I feel sure that you have fallen in love once, twice, perhaps many times. Falling in love is a deliciously giddy experience. You feel slightly removed from reality and all you can think about is the one you love. You cannot bear to be apart and live only for the times when you can shut the world out and be together.
Is it possible to fall in love with the book we are writing or the one we have written? Wearing a dreamy expression on our face, we confess to our partner or close friend, “I just love my story and my characters.” Of course we do! We have created them out of our own imaginations. We have put every ounce of talent, time, energy and love into our book. It is a precious thing, our pride and joy.
Every writer is their work. How, then, can we gain the necessary distance and objectivity, to step back and evaluate our own writing? It is devilishly hard, if not impossible, to do so.
Writers often find themselves reluctant to give their love object over to a stranger such as an editor. ‘Will the editor understand the meanings and nuances within my book?’ ‘Will the editor fail to appreciate what I wanted to say?’ ‘Will the editor be riding their ‘high horse’ and critique aspects of my work that I love?’
Yet these words are the undeniable bottom line:
‘Love is blind; and we are blind about our own writing.’
A professional editor is not seeking to destroy a writer’s love for their book; nor do they wish to process your manuscript into the same sausage as every other book. The editor’s role is to assist, guide and advise you on how to prepare your book for publication and/or for commercial success if that is your goal.
Contact Lynne on 0421 998749 or via the form below.
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