As an editor, I see manuscripts in all phases of progress, from first draft to ready for production. And along the way I’ve edited authors who are very good at their job, and others who are just learning.  I love working with both.  But what I love most is the author who never stops learning, never stops progressing, never loses that push and drive to be better, that hunger to improve their storytelling and their craft.  Authors are wordsmiths – their tools are words and phrases, and they should want to become a master with them – it’s part of the job.

What is a wordsmith?  Merriam-Webster says a wordsmith is “a craftsman or artist whose medium is words.”  What is medium?  Again per Merriam-Webster, medium is “the material or technical means for artistic expression (as paint and canvas, lithographic or sculptural stone, or literary or musical form) and according to J.D. Cook, “one can’t have imagination until one has a medium by which it can be expressed.”  What does that mean?  It means to be an author, you must become a master at your profession, which is the manipulation of language.

Of course I know other editors doing the same job at different epublishers, and we all experience the same issues.  Over the last couple of weeks, it seems the discussions I’ve overheard all seemed to concern the same subject, so I thought I would post on the topic.  But instead I’ve invited another much more experienced editor, and one I have boundless respect for, to guest blog for me.

Bestselling author Christy Lockhart is the author of eleven books from Silhouette Desire, Silhouette Intimate Moments, Ellora’s Cave, and Loose Id.    She also had a historical romance produced in audio format.

Originally from Northern England, she now calls the splendor of Rocky Mountain Colorado home.  She is a past president of Colorado Romance Writers and a past Board Member of Romance Writers of America.   She’s the recipient of Colorado Romance Writers Writer of the Year Award, RWA’s prestigious Emma Merritt Service Award, along with the Coeur Du Bois Love of Romance Award.  She is also the only managing editor at Loose Id.

What We Owe Ourselves —- by Christy Lockhart

Whatever we undertake in life we owe it to ourselves to be the best possible. Why settle for mediocre, when a little more effort will push us over the line, to borrow a phrase, from good to great?

In addition to being a writer, I’m an editor, an editor who does not want to reject books. Nothing makes me crankier than disappointing an author I know has worked hard to produce a story. I know the blood, the sweat, the tears that go into a book. But from this side of the table, I see things that authors do, probably unwittingly, that get them that headache-inducing rejection and leaves me in a bad mood.

First and foremost, even though we’re creative people, we have to recognize that publishing is a business. Here’s a cold-hard fact: we produce these marvelous works of art. And publishers see them as a commodity. They need to sell; they need to sell well. To survive and thrive in this business, we need to be professionals.

As writers, we owe it to our readers, to our editors, to our agents, to ourselves to produce the best possible stories. We owe it to the people who put down good money for our books to make our next story better than the last.

If you’re not good at grammar, do you shrug and figure that’s your editor/copy editor’s problem? Is it okay with you that your editor groans when your submission crosses her desk? When she makes the same suggestions, again and again, don’t you owe it to yourself to listen and learn? Do you frown because she can’t see past your little errors, or do you, like a pro, take steps to improve? Do you see your editor as the enemy, or as a coach? (Think of professional athletes who practice hours and hours a day, taking constructive criticism to improve their stance, their power, their flexibility.)

Part of being a professional means we’re on a constant quest for bettering ourselves. Why not take an online grammar class? Why not buy the Chicago Manual of Style (and read it?)? Maybe ask for a copy of Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss for the next gift-receiving occasions?

If your house has a style guide, learn it. If your editor is looking at the little stuff, she may become bogged down in it, and she may miss something bigger that will be obvious to a reader or reviewer.

If your characterization could be deeper, do you study deep point of view? Why would you settle for having unremarkable characters when you could have memorable people that your readers angst over and root for?

Why settle for writing a book when you could be a master storyteller?

If an editor has suggested you use active voice, do you scour your manuscript for instances of passive voice? Do you boldly cross out words ending in “ly?”

Do you do everything in your power to draw in your reader by showing, not telling?

Have you ever considered asking your editor this question, “If I could improve one aspect of my writing, what would you suggest?” Why not ask her to be your coach, to help you improve?

As a professional who wants to make a living from your writing, don’t you owe it to yourself, to your career to be on a constant quest for knowledge?

We never know it all.  Why not challenge yourself? Why not be the best possible YOU that you can be?

Hello again!  Sorry I’ve been gone so long.  I have had a mixture of health issues and other problems, and they’ve kept me busy – hope it won’t be so long again.

Let’s talk business.  For many authors, making their writing work for them is a big problem.  First of all, when you are working around a day job or around raising kids and taking care of a family, it can be difficult to treat your writing as a job.  But if you want it to become a job, you have to find a way.

I know most of you have heard the saying about if you want to be the boss, emulate the boss…that’s true with just about any job.  If you want to be a successful author, watch what successful authors do, how they act, what choices they make.  Now, you may not have sixteen hours in a day to work at it, but discipline yourself to give it all you have the two or three hours you may be able to carve out.

Some authors find it easier to get up very early and spend their first two or three hours writing, before they get the kids and/or the husband up and out of the house.  This is especially true if they have a day job, as well.  Some authors write while the kids are at school and after they go to bed.  I know one author who spends five hours during the school day writing, takes five hours to do her housework, make dinner and feed the kids, get them bathed and homework done, then her husband takes over and puts them to bed so she can write for another couple of hours.  That’s dedication, and that kind of discipline will serve her well – she is published and it works for her.

Whatever your schedule, whatever amount of time you have to devote to writing, make sure you use it wisely.  Learn to tune out or turn off distractions like Twitter and email and browsing.  Allow yourself time for those things, but you must learn not to use them to avoid writing.

Keep receipts – books are now market research, so save your purchase receipts.  Write down the date and time and mileage to the post office and back when you mail a manuscript, save the postage receipt, and keep track of those things.  Talk to your accountant or tax consultant to find out ways you can save money and what you can write off as a business expense, and how best to suit your situation.

Learn to look at your life as an author as your work, what you do, and treat it that way.  Make sure friends and family realize you are an author and between such and such hours, you are at work.  If necessary, turn off the phone.  I have learned that if you don’t respect and value your work time, others won’t.  So don’t get into the habit of saying, yeah, okay, this one time I’ll watch your kids while you go shopping.  Emergency situations are one thing, but you will know where to draw the line and don’t give in.

The best way to make the right decisions for your job is to remember how it would be if you had a day job working for someone else…would they allow you the day off to go shopping because you just don’t feel like working today?  Would they tolerate you showing up whenever you felt like it?  Would they allow you to talk to your mother for the first two hours of your workday even once a week?  Act like a professional writer, a successful one, and you will become one.

Happy Writing!

Georgia