by Chad Jarrah
Assistant Editor
Where Books Begin
For me, for many years, as for all aspiring writers, publication was the goal. I wanted people to read what I had written. But even more, I wanted everyone, readers and non-readers alike, to be impressed that I was in that elite club of published writers. That some editor somewhere thought that what I had to say was worth reading.
Publication would show acceptance into an elite club. We authors send out query letters again and again all in the hope of receiving that one response from an interested agent or publisher telling us: ‘Yes, you are good enough for me. Join us!’ As a writer, I was that nerd in high school who longs to go out with the popular cheerleader. Me, in high school, I asked every cheerleader out and got rejected until I lost all hope. Then that last pretty cheerleader saw something in me and accepted me for all my random quirkiness. I was hoping for the same thing in publishing.
Then I became an editor myself. I got a job in publishing, working as an assistant editor for Where Books Begin, and I began to see things differently. As an aspiring writer, I had the cart before the horse. I thought that the acceptance by the publisher came FIRST. As an editor, I found out that the publisher is just a buyer, and he buys the best. If I wanted him to pick me out of the crowd, my stuff had to be better than everyone else’s. I had to be best. And how would I be best? Thomas Edison, who never wrote a word in his busy life, had the answer “Ninety nine percent perspiration, one percent inspiration.” Robert Louis Stevenson whose books are still popular after a century, echoed him: “Good writing is re-writing,”
And rewrite is what editors and authors do. Back and forth, over and over, again and again. How many times can the first thirteen pages of a novel be sharpened, tweaked, focused and perfected?
“That ellipsis on page 7: is it really necessary?”
Answer: “Of course it is necessary, it shows the character is drifting off, evading confrontation.”
Editor’s reply: “But can’t the dialogue itself show that same evasion?”
It feels like it will never end. I don’t know whether I feel like a law clerk or Dr. Phil, but I keep asking questions. That’s what editors do to help writers make better books.
Then one day the author gets a nibble from an agent. “Sounds good, send it along!” Once a writer is accepted into the company of the agent, then he can have the luxury of calling his writing “Art” With a capital A. I dance a jig around the office. See? It pays to seek perfection!
HOW BEING AN EDITOR AFFECTS MY READING
While working as an editor, always making manuscripts better and better, I began to get very choosy about my reading off the job. I didn’t want anything that didn’t hit the mark. I have been working on a memoir, so I started seeking out great memoirs. Three people told me to check out Mark Salzman, author of Lost in Place, Iron and Silk and Lying Awake. These books are based on his experiences in life and all three are rooted in humor -- the same approach that I want to pursue.
As I breezed through his Lost In Place, I forgot all about writing and rewriting. I was right there in Connecticut (I have never been to Connecticut, I try to stay west of the Delaware River) in the seventies (before I was born) doing kung fu (I have never done kung fu) and worrying about whether I was going to get into Yale (Lehigh was what I worried about when I was in high school.) M. B. Goffstein says “Being a professional writer is working and working and working and working until it seems like you never worked at all.” That’s exactly what I felt Mark Salzman had done. And even though I know it’s a ton of work, it’s exactly what I would like to do. Salzman has inspired me to try.
Salzman tells his stories in a way that make the reader understand his exact feeling and point of view at whatever moment in his life he is describing. He defamiliarizes his anecdotes so we have the ‘in his shoes’ feeling.
Defamiliarization is the writer’s sleight of hand. He grasps that which everybody takes for granted and lays it out as something new. Readers who know what he is talking about, nod in recognition. Readers who have no idea of what he is talking about, learn. This makes the process of reading effortless. Those who already know can skim. Those who are learning something new from the book are interested, excited even, and the energy that rises out of curiosity helps them along.
WHAT NEXT?
Now I am reading Jeff Goodell’s Sunnyvale 
Salzman’s suburban tale. This with a twist of the divorce of the main character’s parents early on in the story. In this day and age, divorce in no twist, but the norm, but the reactions of Jeff and his family, and the paths each member takes because of it, serve to surprise the reader. Again, defamiliarization is the key. My parents and aunts and uncles have never been through a divorce, but the confusion that Jeff and his siblings feel is so tangible, I know I’m blessed to have been so lucky.
Salzman’s suburban tale. This with a twist of the divorce of the main character’s parents early on in the story. In this day and age, divorce in no twist, but the norm, but the reactions of Jeff and his family, and the paths each member takes because of it, serve to surprise the reader. Again, defamiliarization is the key. My parents and aunts and uncles have never been through a divorce, but the confusion that Jeff and his siblings feel is so tangible, I know I’m blessed to have been so lucky.
Enchantment is the goal. After realizing this -- after understanding all the rewriting that has been done, and after all the numerous changes made -- the 'elite club' theory begins to make sense.
