The Unsung Heroes of Publishing

Don’t tell Decadent Publishing this, but I’m a crappy writer. I’m not kidding. I can tell a good story, however, I suck at writing. If someone were to take a red pen to one of my first drafts it would look like a scene from Saw. There are a whole bunch of people who make me look like I know what I’m doing.

The first person to get their hands on my story is my beta reader. My beta reader is my aunt. She and I are the same age, have similar interests, and share a similar sense of humor. She keeps me accountable. Her job is cheerleader. She tells me I’m wonderful and keeps me writing. Of course I know she’s lying her butt off, but her job is to lie.

Second is my critique partner. This person tells me I suck, literally. She sends me notes like, “Are you kidding me with this?” or “Try again” or “What the hell were you smoking when you wrote this scene!” She might sound harsh, but she’s perfect for me. I can always count on her honesty. Naturally I’ve wanted to kill her and feed her body to a colony of crabs raised on a diet of human flesh more than once.

Once you actually sign a publishing contract you get to meet your editors. From acquisition to finished product, Decadent Publishing puts your manuscript through four editors. Each one serves a different purpose. They all have the same goal. That goal is to make your story the very best it can be. It can be painful to have someone cut your baby up into little bits, but that’s publishing cupcake! If you can’t handle it, consider a career as a dog walker.

These are the people that make the novel your reading in the bathtub worth reading. They deserve a lot more credit than a mention on the acknowledgements page. Every author knows and recognizes the value of good support staff. They help you through writer’s block, talk you down off the cliff, and keep you from firing on a crowded strip mall with a .50 caliber machine gun. 

Sadly, these wonderful men and women are forgotten by the reader. The reader thinks their writer is brilliant. Most of the time their right, the writer is brilliant. But the beta readers, critique partners and editors are freaking miracle workers.