by Crymsyn Hart
Edits. The dreaded word sends shivers down my spine. They make me want to crawl under a rock and hide from the world just so long as I don’t have to face them. I hyperventilate. Scream. Shriek and shout. I’ll clean the house or run far far away, but I can’t get away from them. They will always still be there when I get back. And yet when I open my email, there they are waiting for me.
Honestly, edits are not that bad for me. Over the years that I have been writing, I have learned much from the editors that have assisted me. When I peruse earlier works that I had from college or high school I just shake my head because I see how far I have come and I’m thankful for all of the help that I’ve been given over the years. As much as I, or any other writer, dislike edits the have helped me shape my works into much better manuscripts.
I’ve had some editors I didn’t get along with because they didn’t get my style or whole I used a verb tense. Or having a character think too much in a book. Shrug. I like my characters to think a lot in some of my stuff. But even when I didn’t get along with a particular editor, I have valued their advice because it does help. However, there are other editors that I have gelled with and I think that is one of the best relationships to have. At the moment, I’m working with editors from three different publishing companies and I’m still learning from them.
I may hate to see their emails pop up with edits attached, but in the end I know it is all for the best. They help me continue to improve and am grateful for that.
