What makes a book great? Unfortunately, the answer is not “the author”. It’s actually the editor(s). Editors take a good book and make it great. They provide an outside perspective that helps communicate your ideas more clearly and can provide a viewpoint you would have never considered. The same thing happens with music. A good song becomes great when a solid producer is involved.
If you don’t have someone to edit your thoughts you’re missing out. Editing is usually the difference between your work and the works you’re jealous of.
Also, working with an editor, you’ll find much of what you think you don’t actually believe.
For example: I wrote a blog post and was about to hit “publish”. I decided I should get an outside opinion on the post first. After a short discussion I realized I didn’t believe what I was saying. It sounded good in my head and on paper, but it wasn’t true. So I reworked it. Disaster averted. The blog post was saved and the conversation sparked at least two more blog posts.
So find someone you trust. Find someone who will edit you without being too “nice”. It’ll take your good creativity and make it great.
that’s true, I do that with my short stories. It’s amazing how sometimes other people can improve something that you thought it was already great!
that’s true, I do that with my short stories. It’s amazing how sometimes other people can improve something that you thought it was already great!