We’ve a bit of a special post for you today! Recently I was approached by Pirateaba’s team (the author behind popular webserial The Wandering Inn, which I’m a huge fan of) asking if I had time to interview Rebecca Brewer, an accomplished editor. Rebecca had previously worked at Ace/Roc and Penguin, where she edited a lot of really fantastic authors — including Guy Gavriel Kay, Emma Newman, Peter McLean, and Zen Cho — but now runs her own editorial service. Pirate had recently hired Rebecca to edit a chapter of The Wandering Inn as part of their initiative to test the suitability of the webserial format for professional editing.
For those who aren’t aware, webserials involve some really crazy seat-of-your-pants writing. The schedule usually involves posting two chapters a week, leaving minimal time for revisions. For Pirateaba, a single chapter can regularly push 20,000 words. Given such a short turnaround (and no prior familiarity with a story that is over 7 million words long at this point!), it’s safe to say that Rebecca had her work cut out for her. I spoke to Rebecca about just how much went into editing her chapter, and if she had any predictions on how the growth of free online fiction could impact the traditional publishing landscape. So let’s see what she had to say!
Rebecca: Hello!
Hiu: Hello again, and hope you’re doing okay! Could I ask what timezone you’re on? Just to get a feel of which time is best to bug you with some questions!
Rebecca: I’m in the eastern time zone, though with the pandemic I tend to work quite late! So the evenings are usually pretty good. I just finished my edits an hour ago so I’m now a bit more free!
Hiu: Oooh that’s exciting! Happy with how they went? I am so, so curious about the ins-and-outs of editing-for-webserials, so hoping this can be a fun interview!
Rebecca: I am! It was a fun project. I don’t get to edit things in this immediate sense very often so that was great.
Hiu: So first up, I’m looking at your testimonials right now and I’m seeing that you’ve worked with a lot of fantastic authors. Could you briefly talk us through your publishing journey so far, and what kind of duties you had while working with the Science Fiction Book Club, or Ace/Roc?
Rebecca: Certainly! I had determined that being a science fiction/fantasy editor was the best job in high school and so followed the path from there. In college my degree also had a publishing aspect and did internships there. I moved to NYC and did an internship at Ace/Roc, and then was recommended to be an author’s assistant to Peter Brett. I then moved over to the Science Fiction book club, where I helped to select books that were included in the club and organized the catalogue. It was a great way to learn about what books people really responded to. Once there was an opening at Ace/Roc, my old internship supervisor asked if I would be interested and I jumped at the opportunity! I started as an editorial assistant helping out two senior editors (Ginjer Buchanan and Anne Sowards). This included doing administrative tasks while also learning how to be an editor, and the best practices. After a bit I started building my own list! I would read submissions (primarily from agents), and then would acquire some of them.
When you are the editor in house, you are the point person for everything to do with the book. You of course edit the book, but also answer any questions the author has, tell the pertinent information to other departments like publicity and helping the art department create a cover. An editor is very much the in house cheerleader for the book and does everything they can to get other people excited about the book as well. So, as I went along I got a bigger and bigger list, and was doing less assistant tasks.
About a year and a half ago I started Brewer Editorial Services and went freelance. For that, I do line edits, editorial assessments, developmental edits, query letter critiques and sensitivity reads. So, my day to day now includes a lot more editing than it did when I was at Ace/Roc.
Hiu: That sounds really fascinating. So as a freelancer do you still work occasionally with traditional imprints, or is your client base more on the indie side now?
Rebecca: I occasionally work with traditional imprints, but it tends to be more indies now, both established authors and those who are just starting out. I also work with various marketing firms on occasion.
Hiu: I guess that ties into our current situation! So how did this whole wonderful thing with Pirate and The Wandering Inn come around then? Did you reach out to them, did they reach out to you?
Rebecca: Pirate’s people were looking for freelance editors who specialized in science fiction and fantasy and found me, so they reached out. I was immediately intrigued because the concept for The Wandering Inn is fun, and I loved the way that Pirate releases their writing.
Hiu: So were you familiar with The Wandering Inn beforehand at all? Or I guess more widely, are you or have you ever been a reader of free online fiction like webserials or fanfic?
Rebecca: I admit The Wandering Inn wasn’t on my radar before this! It feels like a whole world that I didn’t know existed. I used to read a lot of fanfic, and read web serials, but I haven’t as much in recent years just due to having to read for work. Though, I am a big fan of creepypasta!
Hiu: Given you weren’t too familiar with the text and the world this time around, what kind of prep work did you have to do? And just how different is it to be thrust into a world that is several million words deep compared to a brand new novel?
Rebecca: To prepare I had it explained to me by Pirate’s people, but I also read a bit of the work including the very beginning and the most recent chapters. I also had a look at the wiki which was also helpful! It felt very similar to times in the past where I started editing a series after there had already been over a dozen books. You have your basic knowledge and then you dive in. In many cases, even though you might not know all the details of the backstory, you can feel the emotions that are underlying big events and significant characters.
Hiu: How about the work itself? Wandering Inn fans will know all about Pirate’s propensity for larger chapters, so just how much work went into editing the chapter with such a quick turnaround? What were the main things you really wanted to drill into?
Rebecca: It was a busy few days! Editing is a lot slower than reading normally. As you go through, you have to stop at every sentence and word to see if it makes sense, if it could be improved, and what it accomplishes, while also making sure that it doesn’t contradict anything beforehand. These are all part of my normal editing tasks, so the challenge was the time frame! So, really, my focus was making this chapter the best that it could be while keeping Pirate’s voice and vision intact.
Hiu: Now that you’ve had this experience then, and keeping time/financial logistics in mind, do you think there’s much potential for a marriage between the web serial format and the traditional editing workflow? You mention the author’s vision, too. How do you feel that overarching developmental edits would fit with the episodic format?
Rebecca: I think there is potential! I think the primary challenge is scheduling, but I was very happy to see that the timing worked out for both me and the author on this project. I think properly planning is essential. As for the episodic format, you can have an editor work on the individual chapters and treat them as their own entities. Another option would be to bring in an editor in the planning to stage to help guide people!
Hiu: From what you’ve seen, how do you think the industry will change with the success of free online fiction? Considering crossover successes like Winter’s Orbit and The Martian, do you think the barrier between the two worlds could become more fluid? Or do you think there’ll always be some separation there?
Rebecca: Right now, the biggest challenges authors have in our current world is fighting for entertainment attention. 50 years ago, we only had a few channels, no video games, and couldn’t go on the internet. So now, written fiction has to compete against so many other cool things to do! I think free online fiction gives it a step up in that it is very easy to start, and continue on with. The barrier for entry is very small, and since you don’t have to pay anything, you can just give it a try before you commit. Of course, the trouble is how do you attract readers first, and can you make money off of it. I wouldn’t be surprised if more authors play around with a hybrid model more like many self published authors do: one piece will be free and another might be paid.
Hiu: Thanks for your time and letting me pick your brain! So a fun final question then. Based on what you’ve seen of the Wandering Inn, if you could pick a Wandering Inn character to insert into the world of any of the other books you’ve edited (or vice versa), which would you pick?
Rebecca: Now that one is hard! Now that I think about it, I like the idea of seeing a crossover fic with Erin and Tomas Piety from Priest of Bones. Both run inns or pubs, but they take very different approaches! Of course, they are also very different in temperament when I think would be very amusing. Though to be fair, I think both of them wouldn’t fit into the aesthetic of the other’s world. Either would feel out of place in the other!
Hiu: Haha, I’m not sure who would try to murder who first! Thanks again for your time, Rebecca! Have you anything you want to say to Wandering Inn fans, or any links you want me to slot in for any potential clients?
Rebecca: I really enjoyed getting to join this wonderful community! I loved seeing so many readers who are so passionate and invested. These are my type of people! If anyone is interested in potentially hiring me, they can find me at brewereditorialservices.com! Also, feel free to follow me on Twitter at @RebeccaTheGeek.
So there you have it! If you’re a writer looking for any editorial services or a query letter critique, I’d encourage you to check out Rebecca’s site! If you aren’t already a fan of The Wandering Inn, then I should say that Pirateaba has created a wonderfully wholesome (yet sometimes brutal) portal-fantasy LitRPG world. If you don’t mind some spoilers, you can also check out Rebecca’s editorial letter for the 8.11 E chapter!
That’s all from me for now. If you’d like to check out more Fantasy Inn interviews, then my co-blogger Travis has spoken with an outrageous amount of amazing fantasy authors, editors, and audio drama stars on our podcast.
