Today I have the immense pleasure of having one of my favorite historical romance authors on my blog–Joanne Bischof! (Insert wild applause here). Not only is Joanne a phenomenal writer, she’s also one of the sweetest people I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. Read along with us today as we share how our novels evolved throughout the editing process.
Take it away Joanne…
Katie Ganshert and I have something in common. We’re both blonde and skinny. Ok, totally joking. I’m not blonde nor all that skinny. BUT what we do have in common is that we are both published with the same publishing house which means we work with the same group of editors on our books.
I’ve read both Katie’s books and she’s a phenomenal writer (oh now, Joanne, you’re making me blush) and one of the joys of this writing journey is getting to encourage and be encouraged by writing friends during the publishing process. Katie and I have both had the privilege of working with Shannon Marchese and the editing team at WaterBrook Multnbomah. Now, I’ll tell you, they’re quite a team. They challenge us as writers in ways that at times feel impossible, but it never is impossible and always, the stories on the other end are remarkably stronger than they were to begin with.
Katie and I got to meet up in St. Louis for coffee in June (along with the SWEET Dani Pettry!) as we were gearing up for the Christys that night. While there, Katie and I swapped notes on the editing process. She shared with me some of the changes she’d made to Wildflowers from Winter and Wishing on Willows and I got to tell her all the things I’d done to the books in the Cadence of Grace series, particularly Be Still My Soul, to try and make it a better book. So below, just for fun, we’re going to share a few of those changes that—thanks to the editing process—really did make these books stronger.
Be Still My Soul
1. Gideon wasn’t quite as naughty in the early drafts as he was in the book that landed on shelves. I know! His character wasn’t as well defined as it could have been, so I actually got to ogre-fy him a bit more, which made working with him quite challenging, but also super fun. And it paved the way for the rest of the series, as he now had a whole lot of growing up to do.
2. A few characters ended up being deleted throughout the story. Lonnie had a best friend in the first scene of the book and having her in on the opening conversation just made it all too crowded. So off she went. Sorry, Lonnie. No best friend for you.
3. One of my editors told me, “You do realize there are three Henry’s in this book.” Seriously!? Yikes. I need to get more creative with names. One of those Henry’s got a name change to Hollis, Gideon’s ornery friend who’s the son of a moonshiner. I always enjoy looking for names that are both old-fashioned and also from the Appalachian region, so when I stumbled upon Hollis, I knew it was the perfect name. And a great way to have one less Henry!
4. One of the areas I struggled with early on was having good character motivations. Part of that was the evidence for why Lonnie’s Pa was just so bad. Thanks to my editor’s advice, I wove in a bit of his backstory that gave his character more depth, and hinted at the reasoning’s as to why he’d be the one wielding the shotgun when it came to Lonnie and Gideon’s unwanted marriage.
5. Another thing my editors pointed out was the need to have hints as to what was to come in Though My Heart is Torn. Readers will recognize a familiar character in the first chapter of Be Still My Soul. She wasn’t there in the early manuscript and my editors wanted her present in a few places, so reader’s would have the chance to meet her before the big uh-oh in book 2.
Katie here.
I don’t know about you, but I find it fascinating to hear how a book changes from its original form to the completed, printed version (maybe it’s the weird writer in me). Like Joanne, my books have undergone a lot of changes–both big and small. Here are just a few.
Wildflowers from Winter & Wishing on Willows
1. In the original version of Wildflowers from Winter, there was only one first-person point-of-view scene told from Bethany’s perspective, and that was the prologue. My editors noted that the prologue, while strong, felt orphaned. Shannon came up with the brilliant idea of adding 6-7 additional first-person Bethany scenes throughout the novel. Which not only served to make the prologue less orphaned, but my main character, Bethany, more sympathetic.
2. In Wishing on Willows, there were zero first-person point-of-view scenes. But since they were so well-received by readers, we decided to add them in, prologue and all!
3. In Wildflowers from Winter, the hero, Evan Price, was much more antagonistic toward Bethany, which made their romance a bit on the unbelievable side. My editor suggested I tone him down and add in some sweet Bethany-Evan scenes (as opposed to all the high-conflict ones). This resulted in the addition of my two all-time favorite scenes in the novel–the snowy-nighttime-creek scene and the swing-dance scene.
4. Originally in Wishing on Willows, Ian McKay’s father was the third point-of-view character. My editor pointed out that this made the book very Ian-heavy. And since the majority of readers would be picking up the book to read Robin’s story, this had to change. So bye-bye Ian’s dad and hello Amanda Price, Robin’s sister-in-law. Every scene from her point-of-view was added in during the editing process.
5. I first wrote Wishing on Willows many years ago, when my son was an itty-bitty baby. I didn’t know what almost-four-year old boys were like. One of my editorial notes had to do with Caleb, Robin Price’s almost-four-year old son. To put it plainly, he lacked a personality. I needed to bring him to life. Thankfully, my itty-bitty baby was now an almost-four-year old boy himself. So I basically wrote Brogan’s personality into the book. If you’ve met Caleb in Wishing on Willows, you’ve essentially met my B-man.
Have you ever wondered what the editing process is like? Or if you’re a writer, what part of the editing process has surprised you?
Thanks for visiting us on the “A Book For Every Reader” blog tour! Leave a comment below to be entered to win not one but TWO books! One of Joanne’s and one of mine. Also, to enter in the grand giveaway prize which includes some country goodies and an e-reader, simply hop on over and fill out the entry form.
You’ll also find the official details. Winners will be drawn on September 28th and contacted via email. Thank you for joining us!
Christy Award-finalist and author of The Cadence of Grace series, Joanne Bischof has a deep passion for Appalachian culture and writing stories that shine light on God’s grace and goodness. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her husband and their three children. When she’s not weaving Appalachian romance, she’s blogging about faith, folk music, and the adventures of country living that bring her stories to life.
Last spring, fellow contemporary romance author, Becky Wade and I engaged in a Pinterest War, wherein we took turns challenging one another to various Pinterest endeavors. It was….not pretty, but definitely amusing! If Becky and I proved anything, I think we proved that neither of us are going to win a crafty award or adorable family picture award anytime soon.
