Hiring an editor means you get a second pair of eyes on your draft from a person who isn’t your best friend. Your editor should give you hard truths in order to help you grow as a writer. Writing in a vacuum or echo chamber often produces stagnation in growth of the craft.
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There are good editors and bad editors. There are also lots of types of editors, and at upper levels they distinguish rather firmly between types of work. The important thing to remember is that an editor can only suggest, not demand.
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A good editor helps you create the best possible version of your vision by refining the raw matter you dump on the page. A poor editor scraps your vision and supplants it with their own because they believe their book would be the better one. Learn the difference.
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You are not beholden to take even one word of advice from your editor. You’ve paid them for their expertise and to say what they think, and that’s where their control ends. Any editor who whines you didn’t take their advice is unprofessional.
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For this next bit I’ll use my own editor
@BrianNiemeier as an example. We’ve had a working relationship for years now, we are tremendously different writers with sometimes opposed storytelling sensibilities, and we work beautifully together on the page. Let me explain.1 reply 0 retweets 6 likesShow this thread -
@BrianNiemeier writes excellent dialogue with substance and philosophy woven in. He consistently reminds me an author should write not just dialogue but the BEST PARTS of dialogue. Words should have weight to them, a second meaning behind each sentence. His dialogue is intricate.1 reply 0 retweets 7 likesShow this thread -
My characters grunt at each other. I aim for a far more casual dialogue style, much more direct. Sometimes they wax poetic, but I want a salt-of-the-earth feel to my dialogue. I aim for this on purpose. My readers expect it from me and routinely comment on it.
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@BrianNiemeier frequently reminds me in every book he edits that dialogue ought not to be mindless utterances but the BEST PART of natural speech. I frequently ignore his suggestions for dialogue changes. And he continues to suggest. This is healthy functioning.1 reply 1 retweet 9 likesShow this thread -
He must suggest it every time and remind me about dialogue because I am paying him to do it. He is a consummate professional. I need him to remind me because such reminders prevent my low-level dialogue from devolving into nothing more than grunts and single-word answers.
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Replying to @TheBrometheus
Glad you approve. It's my obligation and my pleasure.
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