Getting an editor's help

Meaganmm said:

Hey, all.
I have a manscript for a memoir which I thought was complete at 65,000 words, and instead I now have four R&Rs from agents. They all say the same thing: This will be a great book. But not yet. I need more character development, I need a better story arc, it needs work.
All four agents have said they're very interested in the book and it has broad commercial appeal if I can get the suggested changes made, which are pretty substantial revisions.
Here's my question: Is it worth the time and money to hire a developmental editor to guide me through this?
I'm a journalist and a writer by trade, so it almost feels like cheating to hire an editor -- I should be able to knock this out on my own, right?
On the other hand, since it's a memoir, there's a good chance I'm too close to it and need the feedback to make the book more marketable.
How do agents and publishers look at a manuscript that's been through a professional editor? Is is something that I add to a query when I resubmit, as a way of saying that I'm committed and professional and I want the book polished, or is it an amateur's quick fix and I'm better off not to mention it?
If I go with someone like Alan Rinzler, who is well-known in the industry, do I use his name, or is that a red flag? What I go with someone less well-known?
Or should I just go back to the tried and true method of writing a third draft and powering through this...
I guess the gist of the question is, when is it OK to call in help, and is getting help a good thing or a sign of a weak writer?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts,
Meagan

Click to expand...

Although I don't usually recommend bringing in outside help, this is one case where I think I'm inclined to do so. You could alternatively seek beta readers, although that's usually an exchange kind of partnership, and you might not have the time to reciprocate.

Since you're already a professional writer, I daresay you don't need help with the basic editing that a less experienced newbie might. OTOH, journalism is meaningfully different from narrative fiction, and a memoir is structured more as fiction than journalism. So I bet you'd get a real benefit from a developmental editor or experienced beta reader who can help you patch that 'character development' hole.

Assuming you go the editor route, though, I wouldn't recommend saying anything about it in queries and cover letters (since on the resubmits, you'll be writing a short cover letter rather than a query).

Good luck! This sounds very promising and exciting.

With your background in writing, before I paid for an editor I'd read intensively in the genre and see if that helps clarify where I'd gone wrong.

You could bring in an editor, of course: but it won't guarantee that you'll get your memoir published, and it will be expensive to do it right.

Meaganmm said:

Hey, all.
I have a manscript for a memoir which I thought was complete at 65,000 words, and instead I now have four R&Rs from agents. They all say the same thing: This will be a great book. But not yet. I need more character development, I need a better story arc, it needs work.
All four agents have said they're very interested in the book and it has broad commercial appeal if I can get the suggested changes made, which are pretty substantial revisions.
Here's my question: Is it worth the time and money to hire a developmental editor to guide me through this?
I'm a journalist and a writer by trade, so it almost feels like cheating to hire an editor -- I should be able to knock this out on my own, right?
On the other hand, since it's a memoir, there's a good chance I'm too close to it and need the feedback to make the book more marketable.
How do agents and publishers look at a manuscript that's been through a professional editor? Is is something that I add to a query when I resubmit, as a way of saying that I'm committed and professional and I want the book polished, or is it an amateur's quick fix and I'm better off not to mention it?
If I go with someone like Alan Rinzler, who is well-known in the industry, do I use his name, or is that a red flag? What I go with someone less well-known?
Or should I just go back to the tried and true method of writing a third draft and powering through this...
I guess the gist of the question is, when is it OK to call in help, and is getting help a good thing or a sign of a weak writer?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts,
Meagan

Click to expand...

Congratulations on the positive responses. Obviously, you write well, and it's nice that all four readers agreed on what needs to be done. That doesn't often happen, and when it does, it's pretty compelling evidence that the work needs to be done.

I'm surprised that a journalist would think that hiring an editor is like cheating, when you've experienced the contribution they make to journalism. As writers, we can only see what we see; it takes someone else to point out what we can't see. And as you say, it's especially true of memoirs.

As an editor and writing teacher myself (fiction only, I hasten to add--I'm not trying to drum up business) I do have some suggestions about how to find an appropriate editor. Recommendations are good, obviously, if you can get them. But however you come upon the editor, there are certain things to look for and avoid:

Achievements in the field---in your case, you want someone with a proven track record of working on memoirs that have been published (not self-published).

No inflated claims. Study the editor's website carefully. Anyone who promises that with his help you'll get published or claims that no one can publish without first hiring an independent editor is full of, er, hype. Someone who says, "I can work with you to make the work better than it is" is promising something that can be delivered.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, as Aretha Franklin put it. You want someone who enters into your vision of the work, who can help you bring it closer to that ideal, rather than someone who tries to impose her own vision.

Sample edit. Whoever you hire, this is going to cost a substantial amount of money, so you want to be sure you've got the right person. The best editors, IMO, won't work on just any piece of writing, but only on those they feel have a fighting chance at publication. So for both your sakes, it's good to have the editor do a small sample edit, either for free or for a modest fee. I do this for fiction writers; and any editor who thinks the request is out of line is one to avoid. You should be able to tell from that if this particular editor is right for you.

You don't need a celebrity editor, you need the right editor. That's not me. As a fiction writer and editor, I'd probably just suggest you invent characters and incidents to improve the story---not at all what you need! But I have a colleague who does edit non-fiction and memoirs. She's a college professor who's published over 100 books herself and helped many other writers with their work. I don't feel comfortable posting her name publicly, but if you're interested, sent me a PM or email me and I'll put you in touch.

P.S. Forgot to add that I don't think you gain anything by adding "Professionally edited" to your cover letter. Agents care about the results, not how you got there. But here's hoping one of your original four agent-readers snaps up the edited version.

I agree with Terie in that you need to read more fiction first to get a feel of character development and story arc. But I really don't know how that works in a memoir since it all should be factual. I mean do you have to describe every detail just how it was? Maybe the agents are reading it and thinking it's more on the formal side since journalism tends to be more reportive then in prose.

And I don't think you'll learn all that by getting an editor. In these economic times, I wouldn't suggest hiring one since it can be very expensive and OH mentioned, that doesn't guarantee you getting an agent and publisher after that. And I disagree with Barbara, I think agents DO care how you got there. They don't want someone having to rely on someone else to get it done. They want YOU to be capable of getting it done yourself. With all the crap nowadays about plagiarism and stuff like that, I wouldn't advise it.

Best bet is to teach yourself how to enchance your story with an enriching story and character development by doing your homework and reading lots of fiction and perhaps getting a few betas like Terie mentioned.

I don't really have anything to add to the conversation, but I do want to say congratulations on the responses you've gotten!