So I decided to start 2016 off with an editorial bang…

Several years ago, I’d located an editor who did a great sample edit on one of my pieces. Lack of funds (oh, you know, single-motherdom, modest work, bills, and collection calls) kept me from being able to afford the fee. In 2016, a better financial picture saw me contacting her again, eager little beaver that I was. Since it was a different piece I planned on tackling, I sent the requested excerpt and waited, trembling for her sacred word.

As many of you know, there are several kinds of edits that can be done. What I was looking for was a copy edit. A copy edit is the final touch-up, with the focus being grammar and spelling (two of my writing challengers!!). Imagine the deft, knowledgeable hand of a personal attendant, effortlessly smoothing the wrinkles from the frock of an already well-dressed lass.  So it was a bit of a shock to me when I was told what I really needed was a developmental edit. This is the reworking of ideas, sometimes plot, always slashing of sentences. Think of a patchwork quilt all sewn up nice and tidy and the sewing teacher standing over it with a frown in her brow and scissors in her hand—“I think it needs more work. Let’s just…” Moving closer with those sharp, severing shears.

I could almost hear the puzzlement in my editor’s voice—what made me think I didn’t need a developmental edit? Gosh—I know I’m crap with spelling and my grammar can sometimes use work, but I thought I had plot down! A very sensible voice said, “Bite your tongue, woman! After all your years of writing, you know editing is one of the greatest teaching tools ever!” Yes, yes, I know…

I confess there is a part of me looking forward to the editing process. The point is to have your piece be the best it can and to grow as a writer. Seeing your mistakes, difficult though it can be, is the very thing that will help you avoid them in the future. Heck, maybe there will even be a time when my lovely editor says to me, “You know, this looks pretty good. I think all that’s needed is a light spellcheck…” Oh my goodness—heaven! Well, I can dream.
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Is editing difficult for you? Do you welcome feedback or secretly clench your toes? How do you handle criticism? Tell me, tell me, do!