Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

As a continuation of this series of blog interviews with editors, I am happy to introduce Lee Harris, who is an editor with Angry Robot. He edits novels, exclusively. In previous roles, he has edited  short fiction and also headed up Hub Magazine. Angry Robot Books can be found here.

I am very grateful that Lee (and Ellen) could spare the time to answer these questions for this blog. More interviews will be going up over the next week or so.

Why did you become an editor?

LH: I started off editing short fiction when I founded the (then print) magazine, Hub, as I was fascinated by the editorial process, and always hoped I’d be good at it. When Hub became electronic-only, and weekly, I was invited to apply for an editorial role with Angry Robot – this was some 9 months or so before we launched. Gradually my editorial duties with Hub decreased as Angry Robot launched and grew.

I couldn’t possibly hope to add much to Ellen Datlow’s article on editing short fiction – she’s one of the best short fiction editors we’ve ever had – so I’ll focus my answers on novels.

What is the most important aspect of your editing role?

LH: Finding and nurturing new talent, and helping my authors to make their manuscripts the best they can be. Editors are ideally placed to see the whole shape of a novel, and to advise an author, accordingly.

Which areas of editing to you find the most enjoyable?

LH: Every stage holds something to keep my interest and enthusiasm. I particularly enjoy finishing the novel for the first time, and letting its shape sink in, working out which sections need particular attention, and devising some suggestions for the author.

In your view can editing be taught?

LH: A difficult one, this. I agree with Ellen Datlow to a large extent, when she says it can’t be taught, but I’d qualify that. I think it can be taught, if the student already knows how to do it. It’s a largely intuitive process, that is self-taught over many years (usually without conscious effort) through the process of reading. A lot. It’s self-taught through osmosis. A course can’t teach this – only time and dedication to the written word can – but a course can help highlight the things you already know, but perhaps didn’t realize that you already know. A course can be a great source of confirmation in the editor’s ability. I doubt that many publishers would be swayed by a candidate who attended an editorial course, but if that course serves to provide the would-be editor with an increased confidence, then it’s served a purpose.

Copyediting and proofreading can be taught, of course, though even here, an editorial eye to style is needed. There is absolutely nothing wrong with an author breaking the rules of grammar and punctuation, but they should know the rules before they break them. Similarly, a copyeditor should know how to spot the difference between a mistake and a stylistic choice.

How do you define the editing role?

LH: The editing role as opposed to process? The editing role encompasses more than just the editing of the work (the process). An editor’s is to find (or commission) the books they want, to champion the work internally (to sales and marketing) and externally (alongside sales and marketing), and to ease the work along each stage of publication, working with artists, designers, copyeditors (which my word processor has just auto-corrected to “coy editors” – they’re usually not!), proofreaders, typesetters, marketers and, of course, the author.

Mechanics of editing

LH: Editors work in different ways, but toward the same goal – to help the author find a way to make the manuscript as good as it can be. I’ll cover the structural edit, here. At this stage the editor looks at the shape of the novel, and might conclude that – for instance – too many characters are introduced too soon, or the fountain scene in chapter seventeen would make more of an impact if it were moved to chapter four, or that the protagonist performs an action out of character in order to service the plot, or that character X is less well-defined than she could be. The editor should never meddle, though, but merely make suggestions for the author to improve their already-excellent-if-not-quite-ready work. The editor suggests ways to improve the shape, but the authors is always the one with their hands on the clay.

What areas of editing do you find most challenging?

LH: Time management is the big challenge for me. I naturally find it more rewarding to focus my efforts on the shiny thing in the corner – to work on the parts of the job that I particularly  enjoy. It’s easy to conveniently forget to update the database with revised page counts, or to rewrite a book blurb for the twelfth time because a particular business partner needs it in a specific format. I find electronic To-Do lists a great tool to help me manage my time, and to tell me what I must be doing when instead I’m doing what I feel like doing.

Do you have any advice to aspiring editors?

LH: Make your own luck. Determine your strengths (it will take time). Join a local writers group and offer to critique and make suggestions on their manuscripts. Volunteer with an online fiction group. Organise your own group (online, in a quiet pub, at someone’s home). Make your own luck.

Thanks Lee for these insights. I really must get into that electronic To-Do lists!