Writing is a tightrope walk along a fine, difficult line balanced over readers, editors, and reviewers.

     As writers we are the ultimate arbiters of our own work, the decision-makers who determine what ends up Between the Covers.

     However… the decisions we make are not made in a vacuum.  First, being human, we want to please others, as we won’t keep getting published if we don’t!  Readers are the ultimate judge and jury.  But if other writers are anything like I am, we want our editors to be thrilled with our finished product, since they decide whether or not to offer us our next contract.  And we may variously want to please our family, our agent and/or our friends. But still, in the end, we have to be happy and satisfied that we have pleased our harshest critic, ourselves.

     So, what do you do when one of the other people in our life…. say, a most valued and respected editor… isn’t completely satisfied with the direction you’ve taken?  Should you… Cower in fear?  Sit in the dirt and cry? Change everything until he/she is happy?

     I’m being flippant, but it really does matter, especially if you, as I do, respect your editor’s position in the industry, genuinely like her as a person, and want to continue working with her. It’s extremely important that he or she is satisfied with your work.

     However… sometimes a genuine disagreement comes up, and that’s just the facts of life; your editor is not going to agree 100% with what you’ve done 100% of the time.  My own theory is, I will listen with an open mind and heart to what my editor says.  I will, without prejudice, weigh and think over her advice.  If it has any merit at all - which it more often than not does - I will work to what she wants.  If I am ambivalent, I will do the same. If I disagree, but it’s not an overly crucial point, I will try to find a compromise.

     But sometimes you just disagree.

     Right now, I am putting the finishing touches on the third ‘Awaiting’ book, Awaiting the Fire.  Charlotte von Wolfram’s character has been established in previous books.  I see her as courageous, impetuous, honest and committed to her family, especially her beloved brother, Christoph.  In Book 2, Awaiting the Night, she learned vital information about her family, things she never knew and that have changed forever, for her, how she looks at things.

     Sometimes, in life, our attributes are also our character flaws, and Charlotte is no exception.  Her impetuousness and honesty can get her in trouble.  She’s a special young woman, but inevitably, once on her own, her independence and commitment to family are going to lead her down paths that may be dangerous.  It doesn’t mean that she’s stupid, though she is willful.  My editor and I have disagreed on a couple of points in Awaiting the Fire, one of which is Charlotte’s behavior, but in this case, Charlotte stays the way I wrote her, and will get into trouble on her own terms.  I could have changed some things, and I know it wouldn’t have ruined the book.  It may even have made it stronger for some readers. But it wouldn’t have been Charlotte.

      Now… I sure hope I’m right, and that people will love her as I do, and root for her to find her way through the troubles ahead of her safely. In this case, my editor has done her job, I’ve done my job, and the judge will be the reader.

Reasons To Listen To Your Editor:

1 – She knows the publishing business.

2 – She understands what romance readers want.

3 – She may not sign your check, but she is the reason you get one.

4 – She really does have the best interest of your book at heart, meaning she wants your readers to like it, she wants it to sell lots of copies, and she wants it to be award-worthy-bestseller-list-millions-of-readers good.

5 – She decides whether you get to continue a series you’ve come to love.

Reasons To Listen To Your Own Heart:

1 – It’s your book, your creation, and you made the character who she is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Donna Lee Simpson