Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler on Flexing that Relationship Muscle: The Author and Editor Relationship

By: Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler

For the better part of my adult life, I have edited other people’s work, first as a high school English & Creative Writing teacher, and then as an adjunct college instructor. I tend to provide a lot of feedback, namely because I want my students to reach their capabilities as a writer and researcher. If I didn’t believe the students had the potential to improve, I wouldn’t spend so much time writing feedback.

When my first picture book, When Daddy Shows Me the Sky, was accepted for publication in 2020, it had been a long time since I was on the receiving end of the editing pen. Even though I would have loved to have been published earlier in my life, I am thankful that by the time I worked with an editor on my first book, I had developed a confidence in my own voice that didn’t exist in my twenties. That confidence allowed me to enter this new editor-author relationship as two professionals collaborating rather than a writer with an inferiority complex.

Book editing happens in a variety of ways.  For my two picture books, a single editor went through four revision rounds with me, and my editor served as the intermediary with the illustrator and designer. She was truly my partner through the entire process. My second picture book, When Mama Grows with Me, will be released in Spring 2023. Both picture books are published by Belle Isle Books, an imprint of Brandylane Publishing.

The editing process with my YA novel, Whispering Through Water, was very different. Instead of one editor I had three. Each editor served a different purpose. The first was a developmental editor, then copy and line editors. In terms of the design process, I communicated directly with my publisher at Monarch Educational Services, LLC.  

For me, switching editors through the publishing process was more stressful, because the communication style changes with each editor. I learned that I prefer for the editor to ask me clarifying questions, so I have a chance to extrapolate the intended meaning, rather than the editor making content changes without asking questions. Also, I am turned off by sarcasm in comments, as I personally don’t find that professional. An editor isn’t an author's boss or teacher, rather the editor serves more as a coach guiding the plays to improve the writer’s game. If something isn’t working in the relationship, it’s okay to communicate with the editor about the concern. Or if a particular question or piece of feedback was helpful, tell your editor that as well, which also helps her know how to best communicate with you. 

With each editor change, comes a new relationship to navigate. Though fundamentally, whether I have one editor or three, I just want to know she is as invested in my work as I am. For the relationship to work, the writer and editor must respect each other’s expertise and passion. Respect is reciprocal.

For those new to the writer-editor relationship, keep this in mind: the editor chose your work, which means she believes your work deserves to have an audience. You both have the same goals: for your unique author’s voice to shine, the book to be loved by readers, and hopefully make a little money in the process.

Rebecca Wenrich Wheeler was raised in West Point, a small town in the Tidewater region of Virginia. From the moment she submitted her first short story to a young author’s contest in second grade, Rebecca knew she wanted to be a writer. Her love of writing led her to earn a BA in English and an MEd in English education. She spent several years as a high school teacher, during which she also developed a passion for mental health advocacy. Rebecca completed an MA in professional counseling and now works in the school-based mental health field and as a college adjunct psychology instructor. Rebecca also teaches yoga for the young and the young at heart, and she likes to infuse yoga and breathwork in her counseling practice wherever she can. She believes the most valuable use of her time is teaching youth how to love and care for each other and the world around them. Her stories share her focus on positive relationships and a love of nature. Rebecca now lives in Durham, North Carolina, with her husband, two children, and two spoiled Siamese cats. Readers can connect with her on Instagram @rebeccawwheeler_author, Twitter @RWW_author, and www.rebeccawwheeler.com

A (Fiction) Writer's Duty to Their Readers

By: Michael Kaufman

Imagine this: Charles Dickens rewrites his novels to cut out anything about the miserable conditions facing the working class and poor in 19th-century England. Leo Tolstoy revises War and Peace to leave out Napoleon’s invasion of Russia. Toni Morrison doesn’t notice the racism hammering Black people, Salman Rushdie ignores the impact of colonialism, and Margaret Atwood omits the growth of the hyper-patriarchal religious right. 

We’d be left with Hallmark greeting cards. Hollowed out, superficial, why-bother-reading, fiction.

But here are the mantras I still hear from too many writers: “I’m not political.” “I leave politics out of my fiction.” “Art (with a capital A, of course) has no room for politics.”

As a fiction writer whose latest mystery (The Last Resort) revolves around some serious themes (climate change and violence against women) — the book ads say “Margaret Atwood meets Raymond Chandler meets Greta Thunberg” — I’d like to share a few thoughts with you about the place of social, political and economic themes in fiction.  

Including such themes does not mean you’re writing a political pamphlet or telling people how to vote. 

Broadly put, politics — whether in governments, workplaces or the personal politics of relationships — is all about the exercise of power and how the institutions and ideas we inherit from the past effect all facets of our lives. Power and conflict (as well as love and connection) lie both at the core and the ephemera of people’s lives. This meshes perfectly with fiction. After all, at its heart, even the most escapist fiction deals with conflict. It deals with the struggles and challenges people experience, whether in the supposed quiet of their homes or the deafening blasts of a country at war. 

Imagining that your fiction isn’t “political” is a luxury only enjoyed by those who have some form of social power. 

It would be pretty impossible for a LatinX, Asian-American, American Indian, or Black writer to pen a present-day story that isn’t informed by past injustices, ongoing racism, and the daily hammering of micro-aggressions. It would be impossible for a woman to pretend that sexual harassment, violence against women, unequal pay, sexist remarks, and limits to women’s autonomy aren’t a factor in her women characters’ decisions, movements, life-choices, relationships, and work. Similarly, others who don’t enjoy social power — those who face discrimination and bias because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, physical and mental differences, or socio-economic class — simply don’t have the luxury of pretending that art is separate from the world we live in.

That much said, thankfully fiction is different from nonfiction. 

I’m fortunate in that I get to write both. (My latest nonfiction book is The Time Has Come: Why Men Must Join the Gender Equality Revolution.) When I want to teach something about that world, I write nonfiction. In my fiction, I get to tell stories that are situated in that world. I get to entertain, amuse, startle, soothe, amaze, outrage, sadden, turn on, and delight.  

In The Last Resort, and my Jen Lu mystery series as a whole, I face a particular challenge. Well, actually two big ones.

One is that it is set in the near future in Washington, D.C. The last thing the world needs is another grim, dystopian novel or movie. Yes, climate change is hitting hard in 2034, the gulf between rich and poor is widening, but as a long-time activist for social justice, I’m a pretty positive and hopeful guy. I wanted to recognize the challenges that lie ahead, but ultimately, my goal was to write a page-turner, a story that’s as much fun to read as it was to write. And I got to tell you, it was really fun to write.

The second is I didn’t want it to be “about” those serious themes but rather have Jen Lu embroiled in them, along with her very unusual partner, Chandler. Here’s the way I do it: Environmental lawyer and media darling Patty Garcia dies in a bizarre accident on a golf course. Of the seven billion people on the planet, only D.C. police detective Jen Lu thinks she was murdered. After all, Garcia just won a court case for massive climate change reparations to be paid out by oil, gas, and coal companies. Chandler, the bio-computer implanted in her brain and wannabe tough guy, tells her to put on the brakes, but soon the two of them are digging deep. Did her abusive ex-husband kill her or was it a big shot in the oil industry…or perhaps someone else? In no time, Jen is in the crosshairs of those who want to ensure the truth never comes to light, no matter the cost. Jen Lu is next on the killer’s list.

My decision to make the series playful, to imbue the books with a sense of hope, to have the reader smiling on one page and biting their nails on the next — such is the strategy I use that allows me to seamlessly fold in the social and political themes.  

Oh, one last thing on Tolstoy: Although I stand by what I said above, he’d have been the first to say he should have tightened up the battle scenes and the exposition about the war. He himself said Anna Karenina, written eight years after War and Peace, was his first real novel.

Michael Kaufman, PhD, is a writer of both fiction and non-fiction books. As an advisor, activist, and keynote speaker, he has developed innovative approaches to engage men and boys in promoting gender equality and positively transforming men's lives. Over the past four decades his work with the United Nations, governments, non-governmental organizations, corporations, trade unions, and universities has taken him to fifty countries.

7 Surefire Tips for Writing Author Bios with Personality and Heart

By: Melanie Faith

Crafting an author bio is a vital skill we will continue to refine throughout our writing careers. Since bios are part of author websites, query letters and book proposals, submissions to literary magazines, marketing materials for readings, and more, let’s explore a few excellent ways to create bios that have warmth and a welcoming presence. 

Add a fingerprint quality.

What makes you most you? Have you played trombone in a jazz band? Do you volunteer for a philanthropic organization? Have you been an avid fan of a sports team for years or have a small business? Are you comically bad at something? Have you held a quirky or tedious job in the past? Such details will lend a personal touch to your bio. 

No publications yet? No problem.

Noting any favorite genres or authors who have inspired your work, classes you’ve taken, being part of a workshop, or what you love best about writing will resonate with readers and editors alike. 

Make your personalized details precise.

“I like hiking” is not nearly as intriguing as “Her superpowers include hiking the first quarter of the Appalachian Trail three summers ago and obsessing on when she’ll complete the rest.” 

Tone it up. What does your bio sound like?

When I visit author websites or read author bios on book covers, my favorites have a distinctive tone. Specific details and a little clever humor, especially if the work is wry, can introduce your readers to your prose style before opening page 1. Conversely, if you write about more-serious topics, like a health crisis or accident, or if you write in genres like Thrillers, Horror, or Science Fiction, match your tone to the mood of your writing—that is, a joke in a Horror writer’s bio could be a mismatch (unless that joke relates to Horror).  Picture Book, Middle Grade, or YA authors might include a detail from their own youth. Writers of Regency, Cozy Mysteries, or similar genres often include topics related to what readers of the genres would expect. Many Romance writers include details about their passion for the genre, their partner/spouse/family, and a geographical region, especially if their novels are set in a particular locale. 

More than one, twice the fun.

Some literary magazines only want 50 words max while others are open to longer bios. I have a fairly long bio with links to projects and classes at my website’s landing page, a 150ish-word version I send to literary magazines who don’t mention length, along with a 50-word version for those who do. My longer bio includes more variety and personalized details, while my 50-word version mentions my very latest projects and my website. If you have a website or blog or if you’re very active on a social media site, I recommend including that link in any length bio so that interested readers can click to learn more about your writing and also increase your target audience.  

Update and integrate new morsels.

Once you have a working biography, life sails onward, but that doesn’t mean you have to keep the exact same biography for years. As you and your writing evolve, it’s important to switch up parts of your bio. Adopted a rescue pup or taken a trip recently? Add it. 

Swap out descriptions of projects long finished with your latest work.

Even if your manuscript in-progress is in beginning stages, readers love a hint at what you’re working on next, such as: They’re currently adding to a skiing memoir or He continues outlining a historical epic set in Loch Ness, Scotland and Marrakesh, Morocco.  

Melanie Faith is a night-owl writer and editor who likes to wear many  hats, including as a poet, photographer and visual artist, prose  writer, professor, and tutor. She’s been a doodler for years but just  recently got brave enough to share her perfectly imperfect doodles.  Three of her writing craft books for writers were published this year by Vine Leaves Press, including her latest, From Promising to Published: A Multi-Genre, Insider's Guide to the Publication Process.  She loves to write about historical settings in poetry and prose and will teach an online class about writing historical fiction and 
time-travel stories this winter. She enjoys ASMR videos, reading, and tiny houses. Learn more about her books, art projects, writing, and classes at https://melaniedfaith.com/, @writepath99 at Instagram, or @writer_faith at Twitter.