I’ve been lucky enough to work with poet Amanda Lovelace on nearly all of her published work. Especially her first few books were formative experiences in my editing experience and goals for my career. Lovelace originally self-published her first poetry collection, the princess saves herself in this one. She really relied on her beta readers, including me, to proofread and give feedback, since she couldn’t afford to hire a copyeditor. Even after publisher Andrews McMeel picked her up, Lovelace has continued to work with me and other beta readers. I’m one of the only ones to have been with her since the beginning; I’m very grateful she trusts me with her books. I’ve worked with her on:
- the princess saves herself in this one
- the witch doesn’t burn in this one
- the mermaid’s voice returns in this one (expected publication date is March 5, 2019)
- To Make Monsters Out of Girls
- To Drink Coffee with a Ghost (expected publication in fall of 2019)
Especially during the revision process for her first couple books, I learned a lot about communicating with authors. What deserved a comment? Was this choice working? Did the poems make sense in that order? How do I address this to the author in a constructive way? Can I address this quickly in a document comment or should I send a separate, longer message? As I learned Lovelace’s style–overall and within each collection–some of these questions got easier to answer, and I found I really liked working with an author after the first couple books. I’m excited to see where Lovelace goes in the future and hope she takes me with her.
