The Benefits of an Editorial Assessment

Whether you’re submitting traditionally, or self-publishing,  I cannot stress enough the importance of having your manuscript professionally edited. It is analogous to having a polished resume on hand when applying for a coveted job; you want to put your best foot forward. To that end I’ve found it well worth the investment  to hire the best editor you can afford - I’m just keeping it real. That’s coming from someone whose mother was a high-school English teacher. She was a stickler for grammar, punctuation and, let me not forget, enunciation – one of her pet peeves. I recall I used to hide her pens, rather than suffer the indignity of seeing my letters, short stories, and juvenile poetry attempts slashed, burned, and altogether destroyed with red ink.

I shared on a previous post that on one occasion, I was not  vigilant enough with editing my query letter. I spotted a glaring grammatical error less than a minute after I’d hit ‘send’ to a potential literary agent; an agent I’d particularly wanted to impress. Needless to say, I did not get an RSVP. I’ve since learned enough to make the following suggestion: If you write fiction, not only should you have your manuscript professionally edited, but also your query letter; and if your genre is non-fiction, that pertains to your manuscript, synopsis, and book proposal as well.

In 2009, I wrote a novel about a young teen-aged girl navigating through the Philadelphia foster care system. Upon completion, I decided I wanted an Editorial Assessment done, and found via Reedsy.com, an in-house editor at the Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency, in London, England. In the spirit of full disclosure, I will share the editor’s (E) assessment, as it might be of value to other writers.

Prior to having the assessment, I’d thought the genre of my novel was Young Adult (YA), based on the protagonist's age of 15 years.  

E corrected me on that, letting me know that the story was too dark for YA, and that the age range for that genre is actually 15 to 18 years. Instead, she informed me that it had more of an adult commercial, and literary fiction tone of voice; a book-club selection for readers who prefer issues-led fiction. I realized that despite the presence of  conflict, a pseudo coming-of-age theme, and a strong protagonist voice; it was written in Rotating/Close 3^rd Person POV (as opposed to 1st person), there was no ‘love interest,’ and my protagonist was way too young at the beginning of my story for the YA designation.  I made a mental note going forward, to always know the genre of the book I’ve written, and the target audience.

E complimented my prose as ‘beautiful’ and went on to say: ‘There were phrases she highlighted because they were so atmospheric (…’A brisk wind whipped down through the bare branches of Sycamore and Magnolia trees, and stirred the leaves on the ground below, into whirling dervishes of red, amber and gold color…).  I found this assessment surprising because I’ve always struggled with describing atmospheric environments, landscapes and such, as I always compared the chore of doing so, to Anne Rice’s descriptions of bougainvillea trailing over wrought iron fences in the Garden District of New Orleans; and as much as I loved Anne in my youth, I'd skirted over many a paragraph, because of her fascination with bougainvillea and its pervasive vines.

Overall, E considered my novel ‘a great piece of fiction, and very much worth pulling out from the drawer…’  As a new novelist at the time, I found that encouraging.

Editorial Assessment

Characterization

Protagonist: (T)

Regarding my protagonist, E  found her ‘wonderful’, however suggested that re: T’s character, I should work on a more direct descent into madness for her; noting that her journey spikes and decreases throughout the story. She reminded me readers want to see steady development in a character like T. She then gave tips on the personalities of strong protagonists, and what motivates readers to invest in them, and continue reading. Overall, I came to realize there were indeed a few ways I could flesh-out T’s character, and make her more three - dimensional.

Antagonist: (M)

I must confess, I absolutely enjoyed writing M’s character, and apparently she had quite an effect on my editor, who wrote: ‘M is a brilliant antagonist – so unlikable she made my skin crawl.’ Sigh. I can’t think of a better review for a villain. My work here is done, I thought; but then, came the suggestions; one of which was, that I consider making M ‘more human,’ as her character was so vile all the way through, that E questioned why more people in the story didn’t notice. I did not agree with her assessment in that regard, because unfortunately, evil does exist in the world; and a lot of times, people turn a blind eye to it. Anywho, it's been long enough. I plan on visiting this story again. After all, E could be right: sometime, a simmering pot of dread can serve up a tastier nightmare, than a boiling pot of horror. 

Secondary Character #1: (L)

A wily, out for himself character who could be kind to T on a rare occasion, and grew to respect her in the end. E offered that I could develop their relationship/friendship even more; after all, they were sharing the same experience.   

Secondary Character #2: (C) 

C is on the spectrum and constantly bullied; she is often defended by T, and yet, she manages to betray T twice. E suggested there should only be one occurrence of betrayal; otherwise, the impact will be diluted. I agree.

Secondary Character #3: (A)

E described A as ‘on a road to murder’ and asked if she was necessary for the story’s arc? If so, would her own arc progress to its natural conclusion by the end of the book? Would there be a meeting of the minds between her and T? If not, she needs to go. I think at that point E was probably getting depressed at the thought of the word count still remaining. In retrospect, A might deserve a story of her own. We'll see.

Secondary Character #4: (F)

Although he possessed some redeeming qualities, E found F weak and ineffective, in the sense that she would’ve expected him to leave such a vile monster long before actually he did. Her suggestion: consider increasing M’s verbal abuse of him to escalate that happening. 

After rereading my manuscript, I can see that two of the secondary characters could be forfeited; but which? I honestly love them all!

Plotting and Storytelling

Opening: I had two, and one of them must go. Enough said.

T’s Age: There were a few incidents where her age was not in chronological order.

T’s Apparent Strength: Incongruent with her size and age, in comparison to M’s robust physique.

School, Social Services: E found it unbelievable that no one in authority monitored T, or any of the others. Where were the nosey neighbors? School officials? She questioned if the circumstances would've happened realistically. I disagreed then, I disagree now. I’m not sure about England, but I know for a fact this happens in America; children fall through the cracks all the time – especially teenagers. Still, I took her opinion under advisement.

Resolution:

E stated every character’s arc should have a clear beginning, middle, and end, within the story’s arc., and encouraged me to always assure that happens. Lastly, she thought more time should've beed spent addressing the disposition of M and F, and the other children. In other words, all ends nicely tied and knotted.

Assessments Utilized:

Although I requested an Editorial Assessment to sharpen my vision, I feel she also rendered me a preliminary Developmental, and Copy-Editing Assessment. Overall, I agree with her assessments, and found them to be most beneficial in the long run.

I would hire her again. 

~NeorahYah Germaine~