When The Editor is Wrong...

GASP!

Photo courtesy of Samer Daboul, Pexels Inc.

I know what you're thinking: Don't say that! They'll hear! You'll never get a book published again! They're always right!

No, they breathe and bleed and bumble like the rest of us. Really.

In Sirenz, my former co-author had written a scene where our characters go to Century 21 (retail store, not real estate firm). The editor looked down her nose and informed us there was no such store at the location we gave. From the way the critique was going, it was clear the editor was nitpicking our novel to a swift editorial graveyard. My co-author looked her in the face and said, "Sure there is." And she gave the address.

Not only did the editor turn slightly red and argue we needed to do research on real places, she ignored the fact that my co-author gave a real address. That editor wasn't going to offer us a contract or an R&R (revise and resubmit), but she belittled us too. (Spoiler: our book got pubbed, along with a sequel by someone else).

I'd been subbing my World War II historical fiction, The Elephant Gates, which is set at the Berlin Zoo. The main character, Tomas, is 13-years-old. When he addresses his parents, it's always "Mama" and "Papa". The editor said that made him too young, that I should use Mother and Father or Mom and Dad.

*Clears throat.

No.

My ancestors on both sides are German (my father's side has some Swedish). I've grown up with German culture more than said editor. My grandparents on my mom's side (100% German), used 'mama' and 'papa.' Those great grandparents left Germany right after World War I, so their language was appropriate for the era of my story. But, due diligence! I checked my my friend who translates German to English. Her husband was from Germany. She studied there, and still visits her husband's family. She and her children speak German. I asked her several questions not only about the language that would be used, and other cultural factors. She was a primary source. She told me I was correct in my usage. I mentioned this to the editor.

Said editor still argued with me, and proceeded to tell me I needed to do 'proper' and 'deeper' research. The critique of my manuscript made me feel like I was a junior high school kid who'd written an essay and Stephen Hawking was pointing out how I'd messed up basic science- it was that brutal. Hey, I know I have to take criticism, but I'm going to ignore it when the editor is factually wrong. Plus, the quotes on writing and research by other authors was a nice turn of the blade in my back. I keep the critique to remind me that 1- editors aren't always right, and 2- with the tone of the critique, that sometimes editors just don't like you or your story.  It's the human condition; some people like you, others don't, and that works both ways; you're not going to love everyone. And 3- she isn't the only editor out there.

Not only beginning authors but veterans too need to keep in mind there is always another editor- one who understands your manuscript, loves it, and will listen as you explain why you wrote a particular scene, character, or dialog the way you did. Of course there's always room for improvement and that's what we authors have to keep in mind, but one editor's or even 10 editors' opinions aren't all there is. I follow prolific author Jane Yolen on Facebook and almost weekly she writes about the rejections she's gotten; so many awards, so many published books, on the SCBWI executive board, who would turn her down?? And, we've all heard the story of how many rejections Dr Suess got (sorry bud, but I'm way past that benchmark!). And yes, rejection hurts, but just like ice skaters, NFL refs, and actors, our work is subject to the opinions of others. That's the biz.

Hang in there. I am, because I know my agent will find the right editor for this work.

Char

You Are What You Write, Aren't You?

I'm trying to be thoughtful and careful with this post. I know some people are going to read it the wrong way, and be offended, but I'm opening this subject up for discussion, because it needs to be heard.

I recently had a publishing professional look at my middle grade manuscript. It's historical fiction, set in 1939-41 Berlin, at the zoo. The main character, Tomas Durr, is a young German boy, fourteen years old. The premise is based on actual events; with the backing of Hermann Goring (second-in-command to Hitler, creator of the Gestapo, and Nazi party leader), the director of the Berlin Zoo, Lutz Heck, and his brother, Heinz Heck, director of the Munich Zoo, embarked on a program to 'resurrect' (by faulty eugenics), extinct animals. Tomas and his family are fictional, but the Heck brothers and Goring, are of course real. Through the novel, Tomas discovers that animals are 'discarded' if they aren't perfect, paralleling the genocide of the Jews. The horrors of war-forcing children to join the Jugend (Nazi Youth) at ten years old, turning in family and/or friends for suspected treason, the increasingly desperate conditions, etc. are other situations that arise. This is not a Holocaust novel; the disappearance of the Jews is mentioned, not delved into. I've researched for historical accuracy to make the character of Tomas Durr acceptable.

Upon sitting for my critique, I was asked, "Are you German or Jewish?"

?

"If you aren't, that's problematic." It is because, in the movement to increase diversity, it seems that some in  the publishing world only consider authors whose ethnicity (or psychology or economics or experience, etc.) matches that of their characters to write the story.

I'm German (and Swedish), but if I wasn't, am I 'unqualified' to write a story which was my 'creation?' Will I have to give up my storylines to others because they 'match' the character and I don't?

I understand the need for diversity and the need for marginalized voices to be heard. But, if no one from that background writes the story or it is the brainchild of someone who is different from the character, should we kill the story? Take the story away from them?

Following this logic, I can only write female, German/Swedish/Christian/middle class stories set in Long Island, Connecticut, or New Jersey. No male point of view. No outer space. No science, crime, foreign shores, or even one of a set of twins story- because that doesn't match me. There goes my middle grade animal adventure story series, Evolution Revolution: Simple Machines/Simple Plans/ Simple Lessons- because I'm not a squirrel. I don't live in the woods. I don't know what it's like to fight off a fox, an owl, or construction machines. What about Blonde OPS? I'm not a hacker. but should I have learned to be, rather than research about it so my voice is 'authentic' enough? Where does one draw the line; at picture books? Unless it's scholarly, biographies might be suspect, and we can go on from there.

Won't this narrow our perspective, further dividing us? Can you imagine if Kathryn Stockett's  The Help was submitted under these guidelines? A white woman writing about the lives of black women. What about Shakespeare? No Romeo and Juliet, because he can't speak for women. Scratch Uncle Tom's Cabin because Harriet Beecher Stowe was not a Southern plantation overseer, nor an enslaved black man. Rudyard Kipling could not have written Kim, a story about young Indian boy- because Kipling was educated, white, upper class English. Think of all the stories that would be swept away if everyone adhered by this rule.

I support diversity and the promotion of marginalized voices, but instead of dismissing those authors who are vastly different from their characters and losing a vital story, if the voice is authentic, I think it should be heard. If I was writing about the Holocaust, I should use due diligence gathering my facts, and have someone who knows about the Holocaust read it for authenticity. During my elementary and middle school years, I lived in Bay Shore, Long Island. I had two best friends; Damari Colon, who was Puerto Rican, and Vicky Johnson, who was black. The schools and neighborhoods were culturally diverse. Does this give me any qualifications to include characters of different ethnicities, religions, economics, etc. in my stories? And if I don't include diverse characters because some would argue I'm not 'qualified,' then my writing becomes exactly like me- and I become guilty of writing with a narrow world view, which then becomes fodder for others to accuse me, rightly so, but from I situation I am forced into, of writing only from a caucasian point of view. How can both sides be accommodated?

What's the solution?

Char