On Being Both Writer and Editor

I know I’ve talked about this before, but right now, I’m poignantly aware of how blessed I am to have two jobs. I often forget to be grateful for having work I love–although I consider being a novelist my career, I am also an editor pretty much full time. I love being an editor, polishing other writers’ books is incredibly rewarding. When I used to be strictly a nonfiction editor, my fellow general reference book editors and I joked that our job was to make the authors of the books sound as smart as they probably were. Sometimes it was a challenge, but wow, did I ever learn a lot of interesting stuff from working on those books. Sadly, I don’t remember much of it because if I tried, my brain would explode.

Editing fiction is a whole different ballgame, but one that is often just as challenging and certainly just as rewarding. I love my fiction authors! The stories are fun, sexy sometimes, and always enjoyable. Often, my job becomes sort of a teaching moment, in a way, as I fix common errors and some not so common. I don’t know if authors remember when I’ve put in a note like “never hyphenate an ly modifier,” or if they hang on to the detailed style sheet I create as I edit. They should. It generally includes good information like rules I’ve followed, a timeline and character list and commonly misspelled words that I corrected in their manuscript. I feel better when I can offer an explanation for my edits where I can because I don’t want authors thinking I’m just randomly making changes. There’s always a good reason, I promise, and always, always the reminder that every edit comes with the caveat your book, your call.

The writing continues, much to my amazement because I was stuck for a few weeks. I’m doing another 21-Day Challenge and going back to getting up early every morning and putting in the hour, at least, sometimes longer, depending on when I get started and when Husband wakes up. The stress of the world today is weighing heavy on my mind and for a little while writing wasn’t the escape it normally is. Social media may be my friend for book promo, but it can be dispiriting otherwise. When I write, I need to spend less time there.

The story is coming along, I’m about a quarter of the way through the story, although I stopped to work on deepening my characters, remembering GMC—Goal, Motivation, and Conflict. If you haven’t got a copy of this amazing book by Debra Dixon, grab one. It’s incredibly helpful. I knew in my head what Ryker and Kitt’s story was, but I hadn’t really gotten into why it was happening. What makes Rye who he is—rather a player—and why is this woman, Kitt, whom he’s just met, different from the other women in his life? And why is Kitt, who seems so open and friendly, really so closed up?

A long talk with my editor, the amazing Sinclair, helped tremendously, as did a couple of fabulous author workshops that my publisher is doing with all of us Tuligans via Zoom. Not only have these teaching sessions been incredibly helpful and enlightening, but they’ve also been an opportunity to “meet and greet” with the Tule editorial team and my fellow authors. What a treat that has been—to see their faces and know that we are all in this together.

A quick moment of shameless self-promotion: Meant to Be, Book 2 in the Four Irish Brothers Winery series is currently a free e-book at all retailers, so stop by and grab your free copy. If you haven’t ever read any of the Four Irish Brothers Winery series, here’s a start. All four books stand alone, but it’s way more fun if you start with Book 1, A Small Town Christmas, and go on from there. But however you choose to read them, I sure hope you enjoy them!

In the meantime, mes amies, have a great week, stay well, stay safe, and stay grateful.

 

~Nan~