Improving My/Your Reading

So most of you who read this blog know that part of my job is to develop manuscripts. I read material at an early stage and do my best to help authors write the best book they can. A lot of it is about calling out what’s already there, helping authors discover the real stuff within.

It’s also about readers. Sometimes authors have a hard time seeing what will be of the most service to readers. They want to serve them, but seeing the way can be difficult.

It really is an honor to do this kind of work. It is (if I dare say it) artful work. But here’s the thing I’m learning right now. My job these days is to improve my own reading.

I read a lot of manuscripts, and honestly I’m really tired of reading schlock and then trying to turn schlock into gold. It’s wearisome.

So, I hereby swear off working on schlocky stuff. If I see it before acquiring it, I’ll reject it—no matter how important the author is. If I see it after it’s been contracted, I’ll threaten to cancel the agreement unless the author figures out a way to fix it.

And here’s the thing. I may sound selfish in all this, but actually if I stick to my guns, we’ll end up publishing better books. Improving my own reading means improving your reading too.

But here’s my question. Does this principle have broader application? Are there other cases out there when doing what’s best for you leads to what is best for others as well? It’s not always the case. One thinks of soldiers giving up their lives for their comrades. But I’ll bet it’s more often the case than we want to admit.

Sometimes doing what’s best for yourself in this sense is hard work. But it is a good thing to do, and it helps others too.

So go ahead. If you were to do what’s best for you today, what would that be? Go do it. The rest of us give you permission; in fact, we thank you for it.