By Dana Kaye
A couple weeks ago I hired a new assistant, Lily. Going through the training process is different this time around: I know more of what to expect, what she can handle, and most importantly, what I can handle them doing.
For those of you who have never lived, worked, or hung out with me outside a bar or writing conference: I’m a control freak. I like things done a certain way and relinquishing control makes me anxious. From shipping packages to drafting e-mails to dusting the cabinets, there’s a right way to do everything.
My way.
But I’m not a robot who doesn’t need sleep and I haven’t found the perfect cloning machine yet (Ben from Tyrus is looking into that for me), so until matters change, I need help.
Yesterday, as I was teaching Lily the fine art of writing pitches, instead of showing her how I would write the pitch, I let her try one out herself, without any guidance. Here’s part of what she came out with:
“WHAT'S UP DOWN THERE? should be a handbook for women everywhere as it embraces the joys of sexuality and positive body image while still being choke-on-your-cocktail funny.”
I love it. It perfectly describes the book and draws editors in, all in one sentence.
Would I have come up with that? (Obviously I could because I’m brilliant and according to the girl in Alison’s video, “I can do anything good!) Probably not. Fresh eyes see the world differently and can often spot things you would have missed.
Many aspiring and first time authors are like me. They hate relinquishing control. They don’t want their editor changing the book, the publicist pitching them in a different way, the booksellers placing them on a shelf they don’t feel they belong on and I won’t even start with the issue of character names and book covers.
Although it can cause anxiety to open up the doors and allow someone to take over a task, often times, it can improve your project. So if you trust your editor and your publisher, or in my case, your assistant, let them take the reins for a bit and see what they come up with. You might be pleasantly surprised.
