One Woman's Writing Retreat: Interview with Elizabeth Lyon

Interview

Elizabeth Lyon
By Catherine Tudor

Truly, I'm just an average gal who just turned fifty-five (senior), has raised two kids as a single parent, and slowly but surely built one of the most successful editing businesses in the country.

Up to now, what have been the high points of her career?

It's interesting what I think as my high points versus what others might think. Finishing a first novel in 1983, as terrible as it was, marked a high point. Other high points in the earliest part of my career include finishing a first picture book in 1981, being accepted into a critique group with published writers, producing a first self-published book in 1982, and getting a lot of press when I started my first writing business, Custom Letters Inc., around the same time.

At the beginning of my professional years, which I think of as starting in 1986, high points were winning three awards, including first place in articles, at Pacific Northwest Writers Association contest; and in 1988, beginning what would become ten years of teaching writing through the community college, adult-ed program; starting my own critique groups that would last the next thirteen years; and filing my dba for my editing business. 1988 was a big year, and it included getting divorced and becoming a single parent of two little kids.

When Blue Heron Publishing in Portland, Oregon (no longer exists) published my first book, Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write, I was ecstatic. That the book has been reprinted, updated, and is still lauded as one of the standards on preparing proposals brings me great joy. Its publication marked a new era in my career and led to conference invitations as a workshop teacher and eventually as a keynote speaker. Each book's publication since that first one has been a high point.

As one decade tumbled into a next one, other high points appeared: presentation to me of a handmade quilt by my Monday critique group, with all of their books stitched onto it, thanking me for my help; a four-book contract from Perigee (Penguin-Putnam) in 2001; and earning over $50,000 gross from my editing business.

The greatest compliment I can imagine would be if I was remembered for inspiring and encouraging writers to stay the course and for teaching them the skills necessary to improve their art and craft and eventually reach their dreams.

Tell us about Editing International. What type of clients do you attract? What services do you offer?

After a three-year stint as a four-editor partnership, Editing International has returned to its original form as a sole proprietorship. I've been a full-time editor for nearly twenty years now, primarily working with writers of book-length works--novels and nonfiction books, including their marketing devices--the query, synopsis, and book proposal. Most of my clients who are writing novels are either beginners or apprentices, and many don't know that they are not yet skilled enough to publish. My nonfiction book clients are, by contrast, within reach of publication most of the time (memoirists are an exception, more akin to novelists facing a ten-year learning curve).

The majority of the 80 to 100 clients I help each year live all over the United States. A handful live in Canada or another country. I've worked with a writer, for instance, who lives in Moscow, another in Buenos Aires, and I currently have one who lives in Germany.

Because of the volume of inquiries and potential clients, I have found and in part trained a cadre of superior editors who have become my associates, supplying the first editing and evaluations on a work. I follow their lead, which saves me a great deal of time and allows me to help more writers.

Every writer receives editing on their manuscript--generous corrections and comments on nearly every page; a comprehensive evaluation detailing what needs work and providing modeling examples of elements of craft; marketing assistance when the writer is ready; follow-up consultation, and instructional material as needed.

Most novelists or memoirists contact or hire editors prematurely. First, they should read books on craft, take courses (if not offered locally then look for courses online), get constructive feedback from critique groups or fellow writers, finish their works, revise, and only then hire an editor. In subsequent works, an editor can be very helpful prior to starting a novel or memoir by brainstorming, offering feedback on a synopsis, and discussing characterization.

All writers should interview the editor they are thinking of hiring and find out as much as they can about the editor's experience, preferences, successes, methods of editing, fees, and years in business. It doesn't hurt to ask for names of three happy clients that you could contact by e-mail or phone. One of the reasons I compiled National Directory of Editors & Writers was to provide writers with a chance to learn all of this, find editors, and compare their services.

Excellent editorial feedback can shave years off a writer's learning curve and move her toward publication. Some of us maintain warm relationships with literary agents and can help our clients gain representation. No editor can guarantee publication and, I believe, any writer with persistence and talent, who writes those million words to practice, will succeed with or without an editor. We simply provide a little extra rocket fuel.

Maxwell Perkins is my hero. F. Scott Berg's biography of this most famous of all editors was enlightening. I found myself laughing out loud, which I don't often do. I felt buoyed by the knowledge that I was grappling with the same problems and process that this editor had experienced. He was the trailblazer for all of us who follow.

I firmly believe that merciless shredding of another person's writing is a crime against humanity. All writers deserve specific positive remarks about what in their writing has been done well so that they can build on their strengths. All writers equally deserve specific constructive criticism. Some people don't realize that being able to fulfill these two requirements is a skill. "I like it" is not a specific positive remark. "It's a bunch of crap" isn't a specific constructive criticism. I've had to teach some critique group members how to be helpful, and I've occasionally had someone drop out because they couldn't hack a restriction on expletives.

Succeeding at a professional level in writing is usually a pursuit that spans a decade or longer. Unlike other arts, writers generally don't get an audience until they are published. Often the critique group, family members, or a few writing friends are the only audience a writer has for a long time. It's hard to stay motivated without encouragement and too many of us simply give up. Harsh or thoughtless criticism can sink the boat. To protect ourselves, we writers need to carefully select--and if necessary train--those who will critique our work.

Do editors who also write grapple with an internal editor? If so, what does yours say to you? How do you reply?

My internal editor is active when I'm editing and active when I'm writing. When I'm editing, I turn up the volume because this internal editor has very high standards. She tells me to go back over a chapter again, to take more time on a particular section of the evaluation, to look up something in a reference book. Sometimes, she wakes me in the middle of the night and says, "That's it! Here's the solution to so-and-so's chapter." She has a dark side too. Occasionally, she hammers me with the reminder that I am self-taught. She tells me that I should go back to school before taking on even one more job. She tells me I haven't read enough and I should turn in my editing badge.

When I'm writing, I have to completely switch the breaker on my internal editor or I am toast. Because I have spent so much time developing my editing skills and inner editor, she can wreak havoc in my writing. I know; I've had times when I got stuck revising the first three chapters endlessly, unable to move on. I've had her dark side telling me that my writing is worthless and to give it up. She'll laugh like a witch at my first drafts. She's interrupted many pieces of writing. I have only lately figured out that my only chance is to throw the breaker and write in the dark--which paradoxically, is writing by my inner light. The only way!

Do you have any advice for authors should harsh reviews of their books ever occur?

I've had harsh reviews on two occasions--for my first self-published book and recently, on A Writer's Guide to Fiction, which I consider my very best book on craft! There is little you can or should do with a harsh review. Ignore it and move on. Trust that word-of-mouth recommendations and fate will get your book to those who need it and appreciate it. Invest in your current and future works.

Tell us about your new book, National Directory of Editors & Writers. What audience do you hope to reach and why? Will this be something you plan to update each year?

I had held the idea for this book for about ten years before proposing it. Naively, I thought it would take but three months to assemble, but in reality, it was a full-time job for a year. It contains profiles of 530 freelance editors and writers living in 48 states. I hope it will serve individual writers who are looking for an editor and businesses who need an editor for their printed materials or a copywriter or ghost for the same. I hope that small presses and publishers find the directory and use it to hire copyeditors or even developmental editors. Larger firms and corporations may need technical writers or technical editors, as well as ad or copywriters. Nonprofits likewise often hire freelancers to write their newsletters and pr materials or to launch fund-raising campaigns.

My publisher, M. Evans & Company, has tentative plans to do an updated edition every two years. Of course, if it sells like hotcakes, they may let me update it every year, which would be a blessing and a curse. However, now I have a database and can add to it. By the way, should any readers want to be considered for the next edition, they should write to me c/o elyon123@comcast.net. There is also talk of getting an online version of the book going, but that is in the early stages.

After writing my first two books, which were on marketing nonfiction and novels, I wanted to write books about how to write! I've seen my role with writers as one of providing direction, steering them in the write direction, so I came up with the compass as my touchstone. Then, believe it or not, I proposed an eleven book series! Was I out of my mind? Yes, I believe so. I had envisioned writing books on elements of craft, one at a time. However, my publisher, in true wisdom, combined all of the elements of craft into one book on writing nonfiction and one on writing fiction. There are two more books planned in the series--one on editing and revision, and one as yet to be determined.

As a writing teacher, I'm a structuralist above all; meaning that I believe that when writers know and lay down the structure for any piece of writing, they have completed a sizeable portion of the task. Without the right structure, anything they write is likely to fall apart. You could say that I am talking about the architecture of writing. A good 90 percent of all of my editing clients have serious structural problems and their envisioned Taj Majal either ends up in rubble or as a servant's cottage.

I own at least 100 books on writing, and I did not see any comprehensive guides to structure and the elements of craft for nonfiction especially, but also for fiction. Also, I pioneered (as far as I know), beginning with my proposal book in 1995, the use of a technical writing style for teaching writing. Drop-down menus, quick access to information, and multiple screens have greatly influenced how we seek information. While I wanted to continue with this style, I also wanted the Compass series to feature yet another innovation: discreet sections on the core information about structure (North), self-editing (South), marketing (East), and integration of the writing with the writer (West). I wanted my compass series books to be seen as "holistic." Call me a typical west-coast person!

By the way, I had a major, icy writer's block over A Writer's Guide to Fiction. I felt the weight of the world on me that I was expected to cover all fiction written for all age groups in all categories and styles supported by hundreds of examples drawn from all human history and time. Added to that, given that a great deal has been written on how to write novels, I wanted to add to the literature and not merely repeat what others have said. As the sands slipped through the hourglass toward my deadline, I considered leaving the country permanently, giving back the advance I had spent, and finding a new profession like picking up garbage by the side of the freeway. When I finally began, the writing came in a torrent. I wrote the whole book in three months, barely looking back at what I'd written. The fear was nipping my butt all the way. Yet, I feel that this is my best work; it ended up exceeding my vision for it.

I've begun a memoir. The working title is "Free Love." I'm rediscovering the ecstasy of writing that is purely self-centered and reminds me what makes me feel most alive--and that is writing.

Everyone loves a Top 10 list. What would be your top 10 reasons why a writer should keep working toward publication after receiving that first rejection slip?

Catherine Tudor founded One Woman's Writing Retreat in 1996 in order to create a network for writers at all stages in their careers. She is the managing editor and webmaster of One Woman's Writing Retreat. Read more about her here.