by Carly Bornstein-Hayward

“I had rejected the real, and rabidly devoured the ideal”

-Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

Welcome to my first (ever!) blog post! I figured I’d start with why I became an editor and “what it means to me,” not to sound too like an elementary school writing prompt!

Stories have always been an important part of human history, but every storyteller needs help. Editing can seem superfluous at times, but it can really aid a writer in connecting with a reader.

Growing up I had a lot of medical problems and disabilities that limited the adventures I could go on. Even just playing Power Rangers in the backyard was difficult. My greatest escape from the real world was the book world. I found, very quickly, that all the adventures I could imagine were within the pages of books, and I rapidly began to devour novel after novel.

Now, years later, nothing has changed; I still cannot get enough of stories. But now I love to help develop those stories. Every writer has an ideal vision in their head; portraying it on paper can be difficult. All I want is to fall in love with a story and help the writer polish it into a gem, a book that a reader “falls into.”

Escapism is one of the biggest reasons people read. Most people want to wrap themselves in a new world and run away from reality, and I am no exception. Life has harmed me in many ways and I rely on books to be my support system. Writers don’t always write for the readers, but as a reader myself, I am indebted to all those that create portals into other worlds (no matter how realistic those worlds might be!).

That is why I became and editor; I realized very quickly that I wanted to be there for the writers, I wanted to help them create these worlds that are my saviors.

I know a lot of writers think that they don’t need an editor, that the editor is going to change their book and mess it up. But that is not at all what we do! I work closely with the author to help them, to be there for them, to make their vision come to life. It is easy to get wrapped up in your own writing and an editor helps you see the things that you as the writer cannot see.

I truly believe that behind every great author is a great editor. Every writer needs someone to be there to support them, critique them, and basically be there to tell them when they are being a genius or an idiot.

My love for books runs deep, and being an editor is my way of expressing that love.