Strange, how as a writer, my wish list has altered over time. When I set about my journey of writing The Knight Trilogy, I was possessed by a form of manic romanticism. I spent night afer night, pouring out the story, falling in love with the characters and losing myself in research.
Then came editing and I attacked it with as much of an objctive eye as possible, was cruel and hard as I possibly could be. I revised and edited #1 at least eight times fully over before I felt it was something I could humbly put out to the rest of the world.
I was precious and precocious; sure I could do it alone (after all, there was no way I could afford an editor) I was sure that if I was hard enough on myself, critical of myself then it would be okay. And it has been - just. I got away with it by the skin of my teeth. Book One has had mostly wonderful reviews (75% 4 or above stars) BUT...
...lately I have found myself whimsically fantasising about a new love: an editor. Just as with #1 I have been my own hardest critic. I know I am so much stronger and better than when I wrote #2 but this is possibly why I found myself straying to dreams of being picked up by one of the big 7; not for the security, marketing budget, platform, money, potential movie rights - but because I WANTED AN EDITOR.
As if by magic, something wonderful happpened. I tweeted for Beta readers for #2 'Immortal Beloved' and Several wonderful people came forward. Now, I'm still new to this and I thought Beta readers read for plot and inconsistencies, characterisation etc. (Maybe it is normally) So you can not imagine my crazy delight and wonderment when one of my Beta readers, Tammy, sent me a fully annotated 'critiqued', EDITED manuscript back.
Seriously, I could have cried for joy.
Don't mistake what I'm saying: I didn't want an editor because I was too lazy to revise or edit (I've done even more of that than I did for #1 - to the point I have felt like pulling out my own eyeballs) but it comes down to the simple fact, no matter how good a writer you 'naturally' are, or how objective and critical you can be, you are always going to be standing far too close to the tree to see the whole forest.
So the biggest lesson I have learnt on my journey; LOVE THY EDITOR!
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