Rewriting a Reprint is Not Cat-Waxing
ETA: Got the okay from Triangulation editors Pete Butler (blairhippo ) and Jospeh Benedetto (keleyat ), so I'm unlocking this for the general public now. This is a big learning experience for me, and my hope is that it will also be beneficial to other writers considering submitting specifically to Triangulation. (Keep in mind every market has their own way of doing things.)
So, this post a couple days ago? It was in reference to comments from the Triangulation: Dark Glass editors after reading my story "Saint Darwin's Spirituals."
"We like. Lesbian ghost cops made us smile," wrote editor Pete Butler, "and Charles Darwin hosting ghost orgies made us cheer."
And then he mentioned that they had some issues with the pacing and structure and would I be up for rewriting it based on some very specific suggestions they had for me.
This might seem kind of odd, because the story has already been published. But I like to think that I'm at least smart enough to realize nothing I've written is perfect and can always be improved. Especially when the people asking for the rewrite are willing to pay 2 cents a word. On top of that, I thought it would be a great learning experience to work with an editor who liked my story enough to pick it apart and see how well I can adapt to it.
So, I emailed him back and said "Yes, please."
After 2-3 days of wondering if the message got eaten by a spam filter, I received the list of suggestions last night. It's a pretty good-sized list. Slightly overwhelming upon first glance, but after looking through it again, I'm pretty sure I can work in most of what's being asked. In fact, I think most of it can probably improve the story some. Which is interesting, because up until Monday, I thought I was done with this story. (I'm a writer, so I have an ego, but I also know that I have a lot to learn.)
Thinking about all those notes, though, it's incredible to have a group of editors go through one of my stories so thoroughly, and generate this much feedback to me about it. Not because they didn't like it and want to rip it apart but because they did like it, so much so that they believe it's good, but can be even better.
Pete Butler also said not to look at the suggestions as a list of demands, more like a list of negotiations. And his comments are very specific and thoughtful and it sounds like he's open to discussion. So hopefully the one thing we don't see eye-to-eye on we'll find a compromise that everyone's happy with.
I've emailed him back and am now playing the waiting game. I don't know what will come of it, whether they'll go for it or not or what happens next, but thus far, it's already been an incredible learning experience.
(ETA: If you want to see the perspective from the editing side of things, check out Triangulation: Dark Glass editor keleyat's LJ.)