Week 5
Another busy week has passed as we finish up our first publication launch and set things up for our next one. Yes, you did in fact read that correctly. We have already begun the process for our November print run. But first, we have finalized the production of our handmade chapbooks and they are no longer pre-orders but officially for sale and being shipped out daily to our buyers. So thank you to all those that purchased one of our author’s amazing chapbooks. The heart, sweat, and tears of our production team as they hammered, folded, and sewed each book by hand and the work of our authors as they wrote each word with passion has not been in vain thanks to your support!
The handmade aspect of our products is something that we here at Whispering Wick hold very high in our hearts and putting in the extra effort is what makes each one so unique. Each one had all of us working hard before making it to the printing stage, but creating them by hand gives our readers a closer bond with the work as every step is filled with our handmade efforts. We hope you enjoy them as much as we do and if you haven’t purchased one yet please feel free to purchase one for yourself or a loved one as we still have some for sale in our shop. We also made sure to take plenty of pictures and videos to show you a behind-the-scenes look, which is up on our Instagram and Twitter if you're interested in some of the specifics.
As for our next November print run; because this team does indeed not slow down… at all; pitch meetings took place, decisions were made, and the selection of our next chapbook collection is set. Our new authors have been notified and are just as excited as we are to progress forward and each department has been working on their individual tasks to help make this larger print run move forward. Although we can’t tell you all that is to come as everything is just getting started, we can say that the whole team was really excited when our Chief Editor pitched the manuscripts he had selected as candidates. It was really interesting and amazing for the rest of us to get a glimpse into what he gets up to every day. Not only that, getting to see just how many authors are producing the quality of work we have seen is extremely exciting. During these times it inspires the whole team and refuels us for another launch.
It’s a lot of work but when we get to see the passion and care put into pieces it’s hard not to get that fire inside where we want to help an author make their story a reality. Sure, we do have to look at the pitches from all sides and decide, as a team, on which ones we want to work on. But when we each feel that electric excitement of everyone sharing their passion because we each recognize the author’s own passion, it’s hard not the get inspired. When it comes to art of any shape or form, what the creator does deserves immeasurable recognition. The blend of art is what helps each artist keep going as we inspire each other, allowing our community to not only survive but thrive. A cliché statement, yes, but the fact is that when you can’t motivate yourself, looking outside yourself is the best way to move forward.
We at Whispering Wick find many of you inspiring and we hope our work does or could do the same for you now or someday in the future. Through our blog, we aim to give you insight into our business and especially into the editor-author relationship as it is not one often showcased. That is why for this week’s editorial section of the blog Nate will be talking about his editorial style and the way he works directly with authors. Please note before reading the following that we have spoken with all authors mentioned and received their consent for inclusion.
“I like to believe I have a very cooperative editing style. Instead of making actual changes to a work, I like to pose questions and make statements on how a piece reads from a reader’s perspective in order to aid the author in getting their actual intentions across. Often times when we do seldom hear about the editor-author relationship, we hear the line, “it’s hard to tell where the author began and the editor ended”. Personally, I don’t see this as successful editing. Successful editing is when you wouldn’t even question where the editor is in a piece. That’s why when I do actually make a physical change or write in a scene, I always tell my authors to re-write it and make it their own.
For example, in Senescence by David Stevens, originally Clarence’s drug problem was rather muted in representation even though it was a major part of the storyline, even if not evident at first. So, I drafted a more elaborate entrance to the story where the reader was able to see Clarence struggle with the fact that he worked around such substances daily, especially after losing someone who had helped him get clean. Yet I didn’t leave the edit there, I personally didn’t feel like my addition fit the piece well enough, but that wasn’t the point. Instead, I wanted Stevens to see the type of direction I felt the piece needed to go towards with Clarence’s drug problem and I stated as such in my comments.
I like to tell people when I’m discussing my editing style that the point isn’t to have what I believe is needed present, but the author’s intentions to be shown as clearly as possible. I don’t want my writing or style to be what the reader sees because the manuscript isn’t mine, I am not a ghostwriter after all.”
Nate’s weekly Dad joke:
“Why didn’t the vampire attack Taylor Swift? She had bad blood.”