Rachel Starr Thomson - My Editor

The edit for Wayback is now drawing to a close. I was fortunate that VMI Publishers assigned Rachel Starr Thomson to me for my first novel. She has been an outstanding advisor and friend through this process. 

Editing was something that I was a bit nervous about. Actually, it's really not the editing that scares writers, in my opinion. It's criticism. I have found my taste and thirst for validation has increased substantially since I started writing Wayback nearly two years ago. 

What do people think of the book? 

Do they like the characters, the plot, the twists and turns? 

Is it intense enough?

Is there too much tell, not enough show? 

I suspect validation is something I will always struggle with, but Rachel made this process easy and even fun. We focused on making the manuscript the very best it could be. I tried to drop any reservations and listen to her comments and advice openly and readily. 

As she likes to put it, "she wields a mad red pen, but nicely." Yes, she did all the "normal" editing  stuff like punctuation and style, but she also pushed me, in some cases, to completely rewrite full chapters. She made me "show more than tell" and after I was done "showing" I had to admit she was right - it made the book stronger, more lively and more interesting. 

One of the things I really appreciated was that she read the book deeply-perhaps more deeply than anyone else-and knowing that there is still time to make it better she did that. What remains from this process that we started together in early December is a much stronger, more readable and more enjoyable adventure story with a richer plot, characters with texture and, well, more character and scenes that are more vivid.

During the process, I learned a lot about myself - what I'm bad at and what I seem to excel at. She taught me some of the things that I need to look out for as I head into other writing adventures. She did all that without scolding me, schooling me or just trashing the pages with red marks and comments. I think she has a magic touch because she isn't just an editor, she's a writer herself, and I think she understands the mental gymnastics that goes on when submitting your work for improvement to another person.

Now that the edit is getting behind me I'm looking forward to reading some of her work, which you can find here. Join me in saying thank you to Rachel by picking up a few of her books and supporting her.

         

Rachel, I hope we can work together again in the future. You are a large part of any success that this book enjoys.

Blessings,

Sam