Thoughts on Writing #17: Have Faith In Your Editor.

[seanan_mcguire]

It's time for number seventeen in my ongoing series of essays on the art and craft of writing. There will eventually be fifty essays in this series, all of them based on my fifty thoughts on writing; once number fifty has been written, I'll need to find something to do with my time. Maybe I'll, I don't know, write a book or something. Not all

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[azurelunatic]

One of the ladies in my group of local writers measures the phrasing and so forth of her editorial advice on the same 1-10 scale you use to measure pain levels. She will give you the same feedback on the same topics, just she will change how (and how well) she cushions it. This led to an absolutely hilarious exchange while she went over someone's essay, with the writer of the essay looking alternately encouraged and appalled, while I called out the pain level of the editorial advice. This particular member of the writers group is most comfortable at the 4-6 level. I work best at 6-8.

[seanan_mcguire]

What an awesome way to structure things!

[porcinea]

Basically, imagine your potential editors as employees in a tech support call center. There's the one guy who's been there since time began. He knows everything. He can fix any system, no matter how broken. Trouble is, he's an asshole. Then, at the other end of the spectrum, there's the really sweet new girl who's willing to stay on the phone with you all day if that's what it takes. Maybe she's not very good with the systems yet, but she'll hold your hand all the way through.

Oh, god. That's me (the sweet new girl). And my cow-orker? Yup, he's the asshole who's been there since time began. (If only he *could* fix anything, no matter how broken...)

[seanan_mcguire]

Awww. I'm sorry you have a dysfunctional asshole. They're no fun.