Working with a Book Editor: An Appreciation

GUEST POST on Mindful Musings

Like a marriage, we have heard that some authors and their book editors can stay together for years and sometimes even decades. We would only be so lucky to have that kind of long lasting relationship with Barbara Lalicki at HarperCollins. Barbara was the very first person to respond to “The Familiars” after it went out to publishers, and she scooped it off the table before anyone else could read it. That kind of passion and enthusiasm has been her hallmark for the last year and a half as we have worked closely with her in preparing “The Familiars” prior to its release into bookstores. Barbara has read every word of “The Familiars” at least ten times and through a half dozen iterations. She still uses a number 2 pencil to make her line edits. And though reading her handwriting was at times as difficult as deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics, once we did, we found a wealth of knowledge in those scrawled markings.

Editors do so much more than review the manuscript and edit the text. They are shepherds, guiding a book through cover, flap copy, advertising, marketing, and release. We are fortunate enough – as is “The Familiars” – to be in wise, caring hands. Not only has our book gotten better since crossing Barbara’s desk, but it has been positioned as one of Harper Collins big fall releases of 2010. She has distributed it to all the right independent booksellers and even met with the studio executives planning to bring the book to the big screen.

Thank you, Barbara, for so gently and lovingly welcoming us to the literary world. We plan on staying awhile, and if we’re lucky, you’ll continue to be there with your number 2 pencil.