What Does A Book Editor Do? Part Two!
An editor can save your book & career. I answer your questions from "Do I have to make changes?" to "How do you rewrite?" (PLUS: PEOPLE compares me to Taylor Swift, upcoming events & new gift line!)
I’m back after completing edits on my next novel, THE PAGE TURNER (April 2025), and three speaking engagements in Ohio and Michigan. April certainly came in like a lion, but I’m hoping the last week of it just purrs as I need some rest and time to write before leaving Palm Springs and the desert warmth to head back to Michigan and lake life for the summer.
Before I launch into my long overdue second lesson on what an editor does and the importance of listening to your editor (AND yourself) and kick off more lessons on finishing a book, how to get a literary agent and more, I wanted to mention a few things:
I have a number of special events and speaking engagements in Michigan this May and June (including in East Tawas, Michigan, Three Rivers, Michigan, and Clare, Michigan. Check out my website HERE to sign up for them! Hope to see you there!
Our new Viola Shipman spring gift line is out NOW. As you may know, our gifts are created by a team of incredible souls on the spectrum who are uniquely abled and gifted. Proceeds from sales of our gift line are returned to Urban Vine, an organic farm in Clarkston, Michigan, in order to provide these adults who often fall between the cracks of society with a job, community and purpose. We recently started a new women’s program because of your support. Let’s keep it going! New items include hand-embroidered tea towels celebrating spring and baking that are beyond adorable, handmade cork bookmarks (with cherries!) that read, “Ssshhh! I’m reading a Viola Shipman novel!” plus botanical spring prints drawn by Gary Edwards and an assortment of handcrafted, organic teas that will change your life. Click HERE to check out the spring line and order now while supplies last!
And, I always knew Taylor Swift and I would make great songwriting partners! As the world knows, her new album, The Tortured Poets Department, just released, and PEOPLE magazine picked their favorite books that matched the vibes to pair perfectly with every track on Taylor's newest album. FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN was chosen to pair with Swift's single, "Clara Bow," about the famed silent movie star. PEOPLE writes: "Now that we have all (re)discovered Clara Bow, step into a small town with this cozy fiction. It's got an octogenarian shop owner, a woman having a bit of a crisis on vacation, and all of the summery sensations you could possibly want. This town is not fake, despite the twee name, and neither are the feel-good vibes." Check out the People article HERE! To order a copy of FAMOUS IN A SMALL TOWN, click a link below!
Paperback (on sale now for $12 on Amazon.com)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1525804855#SalesRank
Kindle
https://www.amazon.com/Famous-Small-Town-Viola-Shipman-ebook/dp/B0BC1WLY2Y/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
Audible
https://www.amazon.com/Famous-in-a-Small-Town/dp/B0BWNTWGVP/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
FINALLY … the final part of my lesson on exactly why editors do. Here we go!
ARE YOU REQUIRED TO MAKE AN EDITOR’S CHANGES?
Yes. And no.
This is where you must look calmly, professionally and creatively at what you want your book to achieve. This is where you also must trust a new, subjective set of eyes. This is where you must trust a person, again, who loves your book as much as you do and only wants it to be the best it possibly can be.
After you receive your editorial letter from your editor (again, the macro and micro changes he/she suggests you make … often gently, on occasional forcefully), you must separate emotion from logic.
First, did your work get offtrack? Is the story you wrote (often on deadline) the one you really wanted to tell? Did you deviate from your outline? Or, did you follow your heart too much? Are your characters unique and well created? Is your dialogue crisp?
I take a few days to sit with my editor’s notes before I do anything.