My Editors and I

God has made me an author. It was merely incidental, and I turned out to be an author of a few books. Two of my titles were in Bengali, my native language, and the rest two were in English, an international language commonly used by the people all across the globe. You may have a different take on my observation and an inference, for every single individual is entitled to his/her own version of thought! I am actually a writer, and I will prefer to be referred to only as a writer. One who writes is a writer, and if I adhere to this definition, a poet, a novelist, an essayist, and even a journalist is a writer. The term ‘writer’ includes a wide range of professionals, and an editor, I think, perfectly fits in this broad category of literary workers. In all of my English titles I had the opportunity to work with certain extremely talented editors, who are truly professionals with adequate knowledge of the work they remain associated with. In this article I will write about the editors who took the pain and invested their time towards the production of my books. Before I proceed any further let me confess: I’m an Indian. I had my schooling that encouraged the British style of English, otherwise called the Queen’s English. Most of the Indian schools are equipped with this age-old pattern of teaching English. Incidentally, until now, all of my editors have been Americans, but honestly speaking, they never posed a trouble against my decision towards adhering to this particular style of writing English.

I’ll start with Donald Randolph Martin, a known writer-cum-editor-cum-reviewer, who is popularly known as Don Martin. I worked with Don for my book titled The Unheard I. It was nonfiction with some good amount of poetry in it. Prior to editing my work Don asked me right away, “Do you want to Americanise your work?” My answer was: No. My aim was to popularise Indian nonfiction amongst the Western readers, under the competent guidance of an American editor. Don was the one who edited almost every line which bore punctuation errors. He actually taught me to be careful with punctuations. Don is a man of fewer words, and he started his career as a poetry editor. He remained extremely considerate towards the translated poetry that I included in my book. Although he edited a few lines of the poetry, but that was strictly limited only to the areas of punctuation. I was blessed with a note from his desk, and I included the editor’s note as the front matter of The Unheard I. Don’s words construct his real account of working with me, an Indian author. My heartfelt gratitude to you, dear Don! You taught me the finer nuances of the language and its presentation. Trust me, until now I have not used the word ‘imbibe’ since the moment you gave me a different meaning that is common amongst the Americans! Don, you would be glad to know that copies of the first edition (paperback) of The Unheard I are soon to be exhausted, and I owe my success to you and to Prof. (Dr.) Hulya Yilmaz, Senior Lecturer, College of the Liberal Arts, Penn State, who wrote the exclusive foreword. Another good news here again: the Inner Child Press, limited is on their way to publish the U.S. edition of The Unheard I.

Next in my list is a publisher-writer-editor Stephen L. Wilson. Stephen and I are very good friends, and he is one of my older brothers I have in the U.S. Although we have our share of differences, whenever we worked together we created some thoroughly professional products. It all started with my association with Indies In Action (IIA), a virtual group that is dedicated to support the victims of the natural calamities by producing literary anthologies. Stephen was the chief editor of the international charitable anthology, Twist of Fate (ToF), which carried a few of my submissions. During the making of ToF I got an opportunity to interview other contributors from all across the world. It had truly been an experience of my life time! As Stephen agreed to edit The Reciting Pens, he was curious: “Would you like me to do copy editing or proof editing or both?” I failed to answer readily, for I was not aware of these terms, quite frankly. Stephen made me understand of these things, and remarked: “Never refer my edits as suggestions…this is so unprofessional!” Finally, I came to realise that editors offer/propose edits that are not mere suggestions. Stephen, I am indeed grateful to you for all your hard work, which polished The Reciting Pens. Stephen Wilson not only edited my work, he made me aware of a few lazy words as well, as he urged. A few examples: basically, that, etc. With every movement Stephen made me take special attentions towards the final product, the paperback of The Reciting Pens. Being a Dental Surgeon, who was once engaged in research publications, the word ‘substantivity’ holds great importance! It may not readily be found in the common dictionaries. Substantivity refers to the ability of a material/compound to adhere to the surface of another material. Similarly, I will mark Stephen with a high grade of substantivity with reference to the job called ‘editing.’

If Stephen L Wilson edited and polished The Reciting Pens, it was Kate Lantry who was solely responsible towards the finishing. Kate is the wife of the noted poet W. F. Lantry (Washington, DC), who wrote the fundamental foreword of my book. I was in regular touch with Kate as she was the one who facilitated my interactions with W. F. Lantry. I never planned of Kate as the contributing editor of The Reciting Pens, nor did she want to be acknowledged as one! It was Kate’s spontaneity that she came forward with some valuable edits, which she found important to be implemented. If I remember quickly, Kate was so particular towards a definitive style of presentation, for my anthology was essentially based on the interviews that I held with three published Bengali poets from Calcutta, India. I am so proud of you, Kate! You are the one who worked much towards the stylisation. No amount of appreciation can ever pay for the load of work I had put on you.

My dear friends, fellow authors, and aspiring writers: Please get in touch with Don Martin, Stephen Wilson and Kate Lantry if you are seriously looking forward professional editing of international quality!

Don Martin: https://www.facebook.com/don.martin.969?fref=ts

Stephen Wilson: https://www.facebook.com/StephenLWilson?fref=ts

Kate Lantry: https://www.facebook.com/kate.lantry?fref=ts