Editing With Judith Barrow

This week my guest is author friend, Judith Barrow, who appeared on my blog last July. Originally from Lancashire, since 1978, she has lived in Pembrokeshire, West Wales, where she is also a creative writing tutor. Her novels have been published by Honno Press.  

Welcome back, Judith. Now, it's over to you. 

Thanks, Jan. When it comes to editing I suppose I can say I’ve been on both sides of the fence; I’ve Indie published and been traditionally published. The experiences couldn’t have been more different for me.

I’ve written a trilogy of sagas; the story of a family and their lives between 1944 and 1969, set between a Northern town and a village in Wales. As both a trilogy and stand- alone books they were complex novels to write in that I needed to make sure the characters’ basic backgrounds and their places within the familial structure didn’t change, that the settings only altered in as much decades inevitably transform towns and villages, and that, in each, I had to evoke a sense of the eras. These books have been published by Honno.   

As with all traditional publishers, the author works with their editors. But there have been many hours self-editing before it gets to that point. Each time I come back to the book I read through the last section; it helps me to maintain my ‘voice’– my writing style. This goes on until I reach the end of the book.

Each time I’ve finished a book I have sent it off with a flourish, fully believing that I couldn’t improve it. Each time it has been returned with suggestions of alterations; to round out a character, develop a scene, a setting, an incident. Perhaps that sounds too dictatorial? It’s actually a more gentle process than that. Nevertheless it’s the moment when the manuscript gets thrown up into the air with cries of despair– and a knowledge that the book will never be any good. Then good sense returns and the hard work begins.  The second– third– even, sometimes, the fourth time it goes back and forth, the novel takes shape in the way both author and editor agree. Discussions, concessions, negotiations and compromises are reached equally; at least they have been for me. As long as the story is still mine, with my voice, in my writing style, I’m happy.

Because I have, in the past, had my fingers burned.  I’ll digress a little: I’ll go back to the heady day when I found an agent. http://bit.ly/1V28tgN  I was over the moon; she liked the novel, would send it off to publishers. And then, a week later, came the call. “Parts of the storyline need tweaking. I’ve negotiated a deal with a commercial editor. It’s a realistic charge by today’s standards," she said. “And, in the end we’ll have a book that will take you to the top of your field.”

I paid. Yes, I was that naïve! 

It came back from the commercial editor. I read it in disbelief. If I’d follow all the ‘suggestions’, it would have changed from being a saga into romantic fiction. Okay, I like a bit of romance, don’t we all? But it’s not what I write. The agent insisted I worked on the manuscript, following the edits. I tried; I really did, it didn’t work. I discovered if I terminated the contract before twelve months was up then, when, if the book was eventually published, I wouldn’t need to pay her any commission. I terminated the contract.

Writing and editing as an Indie author was completely different for me. It was difficult for me to read the manuscript objectively; the book, Silent Trauma, is fiction built on fact. And it’s a subject close to my heart. The only reason I published it myself was because I couldn’t find a publisher for it; the reason quoted was always that it left them open to being sued. In the end, I put our house in my husband’s name and Indie published it.

I did try editing it. I also asked a friend to Beta read it for me; just to see if the book was interesting yet informative. But I didn’t think it fair to ask her to edit it. I read through the manuscript a few times. I line edited– a really mind-numbing job, I thought. But essential. And I used spell check, not thinking about homophones. At this point I would have been quite glad to give the whole lot over to an exacting professional editor.  But I plodded on. I suppose, by now, you’re realising that I have neither the skill nor the patience to be an Indie author. 

Ultimately, I was fortunate to find a brilliant proof-reader: https://juliaproofreader.wordpress.com/. She went through the book with a fine toothcomb, an eagle eye. Spelling mistakes, shaky punctuation, strange syntax was weeded out and corrected. Finally, it was published.

I think I can honestly say Indie publishing is not for me–unless I can just write the book and hand it over to an editor and a proof-reader. I so admire those writers who have the confidence and the ability to not only write an excellent novel– but to hone their work to a high level of quality of presentation.

Perhaps I’m just too lazy!

Website: http://www.judithbarrow.co.uk/ and  http://judithbarrowblog.com/

Face Book Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/Judith-Barrow-327003387381656/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/barrow_judith

Amazon links to books:

Pattern of Shadows:      Amazon .co.uk: http://amzn.to/1QhcWNa

                                        Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1WBN3bP

Changing Patterns:       Amazon .co.uk:  http://amzn.to/1SJRrFE

                              Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1VetxAJ

Living in the Shadows: Amazon .co.uk: http://amzn.to/1ZWL1op

                                        Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1nejS23

Silent Trauma:               Amazon .co.uk: http://amzn.to/1Sa04bO

                                        Amazon.com:  http://amzn.to/1Uh1Abr

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3295663.Judith_Barrow

Pin Interest: https://uk.pinterest.com/judithbarrow/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/judith-a-barrow-02812b11?trk=hp-identity-name

Thank you, Judith, for such an interesting insight into your editing experiences. I do admire the fact that you had the courage to resist the agent's tweaking which would have altered your story completely. I, for one, am so pleased you kept to the story you'd written and retained the family saga, the first in the trilogy which has proved to be so popular.

Thank you for reading. Have you self -published? If so, is it harder than working with a traditional editor as Judith found? Have you used a proof reader before self-publishing, too? We'd love it if you left a comment. Thank you. :-)

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