Former literary agent and author of Writing Irresistible KidLit, Mary Kole, offers editing and consulting services for writers of all levels. One of the most important parts of her job is managing the expectations of clients. Some writers come to her believing she can pass their names along to industry players, and others believe they have the makings of a bestseller. On occasion it seems as if the manuscript is the least of the writers’ worries. Kole’s job is to keep her clients focused on their manuscripts — with their feet firmly planted on the ground. Regardless of having to be strident from time to time, she knows what’s best for her clients and loves her job.
I tell clients all the time that my job is to manage expectations. Part of working with a freelance editor is expecting to be pushed outside of your manuscript comfort zone a little bit. Most writers come to me with the thought, “I am excited by my idea but I know there are several things that aren’t working. I want to learn and grow and make it better.” Maybe that writer has gotten some early feedback from critique partners about things that need tweaking. Or they’ve already done an unsuccessful submission round with agents or editors and they didn’t get the response they expected. Or maybe their manuscript isn’t meeting their own internal expectations and they just don’t know what to do about it. Enter a second pair of eyes: an editor.
Get the full story at KidLit.com.
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