When you work with a publisher, you often have no choice in your editor. You’re assigned to an editor at the publisher and you will be working with them. However, as an indie author, you can choose who you want to edit your books. If your books contain characters who are diverse, such as neurodifferent or deal with mental or physical health concerns or are LGBTQIA+ or BIPOC, then you will want to ensure your editor has an awareness of those issues or at the very least can be sensitive to them. If you, as an author, fall into those categories, then I would argue it’s doubly important that the editor understands your lived experience.
The Usual Rules May Not Work For You. That’s OK.
As an editor, it is up to me to adjust my approach to each book based on what the author needs and requests. Even if an author doesn’t disclose certain aspects of their lives, it’s still up to me to be empathetic and compassionate to what authors deal with as they pursue publication. In other words, I can’t use a “one size fits all” approach to editing and never have.
An editor that treats you as simply one of an interchangeable number of authors isn’t going to give your book the attention and concern it deserves. They may not understand how, for example, a neurodivergent mind deals with rejection sensitive dysphoria, or may be simply more aware of perceived criticism of their work. An editor who makes suggestions about a character’s trajectory because they’ve only consumed cis-het-neurotypical adaptations of those characters, may end up going down the same stereotypical path that most authors with lived experience wants to avoid. And even something as simple as “I’ve always given my authors a two week turnaround time” isn’t going to work for an author who is dealing with a chronic health condition or neurodivergent burnout.
Lived Experience Influences The Book
For the editors who say “It’s not my job to understand their lived experience because it’s my job to edit the manuscript in front of me”, I tell them that they are missing the entire point. Even if we’re writing characters drastically different from ourselves, and yes, as authors we’re allowed to do that, our lived experience influences the book. It may not be obvious, and it may be in small ways, but our lives do influence what we write.
Our lives also influence the speed at which we write and often the word choices we use, the way we write the book, and many other factors large and small. Having an understanding editor means working with all of that becomes much easier.
I would encourage authors to look for an editor who understands them, who affirms their lives and their belonging in the writing community, when looking for an editor. If you would like to look at having an affirming editor, I encourage you to check out my editing services page.