I'll Sign The Deal

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, She Speaks was bustling with all types of people, some of those people being publishers and editors. A few of the ladies I met had taken advantage of the opportunity this conference provided to schedule and appointment with an editor or a publisher so that she could “pitch her idea” in hopes of either a book deal or at least some positive feedback and direction. These courageous women brought along with them something very near and dear to their hearts, and were willing to risk vulnerability and pain to get their dreams off the ground. I know intensity of the emotions I experienced about my simple blog article being critiqued by someone else. It felt as if I was handing over my child to be cared for by a stranger, not knowing what the outcome would be. I can’t begin to describe what each one of these talented women must have felt as she handed over a work, some requiring over two years of writing, to a professional in eager anticipation of either a book deal or a morsel of positive feed back. Imagine the despair after pouring blood, sweat, and tears over computer keys for two years only to hear words verbalized that each of them feared “It’s not good enough” or “It’s not what we’re looking for.”

Once writing is complete, the author finds an editor to inspect her creation. The editor scours the pages and as the editor reads, additions, deletions, corrections, and adjustments are made. The editor suggests to the author different ways of presenting her idea or story that she thinks would be better. Now, I realize I am still an infant in this huge literary world, but there is something that puzzles me. How can the editor understand the subject or the story well enough to make the best decisions about someone’s written work when the editor does not possess the same passion for the subject as the author? It seems to me that the outcome of the work might be different.

I know an Author. His writing is perfect, so flawless that He doesn’t need an editor. Even though He has proven time and again the perfection and creative genius of His work, there are editors knocking down His door volunteering to dissect and make changes to what He has written. Any idea on who’s doing the knocking?

You and me.

How many times have I asked Him to allow me to edit His ideas? I suggest, even demand that He leave chapters out, and make changes or additions where I feel they are necessary so that the story turns out the way I think is best. Because I do not share the same passion about the subject as the Author, and I cannot completely understand the ideas He has for each of His characters, I am not qualified for this job. I don’t know what is best, and my suggestions might cause a different outcome than He had planned. Flawless writing does not require an editor, but an awesome story does require a publisher. A publisher is just what He is looking for, and that is a job I can do. I can publish His story everyday as I live my life for the entire world to read, offering my life as the advance, allowing Him to turn in one chapter at a time.




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