Writing and editing are different skill sets.
I’m a writer. I love crafting stories, creating characters that readers want to spend time with. Writers have vivid imaginations that we tame only through the writing process.
I’ll Be Watching You is my 53rd novel. My process has evolved over the years, and now I “edit as I go.” I’m happy with the draft I turn in, but every single book is stronger because of editorial input.
Editors have an important skill most authors don’t: they know when there is a problem. Character, pacing, dialogue, whatever it is, they sense problems the author may not notice.
My second book, The Hunt (2006), went through extensive revisions. I rewrote nearly the entire book. Yet the story was the same. My editor essentially said, “You wrote the boring parts and left out all the good stuff.”
I thought my career was over before it even started.
When I dug into her notes, I knew she was right—most of the action scenes I told and most of the background scenes I showed. I didn’t see it while writing, but her notes made the problems clear.
Rewriting an entire book while keeping the story the same is daunting. I tackled the revisions chapter by chapter and rewrote the entire book in 17 days without changing the story itself. Most chapters I rewrote from a different point of view or I showed what had originally happened off-page.
The book was still mine—my characters, my story, my vision. My editor helped me uncover the vision that had become muddled in the execution.
Editors know when something is wrong, but they don’t always know how to fix it.
In one of my books my editor felt the climax was over too quickly. She suggested a way to prolong the suspense. She was right about the problem… and very wrong about the solution. I slept on it and came up with a much stronger ending that she loved.
Sometimes your vision doesn’t line up with what the editor expected. I had one book with a new editor. I wrote the story I wanted, but she expected something completely different. This is when communication becomes essential. We talked so I could figure out why we were on different pages.
Here’s an example of an excellent note I received for Make It Out Alive:
“I’m not positive why Catherine thinks the killer had to have a connection to Emily from the beginning. The first couple killed at this resort might not even be the first ones the killer has targeted. And then later, it gets a bit confusing because it seems to be suggested that the women are targeted both because they remind April of Emily and of Becca. It feels like that split motivation is making things a bit messy here. … This element needs to be streamlined and fleshed out a bit more throughout to make all the points connect.”
Sometimes, we get so deep into our story that we don’t realize what we know in our head isn’t quite showing up how we intended on paper.
You don’t have to do everything your editor suggests. In the first two examples, my editor correctly identified a problem; I agreed and fixed it my way. In the last example, it was a disagreement about story direction. I realized the primary issue was a sluggish first hundred pages. I started the story in a different place and everything else fell together.
After 53 books I have never had a book go from submission to production without editorial input. I write good books; my editor asks the right questions so I can make them better.
A good editor doesn’t change your vision. A good editor makes your story vision shine.
My process for handling editorial revisions:
- I read the editorial letter and all the comments in the manuscript.
- I sleep on it.
- I re-read the letter in greater detail, ask for any clarification, and if I disagree with something, we talk.
- I make notes so I know where I’m going and how I’m going to get there.
- Then I revise from page one to the end, give it a final read-through to make sure I’ve addressed everything and have no hanging threads.
Revisions are not an adversarial process, because your editor wants your book to be as fabulous as you envision.
