Edits for B&B: Reducing the word count

I had a productive three-day weekend -- I'm 67 pages from the end of the edits on Bewitched & Betrayed and have approx. 1,000 words left to cut to have the book down to the size of The Trouble With Demons. Demons weighted in a 114K, and B&B tipped the scales at a hefty 122K. And my publisher likes them in the 100-110K range. Needless to say, I had some slicing and dicing to do. So I've gone through almost the entire book, editing it, in a week. I think that's a new land speed record for me.

For those of you who are on the verge of getting an agent, or signing that first publishing contract, I'm going to take a few days (or maybe the rest of the week) to cover some of the editorial suggestions I received from my editor for B&B. Before I begin, a word of disclaimer. Every agent and editor handle feedback differently, and each book is different, so in other words, no two books or editorial letters are alike.

As you may have guessed, the major thing for B&B was to shorten & tighten the book. By the time I'd finished writing it, I was too close to see some of the boggy places where I could cut copy, so I knew I needed Anne's help/advice. And Anne Sowards is one of the best editors in the genre (she's also Jim Butcher's editor), and I'm blessed to have her. I know going from 122K to 110K sounds like a lot, but it's all needed, and most importantly it's for the good of the book. An agent or editor isn't out to slice and dice your baby; they want what will put the best possible product on the shelf. Fortunately Anne and I have always been on the same page when it comes to pretty much everything on my books.

I love her ideas, and incorporated most of them into my edits. That brings up one more thing. A lot of people have no idea what (or how much) an editor does once they get a manuscript. I certainly had no clue. An editor works with the author to get the best book possible. Anne makes suggestions to tighten & strengthen the book and to make it flow faster. If I have any questions about any of her suggestions, I can either email or call her and we'll brainstorm. And if there's a suggestion I don't agree with, I simply give a good reason why I can't do it, and Anne's always been cool with that.

So if you're scared of the idea of someone making you do things to your book that you don't want to-- don't worry. It's your book; you're the author. But at the same time, you need to have a completely open mind. You've been working with this book seemingly forever, so sometimes (actually most of the time) you're too close to it to be truly objective. I know I am. Your editor doesn't have that problem. Listen to her (or him) with an open mind. They've got your best interests (and your book's) at heart.

So how did I shorten B&B? Anne suggested three ways (and I'll expand on these tomorrow).
1. Take out a big subplot or two to help focus the plot.
2. Remove scenes that don't move the plot forward.
3. Take out extraneous dialogue, characters, and descriptions that don't move the plot forward.

In a nutshell, anything that doesn't propel your plot forward needs to go regardless of how much you love it -- because you can always use it in another book.

Lisa