Don’t tell anyone. I’ve been sleeping with my editor.
Now, as it happens, my editor is my wife, so it probably shouldn’t come as any surprise to anyone who knows us. However, being married to your editor comes with various dangers.
For instance, she has been known to throw shoes at me when I use the word “just” too often. And she has thrown many shoes at me.
Or when she brings up that she needs my revisions by yesterday while I’m trying to enjoy a game of Super Mario Wonder.
All in all, though, it’s been a huge blessing.
The simplest part of the blessing is the cost. A good editor will cost you literally thousands of dollars for all the steps of a novel. I don’t have to pay her! Why not? Because we’re a team.
And as part of that, I trust her edits. I know that her goal is to create the best book possible. She takes my story and improves it so much. She is amazing, her edits are right on, and I know that she’s not doing this as “a job” but because she wants to create good books, too.
That trust goes a long, long way. I know many authors that trust their editors, but not all the way. Or they think their editors are trying to tear them down. Or they relegate any criticism to just grammar and not the shape of the story.
With me, though? I know my wife. I trust her with my life, and even more, with my books.
Point of fact: Our books. Her name really needs to be on the cover. Someday she’ll agree to that!
Being married to my editor also means she can get a hold of me whenever. We see each other pretty often, after all. So if she needs to ask about this or that, she doesn’t have to shoot me an email. She just asks from the other side of the room. And then I say, “Huh?” She repeats herself. Again, I didn’t hear her. She throws a shoe. This time I finally give her my attention, and she gets an immediate answer, simple as that!
Yes, it’s a good thing I’m sleeping with my editor. She’s pretty cool.
Jonathon Mast: Author 