The Writing Life: Pick On Someone Your Own Size
Your story falls flat. Have you ever heard those words? Just when you think you might have a lick or two of talent, you make the mistake of asking a real professional what they think of your story and the truth comes out. “It’s good, but… It’s just not quite there.” How frustrating is that? To work so hard, to strive to reach the top, and to find out again, you’re close but some critical element is missing. If I had a dollar for every story that fell just short of being good enough, I’d have enough bills to paper the wall of my office. There is an essential truth about writing that is not always apparent: We are only as good as our editors. It might seem an odd statement, because editors don’t necessarily make good writers. But the truth is, writers can’t edit their own work any more than a person can tickle themselves. We have no instinct for what works or doesn’t work in our own creations. The most precious asset a writer can obtain is not the talent they’ve spent years honing, but engaging the dedicated efforts of a highly talented editor who can parse out the story details that are weak and flat, details so subtle that the average editor will pass right over them.
If you’re wondering what differentiates your book from those on the New York Times bestselling list, I guarantee you a large part, if not all, is the editor involved in polishing the book. Why are editors so important? Consider that so much of what writers do is internal. We bring our characters to life through our imagination. They live inside our head until we commit them to paper. In The Red Sun, our hero Sam Baron is a twelve-year-old boy who is struggling to deal with his temper and manage his newfound powers. When Sam finds out his father is trapped in a stone in a distant realm, he does everything in his power to save him. Should Sam succeed and save his father and get that happy ending? Or should he fall short, the same way we as authors fall just short of our goal?
It takes a trained and talented editor to help a writer sift through essential plot points to deliver a story which is satisfying and yet punches the reader in the gut every so often. Ultimately the choice is always yours, to listen to your editor and heed their comments, or stick to your guns. Just remember, being right won’t get you published. Being better than anyone else out there will. So find that amazing editor and listen to every cutting comment they make and know that they only want the purity of story to be told.
Keep crafting!
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