Three Alarm Fire: editing as true collaboration
Marcus Green has been a dear friend for many years. So in 2023, just a few months after I’d moved to full-time freelance work, when Marcus told me he was starting a publishing company and asked if I’d be interested in editing some of their manuscripts I practically leaped out of my chair to say yes. I needed the work, yes. But more than that, I knew without a doubt that the writers Marcus would pick up for Hinton Publishing would be excellent in every way.
Many publishers treat editors and authors as two fully separate cogs in a machine, creating intentional distance between them. Hinton is not like that at all. Instead, my editing journey with Hinton began with an in-person meeting at Redwing Cafe with Marcus, deputy publisher Maggie, and the author of the first manuscript they’d like me to edit.
As I headed to Redwing, I was surprisingly nervous. The act of writing is an incredibly personal experience and offering feedback on writing can be a delicate balance. In a way, I get why most publishers put up a wall between writers and those who edit their work. It’s one thing to judge words on a screen. But shaking a hand and looking into the eyes of the person whose work you are about to critique? Listening to their hopes, dreams and passion for what they’ve written? That’s quite another. Would meeting this Juan Carlos Reyes in person before I edited his work make the process richer and more meaningful? Or awkward and more painful?
Ultimately, I pushed down my worries and chose to just keep trusting Marcus. He has always steered me right; especially when it comes to choosing the full depth of human relationship over the furtive, frenzied machinations of transactional capitalism.
And of course, the smiling man with the kind eyes who Marcus introduced as Juan Carlos immediately melted my worries. In true “family” fashion we went right in for hugs and, with that warm embrace, this dude felt more like my older brother or a beloved cousin than someone I’d met just minutes ago.
We carried our veggie scramble and breakfast sandwiches, respectively, to the sun-soaked patio and settled in to talk about Juan Carlos’ book, Three Alarm Fire, for which Maggie was already sketching out cover design ideas on her tablet. The whole scene was just surreal and I couldn’t help but think how different this was from the glimpses I’d had of “traditional publishing” where myself, as an editor, would only know the author by name and only see their face if I went through the effort to google them.
This could not have been further from that. It felt like a group of friends grabbing coffee and shooting the breeze, except the topic was Juan Carlos’ manuscript; his unique and innovative use of punctuation and grammar to reflect the heart of the story and the truth of his characters; how his manuscript experiments with form and structure to build tension, deepen emotion and, hopefully, make the reader laugh.
I left our meeting absolutely on fire (pun intended) to get my hands on this book and giddy to contribute to this unique and fascinating piece of writing.
I was absolutely blown away by the manuscript. I would sit there reading with relish - alternately laughing or crying, brow furrowed, edge of my chair - and then realize I hadn’t made a suggestion in ten pages! Oops. You’re the editor, Mar, remember to do the actual editing. There is only one other “first draft” manuscript I recall becoming so completely absorbed in I forgot to edit (and I hope very much I’ll be writing a blog about that book’s publication very soon. Stay tuned!).
I did manage to remember to edit. And let me tell you, it was a significant challenge. Juan Carlos’ unique style will not abide a quick-and-easy, run-of-the-mill edit. His unorthodox use of commas and punctuation, his elevation of culture and colloquialism over the rules of grammar, the ground-breaking forms he utilizes, and the seeming relish with which he breaks the rules of storytelling for the sake of the story make it a tough, but very rewarding job. I worked hard to quickly and fully learn the new forms and structures Juan Carlos was establishing and then ensure their consistency throughout the book.
It’s my very favorite kind of editing. Not applying rules to chaos; not forcing a story into pre-defined boundaries; not being a watchdog nitpicking away every possible “error.” Uh uh. Editing Three Alarm Fire was being invited to learn a new world, a new language; holding clarity and consistency above conformity and correctness; holding meaning and intention as sacred; it was taking something unconventionally beautiful and working hard to make it just the tiniest bit more compelling.
The best part? After completing my edits and sending them over, Juan Carlos and I met in person again at Redwing Cafe. Honestly, I was terrified. It’s always a little scary to give feedback on an author’s work, this immense labor of love they’ve created. You tread carefully, you poke the holes as gently as possible, but they’re holes just the same. I always fear I’ll do harm, that the writer may be offended or upset by my suggestions. Even when we’d had such a great first meeting I still felt butterflies waiting to see the expression on Juan Carlos’ face.
But he was grinning ear to ear, practically mid-sentence before we’d said hello, brimming over with excitement to discuss my suggestions for his manuscript. We were buzzing along so happily, discussing the work, that we lost track of time and I was almost late to my next meeting. It was such fun debating the merits of plot twists vs reversals, how much to reveal in the first sentences, and how obscure was too obscure a reference for the average reader. It might be the most editing fun I’ve ever had.
Having a laugh at the Three Alarm Fire book signing!
Editing can sometimes be a lonely profession; editing for Hinton is not. Editing Three Alarm Fire was both a creative challenge and a collaborative, community-building endeavor. What a gift.
I’m so proud of my work on Juan Carlos Reyes’ Three Alarm Fire and I cannot recommend the final product highly enough. When you read, be prepared to have your world rocked by the tender compassion, the terrible violence, the deep brokenness and the unyielding hope of the human condition as only Juan Carlos Reyes’ can tell it.
Looking for an editor who understands your unique style of writing? Let’s Chat.
But you gotta get yourself a copy of Three Alarm Fire. And maybe a couple copies for holiday gifts, while you’re at it.
