, under his guidance, my story succeeded so well it
earned the coveted lead story slot in his magazine.
Not all editors, however, take their work this seriously.
Truth be told, there are a lot of editors out there who are
simply interested in your money, and will offer you praise
and promises, but can’t help you do the essential work of
revision.
Editors are, or should be shapers, visionaries, people whose
job it is to take the raw material of someone’s talent and
move it towards publication. A good editor understands what
each writer is attempting to do – write a romance novel, a
family history for the grandkids, a detective story, sci-fi,
a novel that will withstand the test of time, a poetry book.
A good editor will take just as much pride in your success as
his own. Like all good editors, I have my success stories,
small though they may be. I’ve been fortunate to have worked
with dozens of good writers, some of whom have seen their work
in print. I have had writers self-publish books for families
and friends, including one woman who wanted a book published
before her sister died, another who wanted a book to hand out
to her patients with breast cancer. Those are worthy goals for
a self-published writer.
On the professional end, a poet I worked with over and over
again had her manuscript published by one of the finer small
presses. I’m currently working with a story writer whose work
has been accepted by a literary press – but, instead of sending
in his manuscript as is, he is working to make it better before
it gets published. A female client had one of the few legitimate
super agents in New York ask to see her book of essays – and she
is still working to make them better.
Editors are essentially midwives. We can tell you when to breathe,
when to push, when to hold back, but the writers are the ones
ultimately doing the hardest work. It’s not our own baby, but
the writer’s that we’re helping to coax forth. Yet the joy I
receive when I watch someone deliver, after months of struggle,
a new literary life into this world – well, that’s worth far
more than any payment I receive.
BIO
Richard Krawiec has published 2 novels, a collection of short
stories, a book of poetry, 4 plays and numerous stories, poems,
essays, and feature articles. He has won fellowships from the
National Endowment for the Arts and the NC Arts Council. He
teaches writing to people in homeless shelters, literacy
classes, housing projects, prisons, public schools and elsewhere.
He teaches Beginning and Intermediate Fiction Writing for UNC
Chapel Hill. He is the recipient of the 2009 Excellence in
Teaching Award from UNC for these courses. His poetry book,
Breakdown, was a Finalist for the 2009 Indy Awards in Poetry.
His work appears in, among other places, Shenandoah, Sou'wester,
Witness, many mountains moving, 2Rivers, Houston Literary Review,
NC Literary Review, Artful Dodge, etc. He is also a professional
editor and can be reached at
http://www.rkwriters.com
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