One in an occasional series

Many of my clients, after we work together for the first time, tell me they want to keep me all to themselves. A secret. Their very own editor.

I get the fear: my schedule at times can fill up as many as twelve weeks ahead of schedule. Not all authors are aware of when they’ll need me, and a lot of my clients sort of look up and realize they need me. Now. This second.

As a writer, I’m not much different. It’s often hard to know how long it’ll take. How much real life will intrude, how hard you’ll have to fight the story. You may have a vague date by which you want to finish, but then a secondary character takes over and the entire book needs to be rewritten… I get it. Remember, Trevor was originally supposed to die at the end of Trevor’s Song!

So when you want to keep your editor all to yourself, when you don’t want to share me, while it’s high praise and the ultimate luxury, you’re actually hurting me. After all, most writers don’t Google “I need an editor” and expect to find something other than a lot of articles about how to find a good editor. (I tried it. That’s what I found. Let me know if your experience is different.)

Nope. Smart writers find their editors by asking their writer buddies who they use.

Smart writers being asked that question know that if they don’t share their editor, their editor runs the risk of sitting around, waiting for them, a little too long. And then they have to go out of business because, hey, at the end of the day, it’s all about being able to pay those bills.

Don’t risk an editor’s career. Share your editor.

And if you’re a super savvy writer, you’ll let your editor know to look for your friend — and in that e-mail, you’ll give your editor a ballpark for when you think you’ll need her and ask her to save a week in, oh, say June.

I bet she’d be glad to.

Remember, if you missed the news, West of Mars now has editors to help with your non-fiction as well as your fiction. If you write it, we can make it shine.