Experiences With Editors - Matt Bell

The following comes from a pretty damn good editor in his own right, Matt Bell:

In January of 2009, Samuel Ligon of Willow Springs sent me an e-mail kindly rejecting the most recent story I’d sent to his magazine, but also asking if I’d be willing to talk to him on the phone about it, as he had some thoughts about how the story might be improved. I gave him a call the next day, and he was kind enough to spend thirty minutes or so discussing my story with me, pointing out both what was already working in the story and what ultimately wasn’t, all the while demonstrating that he’d clearly thought carefully and deeply about what I was trying to accomplish with the story so that he could better advise me on how to get there.

Even if that was the end of the story, I’d still consider Sam Ligon one of the best editors I ever had. That conversation pushed me to try to take my stories farther before submitting them, to keep revising until I had something absolutely as good as I thought I could make it, and then to try to take it at least a little farther. That push has paid off in a lot of ways in the last year, and I’m glad Sam was there to give it to me.

Eventually, I submitted another story to Willow Springs, and eventually I got another invitation to call Sam and talk. Even though this situation was different—he was accepting the story this time—Sam once again enthusiastically demonstrated his ability to see my story in great detail, both for what it already was and what it could be after one more strong rewrite. He helped me diagnose the last big problem with my story as well as a handful of minor ones, then set me to work fixing them before going through the story himself to offer another round of line edits.

I can see now that Sam was the ideal reader and editor for this story: He understood my goals for it completely, and was able to articulate those goals back to me better than anyone else who had read it so far or has since. I truly believe that it would be a lesser story if it had been published by anyone else.

The story of mine that Sam edited has just come out in Willow Springs 65, and I couldn't be happier to see it there.  Called "The Receiving Tower," it's one of my favorite stories I wrote last year, and I'm glad it found a home with a magazine I've long admired and an editor who has become one of my own role models for how I conduct my own editing at The Collagist.  I can't thank Sam enough for taking the time to read my work so carefully, and to encourage and develop it throughout our interactions this last year.  I've been lucky to work with a lot of great editors over the past few years, but there's no doubt that he's one of the very best. 

Comments

[MoGa]

I read this when it went live, and it reminded me of Evenson--maybe mostly because of the characters' names. Glad to see it get some coverage here.

[Matt]

Hi Molly! You're right on, and I totally admitted the Evenson influence on the names in my Author's Profile at the Willow Springs site--I don't think he uses the kind of names he does for the same reasons I did in this story, but it's definitely where I got the idea.

[MoGa]

:)

Shine on, Matt. You're a star.

[Sam Ligon]

This is really nice, Matt, and I appreciate it. But you made my job very easy by sending such strong work and then engaging in such passionate discussion about it. Then you finished the story -- took it to another level through your re-imagining. I'm happy if our discussion helped facilitate that process a little, and it was exciting to participate in the discussion. It was even more exciting to get the next draft and discover the ways you'd solved the little problems. I loved that story the first time I read it, and its gotten even better for me on subsequent reads. That is strong work.

[Dan Wickett]

By the way, folks, Sam Ligon is also a pretty kick-ass writer as well as editor. Check out his Drift and Swerve when you get a chance, and Safe in Heaven Dead too!

[IanSmith]

It's well-written with echoes of Buzzati but the first person present tense narrative ending abruptly cannot help but make us ask, how do we naturalize this piece? I find that to be a significant failing. That an the lucidity of a narrator who has supposedly gone "dim" -- again, how do we naturalize? A lot of withheld information rolls out in the scene with the captain. Perhaps a bit convenient to fill all the missing exposition and back story.

[JR Hochman]

Wow, there are some very nice people out there in publishing. You got a real gem.

For all those looking for a YA contest, click on the link below.

Kidlit Contest

Also check out the kidlit.com website:

JR

[jesusangelgarcia]

Yeah, it's great to hear about tuned-in editor-writer relationships. Very encouraging.

[Kat Magendie]

Here to look around - in case you didn't see/hear - found you by the list here, through Mike's Writing WOrkshop:

http://universitiesandcolleges.org/top-100-blog-to-improve-your-writing-in-2010/

[self publishing]

:)

Keep going, Matt. You're a star.