The publishing industry, much like any entertainment industry, is all about who you know, and not necessarily about how good you are. Having said this, though, if you are damn good, and you have a little luck, you can break into the inner circle.
Working toward finishing my second book, "Polos to Ties," I decided that I needed a professional editor to make the book a success. Even though many publishing houses work with editors already, this usually happens only after you're signed by an agent. But it's difficult to get signed by an agent without a spectacular book. Therefore, I have selected Patrick Coyle and India Wilkins as my co-editors.
Coyle is an assistant editor at a nonprofit newspaper outside of Washington. Wlkins is recent graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, where she majored in English Writing, with a fiction concentration, and minored in Japanese. She was a staff writer and copy-editor for a minority-run campus magazine, and also spent time as a poetry editor for the campus literary magazine.
As I focus on acquiring literary agent representation, I hope that both editors will provide assistance in transforming my writing into something worthwhile. So far, they have already offered numerous suggestions that I have already implemented. With a little effort and a lot of luck, hopefully we will all be rewarded in the end.
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