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WRITERS AND EDITORS (a guide to getting along)
"Good, but needs work." That's the only note my first writing teacher ever gave to anyone, and man it pissed me off. Wasn't he paying attention? Then I realized that, for a young writer trying to improve, "Good, but needs work" was pretty much all the edit I needed because my work was always good if it was growing, and it always needed work till it was grown. Beyond "good, but needs work," though, a writer needs a clear-eyed, forceful, well-informed and articulate editor to help her hone her skills. Of course, needing this thing and wanting this thing are two different things. What we want as writers is someone to tell us that every word we've written is brilliant, perfect, pure gold. What we need is someone to tell us just the opposite, for the indispensable purpose of closing the gap between the writing we've done, and that dim and distant goal of actually having written pure gold. From working with editors and also working as an editor, I have found that, like a writing partnership, the writer/editor relationship requires honesty, vulnerability, openness and devout service to the work. I believe you can grow by being this kind of writer. I know you could make a living being this kind of editor. So here's a little writer/editor reference guide, some things to think about as you and your editor get involved. "Good, but needs work" is only the beginning. THE WRITER/EDITOR RELATIONSHIP This relationship can trigger approach/avoidance conflict in both the writer and the editor. The writer wants and needs an editor's input, but fears rejection. The editor wants to help, but dreads being the bearer of bad news. THE WRITER'S ROLE Writers do the heavy lifting. They take the material as far as they can on their own, and then turn to an editor for help. The work should be far enough along that the editor can comment meaningfully upon it, but not so far along that everything is set in stone in the writer's mind. THE EDITOR'S ROLE Editors find problems. That's their job. Problems in story, script, manuscript, characters, jokes, structure, dialogue, thought, intent, clarity, marketability, whatever. Editors tell writers what's working, but mostly they tell them what's not. And editor with nothing but good news is not much use to a writer. WHEN THE EDITOR IS NOT THE BUYER When the editor is a writer's (paid or unpaid) advisor, then the writer has the freedom to accept or reject the editor's suggestions. It's important for writers and editors in this relationship to remember that the writer has the final say. WHEN THE EDITOR IS THE BUYER When the editor is also the buyer, the situation changes. A writer for hire must be prepared to yield authority with grace. Many writers do not understand this, or resist it for reasons of fear and ego. This can be counter-productive to a writer's career. Not to put too fine a point on it, some of the most valid writing is the signature on the check. WHAT A WRITER LOOKS FOR IN AN EDITOR The perfect writer's editor is someone who gives fast, complete, articulate and detailed notes. Writers need editors who can go beyond "I like this" or "that doesn't work" and really get into the specifics of the material. Writers also like editors who can give bad news gently, but this should not be a requisite. WHAT AN EDITOR LOOKS FOR IN A WRITER Editors need writers who are flexible, creative, willing to listen, and eager for new ideas. Editors like writers who understand that there's more than one right answer. Above all, editors want writers who serve the work. GOAL OF THE EDITING PROCESS At every step, the goal of the editing process should be to improve the material. This is not about judging the work and declaring it good or bad. It's about taking it from where it is to where it potentially can go. Another goal of the process is to improve the process, so that the next edit is easier, more informed and more effective than the last. WHY WRITERS RESIST Good editors come in with fresh perspective and give their writers a clear sense of where the material is working and where it's not. Many writers want and need their editor's input, but resist rewriting just the same. Ego is part of it, but a strong desire to just move on is probably the controlling emotion. If you're ready to let yourself off the hook before your editor is, listen to your editor and stay on the hook a while longer. Your work will be glad you did. DEALING WITH CRITICISM Writers taking criticism have a choice of two filters. The "judgement" filter asks "how does this criticism make me feel?" The "process" filter asks "how can I use this information to improve what I'm trying to write?" Writers deal effectively with criticism when they absorb information through the process filter, and give the judgement filter the afternoon off. GIVING NOTES EFFECTIVELY Editors give effective notes by being detailed, complete and precise, by offering the thoughts behind and the reasons for their opinions. Editors help writers by always making it clear that their mission is simply to help the work reach its best destination. RECEIVING NOTES PRODUCTIVELY Writers take notes effectively when they... listen. Simply listen. Never argue or explain, just listen. Take the notes on board, and deal with them as a source of information, data and possible solutions to the problems at hand. Never forget that your editor is there to help, not hurt. SERVING THE WORK VERSUS SERVING THE EGO For reasons of focus and clarity, it's more productive to serve the work than to defend the ego. Paradoxically, the more a writer serves the work, the better the work becomes. Later, when the work has improved, you feel good. Thus you can actually serve your ego by ignoring it. THE POINT OF DIMINISHING RETURNS There comes a point in every project when the time it takes to rework the material is not worth the gains that stand to be achieved. Writers often think this point has arrived before it actually does. Editors are there to see that writers don't quit too soon. SETTLING FOR 7 Scripts or manuscripts can be evaluated on a scale from 1 to 10, 10 being best. Writers often want to settle for 7, or even delude themselves into thinking that their 7 is really a 10. Great editors, relentless in pursuit of excellence, won't let their writers stop short of authentic 10s... or even 11s. ASKING THE RIGHT KIND OF QUESTIONS Shrewd editors couch their criticism in questions. For instance, "What emotion are you going for here?" This allows writers to articulate their intention without feeling threatened. Contrast this approach with a statement like, "I don't see any emotion here at all -- this is all wrong." That's bound to raise a writer's defenses (and hackles), and at that moment forward progress stops. BUILDING A FRUITFUL RELATIONSHIP Writers and editors should take the long view. If all goes well, they'll be working together for years to come, on many different projects. So they should be at least as concerned with having good process (and examining and improving that process) as they are with tackling the task at hand. WHEN A WRITER GETS TOO CLOSE TO THE WORK Writers get so close to their work that they can no longer see the problems, or so cozy with the work that they pretend the problems don't exist. A strong editor enforces clarity... and reality. WHEN AN EDITOR OVER-INVESTS IN THE EDIT Some editors go wrong by becoming more interested in seeing their notes implemented than in seeing the work improve. An editor searching a draft for signs of his own creative input is not serving the writer or the work. THE "TRANSPARENT" EDITOR Editors frequently have strong emotional reactions to what they read. Often that reaction is... anger. Anger at the opportunities the writer has missed, or at a character whose choices or actions leave the editor feeling let down or betrayed. Honest editors don't hide from these feelings, but share them with their writers, because whatever "gut reaction" an editor has, an audience or reader is likely to have as well, and this is the kind of information a writer needs to have. TYPOS It's not, strictly speaking, the editor's job to correct typing, spelling and grammatical errors, but it's a nice thing to do. At the same time, writers should be their own copy editors at least. WHEN WRITERS AND EDITORS FIGHT Sometimes it gets personal. Writers accuse editors of being stupid or short-sighted. Editors accuse writers of being stubborn or lazy or narrow-minded. Writers and editors should try to avoid this sort of brawl; the work's tough enough as it is. ARROGANCE AND INSECURITY These states of mind haunt many writers, especially ones who haven't dealt with editors much. In service of these emotions, writers will resist editors' suggestions and, in fact, take pains to avoid dealing with editors at all. But writers who say they don't need editors are usually operating from fear and are almost always wrong. WRITERS AND EDITORS "HEAR" LINES DIFFERENTLY Writers "hear" the lines they write in a special way. Characters' voices, even individual words can have nuance known only to the writer. Editors serve writers by not having this special information. They read the work the way a reader will (with virgin eyes) and can evaluate it accordingly. EDITORS EXTERNALIZE WRITERS' MOTIVATION A good editor gives a writer a target to shoot for. Writers who cannot motivate themselves often find themselves motivated by their editors' encouragement, insight... and deadlines. If you can't drive your own bus, let your editor take the wheel. EDITORS PROTECT WRITERS Whatever flaws are present in the work, the writer is much better off if the editor discovers them, as opposed to the potential buyer or publisher or audience or reader. Painful it may be, but no from an editor breeds yes from the people who count. HARSH NOTES AND HAPPY ENDINGS Harsh notes can be hard to take. But at the end of the day, when the material is working and everyone is delirious, the writer has the editor's hard edit to thank. Good is the enemy of the great, and it takes a lot of bad news to make good writing great. THE GOLDEN RULES OF THE WRITER/EDITOR RELATIONSHIP
Some writers and editors use abbreviations, acronyms and shorthand expressions to streamline the editing process. This "code" is written on the page of a script or manuscript as a means of transmitting ideas, briefly and effectively, from the editor to the writer. Building a common vocabulary has the benefit of making writers and editors feel like they're allies and not adversaries in the development process. It also makes communication easier, obviously, because the code is commonly understood by both parties. Also, reducing a supposedly negative judgment to an acronym often takes away some of its sting. While it's not the editor's job to make the writer feel safe, it is axiomatic that a confident writer will perform better than one who lives in fear of her own editor's notes. Editors can make their notes less toxic by encoding them in emotionally neutral symbols. Conscientious writers and editors work together to develop a common vocabulary, and then use that vocabulary to facilitate their work. Over time you'll develop your own code based on your microculture and shared experience. In the meantime, feel free to use mine. If I were your editor, you could expect to see your script or manuscript annotated with shorthands like these.
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