Working With an Editor – part 3

Over the last couple of weeks I have been detailing my experiences working with a professional editor (Part 1 and Part 2).  Since I received her feedback I have been thinking about her various comments and suggestions for about a week, now.

I had expected that by the time I sat down to write this post I would have already had my 45 minute phone call with her. However we were not able to schedule it until early next month.  So instead of sharing that discussion with you, let me share my list of questions (so far) which I plan to ask her:

• Do you think I should change the name of the book?  Is the name boring, off-putting, or less enticing than it could be?
• Did you see anything in the premise or early pages that would turn an agent off?
• What advice can you give me on fixing the main character’s mom?
• Would you categorize this book as Contemporary Fantasy or Magical Realism?
• Should I mention in the query that I co-wrote this book with my 16yo daughter?  I’ve been told definitely yes, and definitely no.
• Is the hint of romance too creepy? (She’s 12, he’s 15)
• Are my comps* okay? What books would you recommend as possible comps?
• Do I need more people of color?
• Should I use fake names for real things — Carrie Mae Cosmetics instead of Mary Kay, for example?  Am I in trouble if I use real names and misrepresent them?

I may come up with more questions, and if I do I will share them, along with my editor’s answers, next week.  In the mean time, I have already made notes and scribbled ideas for solutions to several of the issues she raised, so I’ll talk about those, too.

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* “Comps” is short to comparisons, which means the books — or movies, games or other pop-culture — you would compare your book to.  Such as: “TV’s Grimm for kids,” or “Alice in Wonderland meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer.“

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