One of the unique aspects of Emerson’s MFA in Creative Writing program is the relationship it has with the MA Publishing students. This semester I had the honor of working with the Book Editing class, which pairs publishing students with MFA students and their manuscripts. If selected to participate, the writers meet with the editors throughout the semester and receive four detailed memos on different aspects of craft.

Much of my time as a writer has been spent in workshops hearing twelve different voices and points of view on one story or a small section of my novel. But different environments produce different results, and having an editor who is concerned with how to sell a story was an enlightening and valuable experience.

With my thesis advisor, I focused on the micro issues of my novel. How was the arc of each chapter progressing?  Would it be reasonable for my protagonist to act this way? Is it possible for this event to happen? All of these are important, valid questions. My advisor was making me a better writer.

But my editor asked different questions. She was looking at the macro issues of a novel. What is the relationship of this plot development to the overall theme? Why did the external conflict in chapter two disappear by chapter ten? How is chapter one affecting chapter twelve? The questions my editor asked made me a storyteller.

Through this experience, I gained a stronger sense of how to craft my novel in a way that will help me publish it. As my professor pointed out last night, once you finish a draft and begin looking for an agent, the focus shifts from writing to selling.

And as a result of our work this semester, my editor wants to continue helping me develop my novel. Not only did I have a wonderful real world experience, but now I also have someone I trust (who knows and understands the publishing business) to read and critique my work.

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