Friday, November 13, 2009

When bad things happen to good authors

Tip of the day: Check out this GREAT post by Agent Rachelle Gardner on how much it really costs to publish a book.

October was a hard month. And until now, I haven’t talked about it publicly. But what happened to me is something that happens to authors quite often, and it’s part of being an author, hard as it can be. So I thought I’d take this opportunity to talk about it a little bit.

See, my editor was let go from my publisher. The editor I made three beautiful books with. The editor who I had a wonderful connection with – who got my books and my writing in a way I had only dreamed of.

Some will say editors don’t really edit anymore. I can’t say that’s untrue all the time, but I know in my case, with this particular editor, it wasn’t true. When I flip through each of my books, I see a little bit of him on every page. And it’s a little hard to imagine having books in the future without those fingerprints, so to speak.

I really went through the stages of grief when I heard the news. I was in denial, I was mad, I was sad, and finally, I think I’ve come through to a place of acceptance. You know what they say – the only thing that’s constant in life is change.

I’ve been assigned a wonderful new editor, and now, after I’ve had some time to grieve a little bit and process everything, I do think it will all be fine in the end.

Interestingly enough, months before this all happened, I felt the need to dedicate CHASING BROOKLYN to my editor. He knew how much I appreciated him, because I told him a few times. But I'm so glad the world will know that too. Especially now.

~Lisa, Miss Crafting a Career

7 comments:

DeenaML said...

I hope you will one day be able to work with him again. :)

TerryLynnJohnson said...

Hi to the fab 5. just stopping by from a link from Verla Kay to thank Kate Fall for her support. Great blog - new follower.

Kate Fall said...

Aww, thanks Terry.

Lisa, I dream of working with a great editor someday. I'm so glad that you're happy with your new editor, but I'm also glad you've shared with us how hard it is to lose an editor you respect.

Rhonda Helms said...

((hugs)) I'm so glad to hear you're feeling better.

C. K. Kelly Martin said...

I'm sorry to hear your editor was let go - that's a really difficult thing for a writer to deal with. I doubt people who aren't writers could really understand the simpatico thing we can have with our editors.

But at the same time it's very nice to know that your new editor seems wonderful too. Hopefully he/she will also leave their mark on your work in a very positive way.

Shannon Messenger said...

I'm so sorry to hear this. I can imagine that would be rough.

Glad you like the new editor, and you never know, sometimes change is a good thing in the end.

Kristina Springer said...

I'm sorry about your editor too and I hope he finds a wonderful new job!