Good Wednesday morning! Well, the snowstorm has come and gone, dumped quite a bit of snow where I am, and by now you all know I'm not a huge fan of the cold weather so wasn't liking it, lol ;) Anyway, this week I will be posting more research tidbits and whatnot so if you're looking for those, they're on their way soon :)
Today's post though is about editing, yeah, I know I know..another one? Yes, because the topic for today does happen and that's the point of this blog, to touch base on what may happen and whatnot, along with tidbits.
So, we're gonna assume you've been working with your very first editor. You've gone through the whole complete process and things went so well, it was the best experience ever so far since you signed the contract. Life could not be better for you as an author! You're working on your next book and you've been in contact with your editor on a regular basis... out of the blue, you receive an email informing you, your editor will no longer be your editor and you're now going to be working with, we'll call her Ms. X. I know, not original, sorry, not enough coffee in me yet. But anyway, Ms. X sends a really nice email introducing herself... you reply to her email, introducing yourself as well, and then it all sets in. Your comfort zone has just been shattered into a million pieces!
We're still assuming this is your very first editor, and you were working so well with her, things were great. In fact, you didn't even know that things like this happened. Sure, you've heard of an editor moving to another house or different position in the same company, but it never dawned on you that it would happen to your editor. And you certainly didn't think it would happen so quickly, just when you were starting to get into the groove of things. So what now? Is probably the first question that pops up in your head, followed by a string of like dozens more, lol ;) But anyway..
The best thing you can do then is just sit back for a minute and absorb the news. Allow the change to sink in. Take a deep breath or two, or twenty, though it may not feel like it's helping, it is though. Now, you have a choice, and hopefully you make the right one for you. You can either pitch a fit about it or look at it not in this moment, but down the road. What I mean is, will it really do any good to pitch the fit? Probably not, the opposite I would think. Not to mention, is this the impression you want to give? Not just to the editor, but her boss as well, because I can assure you more times than not, it will be discussed. And let's not forget how many mss you've sent before you were signed with an agent/publisher. If you're thinking about pulling out/leaving, do you really want to start over with a different publisher, this quickly, over something that 'you/your actions' had control over?
The truth is, change happens all the time.. even in publishing. You may as well roll with it, do the best that you can and look ahead, and not get stuck just in the moment. Ask yourself, does it really matter how many editors, or agents for that matter, are switched while you're working on your books, as long as everyone is on the same page? The best possible book that you can give, is their goal too. And if you didn't want to share your stories with the world, you wouldn't be where you are now, right? So it all boils down to what you do, how you react to this change.
Change can be a scary thing because we really don't have that crystal ball allowing us to see the future before we do anything. But change also makes us grow, gets us out of our comfort zone so to speak, and experience life differently. It may be an editor change, an agent retired, a publishing house merging, or yes, even closing their doors.. it's all a part of the business. And most importantly, it is all about how you take the next step.. for you :)
Hope this helps :) Happy Writing!
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