EDITORS UNEDITED: Susan Allott

Susan loves to get stuck into an editing project – could yours be her next? Thrillers, suspense, literary, and book club are all on her wish list of projects. We love reading her editorial reports – she’s a mentor with us too – and her writing advice has us all inspired.  

Q: So that we can learn a bit about you, tell us about one writing-related thing you’re proud of, and one non-writing related thing you’re proud of.  

I’m incredibly proud of my second book, The Imposter, which is going to be published in 2023. It was written (mostly) in lockdown while the kids were off school – not the glorious isolation I really needed! I’m also very proud of my little oak tree that I grew from an acorn and have now planted out into a pot in the garden. I do not have green fingers and its survival is an actual miracle. 

Q: What brought you to the world of writing? What keeps you writing?  

I’m one of those writers who always wanted to be a writer and could not imagine myself being happy doing anything else. I remember writing stories and poems in primary school and knowing I was good at it. I didn’t tell anyone, but I knew I wanted to write books for a living from about the age of six. I keep writing because I want to get better at what I do. And because I hear something or read something, and it feels interesting to me, and I find myself wanting to write about it. I can’t help it. 

Q: Tell me about what you’re currently working on.  

I’m currently trying out an idea for my third book, seeing if it might be something which will work. I have the premise, and a small cast of characters and a setting, but I want to understand how I would execute it and whether it’s an idea I’ll be able to stick with for the next couple of years. I’m being very picky this time around. I’m also interested in writing a screenplay, and if this idea doesn’t stand up as my next novel, I might write it as a screenplay instead. 

Q: You’ve just received a new manuscript to critique: what’s the first thing you do? Walk us through your editing process.  

I read it on my laptop and mark it up using track changes, capturing my first responses to the text. If at any point I’m confused or scared or impressed or bored, I write that as a note in the margins. It’s important to capture that, and for the author to know what my first impressions were. At the same time I make notes in a physical notebook, jotting down what I think the main issues are – maybe I’m not connecting to the main character, or the dialogue needs work, or there are too many internal monologues or flashbacks getting in the way of the story. Then I usually read it again and pick out examples within the text to use in the report – such as where I thought the prose really shone, or where a simile really worked. I keep going back to the manuscript as I write the report.  

Q: How do you manage being on the other side of the editorial process – when your own writing is being edited? What should an author who is receiving critique for the first-time be aware of? 

It’s always daunting being edited, but so far I’ve found it to be positive and rewarding. I love it when my editor helps me to see what a book needs. I’m never happier than when I’m mid-edit and I can feel that it’s getting better. I could edit forever actually. I hate the first draft and I love the near-final draft when it’s starting to really come together. 

The main advice I give to authors is to try not to be defensive when they receive feedback. Ask yourself if it resonates, and if it does, take it on board, even if it means you have a lot of work to do. Writing is rewriting! If you want to be published, you have to be prepared to keep going until your book is its best self. But if after careful thought it really doesn’t resonate, then put it aside and don’t worry about it. You know what you are trying to do with your novel, and you have to feel you can write it, and you have to want to write it. Ideally you should find your own way to address the issues that an editor identifies. You need to own your changes. 

Q: What writing do you get most excited about working as an editor on? What really makes you intrigued by a submission?  

Actually the thing I look for when I read a submission is whether I think I can help. If it’s already utterly brilliant I wonder how I can add value. So usually I get excited when I can see where my input will really make a difference to this writer and help to bring their work up to a publishable standard. It’s great if an author has an interesting premise and a character I can connect with, because those two things are fundamental. But anyone can make their writing better if they’re prepared to put the work in. No matter how much work there is to do, I just love getting stuck in. 

Q: What do you read for pleasure? Is this different to the writing you enjoy working on?  

I love any fiction that immerses me in its world through characters I want to know more about. I like clean, sharp, understated prose. I lean towards literary fiction but I love crime and suspense, so long as it doesn’t sacrifice character for plot. I tend to feel that I can help more with manuscripts that have a crime or thriller element to them, because that’s a market I understand. But actually, most novels have an element of suspense to them, and controlling that suspense is what makes a novel unputdownable. I enjoy working on a whole range of genres and bringing out the potential in any story is a real pleasure.  

Q: Finally, if you could only give one piece of advice to all aspiring authors, what would it be?  

Write like nobody’s going to read it. Be brave. Write the thing you’re scared of or embarrassed of or ashamed of. Don’t worry about what other people will think. You’ll never find what you’re trying to say if you censor yourself, and your reader will be more convinced by the fictional world you’re building if it feels emotionally true. 

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