EDITOR AND AUTHOR
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Relationships are part of the very fabric of your character’s life. How well or poorly they get along with others oftentimes comes down to personality, so carefully consider the positive traits and negative traits of your story’s cast. Another factor that can pull characters together or create friction is motivation, so keep each individual’s goal—both at the scene and story level—in mind as you write.
DESCRIPTION:
This working relationship is based on trust. The editor needs to understand the author's intent and possess the skills to sharpen their writing, and the author needs to trust the editor's judgment. Compromise and open communication are crucial for this partnership to function, but with competing interests and external demands, the editor/author relationship can be a challenging one.
RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS:
A long-term partnership between and editor and author
An editor working with an author with whom they have a long-standing, exclusive relationship
An editor working with an author who has difficulty accepting criticism
An editor who takes it personally when their suggestions aren't accepted
The relationship being stymied by a lack of communication or transparency on either side
A relationship between two professionals with personalities that clash (one party over communicates while the other under communicates, etc.)
One party adhering strictly to deadlines while the other is terrible with time management
An author feeling marginalized by an editor who gives all their time and energy to higher-profile clients
One party being frustrated with the partnership and wanting to end it
Either party being more invested in the project than the other
CHALLENGES THAT COULD THREATEN THE STATUS QUO:
The author and editor having different visions for a project
The editor suggesting changes based on their personal preferences and style
A personal challenge for either party that takes their time and attention away from the project
Either party being dissatisfied or embarrassed to have their name attached to the final product
The editor requiring a manuscript on a tight deadline
The author feeling they didn't receive enough feedback for what they paid for a freelance edit
The author wanting to take their project to another editor
A freelance editor raising their rates
The author submitting revisions after the edits have already started
The parties disagreeing over perceived controversial content
One person complaining about the working relationship and it getting back to the other party
A third party, such as an agent or someone in the marketing department, becoming a wedge in the editor-author relationship
The editor realizing the manuscript is in worse shape than they thought
The author making a very public mistake
The editor leaving the author's contracted publishing house, and an undesirable editor being reassigned to the author
The editor reducing the budget for publicity, marketing, etc. for the author's book
The author feeling as though their work is under-appreciated
The editor pressuring the author to share more about themselves personally than they feel comfortable doing
The author getting impatient with the editing process and stopping before the book is ready to publish