Part three in the series of the journey to get the novel JANEOLOGY published.

In-laws play a great role in one's life. Their advice is usually well intentioned, if not often misplaced – like when they suggest you use the family name Eugene to name your first born. Still, you must always respect them. They are your family now, for better or worse. And being a cheerful family member is your goal.

The same can be said about the editor assigned to you by the publisher. He has the best of intentions. He has a vested interest in making your novel the best it can be. You are both part of the publisher's family.

When I received the first round of edits for JANEOLOGY from my editor, it was not the overwhelming experience I thought it would be. I had done something smart before sending out my manuscript – I had hired a professional editor to bleed her pen all over it. That was overwhelming, but worth the investment. I highly recommend this step, by the way. In fact, I had sent the JANEOLOGY manuscript out to agents and publishers a full year before I had it professionally edited. After completing those edits, my book was tightned, focused and more than a few holes filled in. The FIRST time I sent out the newly updated version was to KUNATI BOOKS. (And if you have been following this blog series, you know what happened next. )

So when my Kunati editor returned my manuscript, there were less than 20 pages of revisions. What a great writer, I thought to myself!

But a closer reading revealed that these suggestions, although small in number, were larger in scope. More detailed in their analysis for how characters sounded.

"This makes Tom sound stupid. Would he really respond this way?" (Well, yes.)

"You tend to use a lot present participles. Change those to active, past tense verbs." (What's a participle, again? Time to pull out the Strunk & White.)

"I wonder why you ordered the events in this way. Consider reordering for the maximum impact." (What? Take one card out of a house of cards and the rest falls down.)

So I fixed a GIANT pot of coffee, put on my fuzzy writing slippers and took each edit on.

I loved my baby more after following the advice of a seasoned editor. Sure, I didn't agree with all of his suggestions. Some, in my view, were paramount to naming the baby Eugene. But there was not one that I didn't learn from. And I knew I would be thinking about the editor's questions the next time I sat down to draft a story.

Lesson: It is the wise writer who leans on the advice of her editor. It forces you to really KNOW why you made a certain word or scene choice, if you still stand behind that choice or if you can make a better one altogether.

And feel free to contact me if you would like the name of the editing service I used.