Fil-Am Kicking Scribe

The Official Website of Juan Rader Bas

  • About Me
  • Back Kicks And Broken Promises
  • Works In Progress
  • Panlasa
  • Quotes, Reviews and Features
  • Blog: Contemplations

A Writer's Editor - RIP Monica Harris

11/2/2013

2 Comments

 
A Writer's Editor - RIP Monica Harris


It's strange how people affect us, impact upon our lives and leave some kind of indelible impression. And, I'm not referring to the people we've known the longest or the most intimately. Sometimes, more than we might realise at the time, these individuals are people we've met only a few times or, in some cases, only once.

I was reminded about this just a week ago when I checked my email and found one from Twitter. I get these often, as I'm sure many of you who have a Twitter account do. It's an email suggesting people for me to follow; the suggestions generated by some program that analyses trends, hashtags, followers, those who follow you, etc. Well, one of the suggestions was MHM Editorial Services (@mhmedits). It'd been a while - probably a year or so - since I'd last thought about MHM but I recognised the name immediately and my initial thought was "Don't I already follow this account?" So, I logged into my Twitter account and checked it out and, just as I suspected, I already follow @mhmedits. I further learnt, however, that MHM's account is no longer active due to the death of its account holder. Likewise, MHM Editorial Services is no longer operating.

Upon discovering this, I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut and slapped in the face. MHM Editorial was an editing business run by Monica Harris. I met her at the 2009 Book Expo America and a few months later we met at the lobby of a New York hotel where my sister-in-law and her husband were staying. My wife came into New York with me. She had breakfast with my in-laws and I had a meeting with Monica. 

A few weeks before our meeting, I'd emailed Monica the first ten pages of my novel, Back Kicks And Broken Promises. She was more of a content editor versus a line editor but she did offer suggestions in syntax and caught some typos as she made useful comments on the various red flags she found in the book's plot, character motivation and dialogue. As most editors do in this kind of situation, Monica went through these pages for free. To edit more would've required a proper business arrangement which, after considering my self-publishing budget, I could not pursue. In spite of this, Monica more than welcomed my emails that were full of general questions on publishing. She also, even months after our meeting, willingly accepted and promptly answered my questions asking for further clarification of the comments she'd made on the pages she'd read. To me, this showed a true dedication on her part of being a writer's editor; being more concerned about the writer creating the best work he or she can produce and understanding what he or she needs to do than performing quality editorial services and writer support just for a buck. 

As insightful as Monica was with my manuscript, she was also ahead of the curve when it came to self-publishing. In the last ten years or so, independently publishing one's own work has grown and become less taboo. Anticipating the growth of indie published books, Monica specialised in serving the independent author, leaving her editing posts at traditional publishing houses and forming MHM Editorial.

I didn't know Monica very well, at all. I only met her once. But, the integrity in her approach to my work and the dignity she offered me as a green first-time author, has left a lasting impression on me; so much so that, when I found out she'd died, tears pooled at the bottom of my eyes. I felt like a friend had died, albeit one with whom I'd lost touch.

I'm an indie author hoping to break into the mainstream with an agent and a traditional publishing house. Thanks to Monica, I'm less ignorant about the entire process and I feel more secure about my work and vision being my work and vision. For that, I thank her. And, whether you're an indie or a traditionally published author, I hope your editors possess the character and love of her craft the way Monica did. 

RIP Monica Harris. The publishing world, especially that of the indie author, misses you deeply. 

2 Comments

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    December 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    June 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012

    Categories

    All
    양식
    경쟁
    태권도
    2013
    2014
    2015
    2026
    Aala
    Aaww
    Abbott Press
    Acting
    Adaptations
    Advice
    Agents
    Aging
    Aid
    Al Dacascos
    Alex London
    Aliens Among Us
    Amazon
    America
    Angle
    Anniversary
    Apex Tigers Martal Arts
    Arsenal Football Club
    Art
    Asia
    Asian
    Asian American
    Asian-American
    Asian American Literature
    Asian-American Literature
    Asian-American Pacific Islander Heritage Month
    Asian Books Blog
    Aunts
    Autumn
    Awards
    Back Kicks And Broken Promies
    Back Kicks And Broken Promises
    Bamboo Martial Arts
    Barnes And Noble
    Baron Pierre De Coubertin
    Bellwether Prize
    Birthday
    Bobby Jindal
    Book Baby
    Book Expo America
    Book Giveaway
    Book Reveiw
    Book Review
    Book Royalty
    Books
    Book Signing
    Boxers & Saints
    Boxing Day
    Breaking Dawn
    Bruised
    Bruno Mars
    Buffy
    Business
    Caa
    Carissa Villacorta
    Catching Fire
    Celebrations
    Champion
    Characters
    Character Traits
    Chariots Of Fire
    Children
    Chinese
    Christmas
    Chuck Norris
    Chuck Wendig
    Cindy Pon
    Columbia High School
    Competition
    Conflict
    Connections
    Conundrum
    Cooking
    Cousins
    Createspace
    Creating
    Creative Writing
    Crossover
    Culture
    Danielle Paige
    Darth Vader
    David Yoo
    Daylight Savings Time
    Decade
    Decisions
    Discussion Group
    Disney World Marathon
    Diwali
    Don Lee
    Do The Right Thing
    Duryeas8932f6cea7
    Dwayne Johnson
    Dystopia
    Dystopian
    Ebooks
    Eddie Huang
    Editors
    English Language
    English Premier League
    Ereaders
    Ernie Reyes Jr
    Ernie Reyes Sr
    Ethnicity
    Facebook
    Family
    Father And Son
    Fathers
    Favourite
    Fearlssness
    Fiction
    First Draft
    Food
    Food Blogging
    Foodie
    For Love Of The Game
    Forms
    Gene Luen Yang
    Genodice
    Glasnost
    Goals
    Good Luck
    Goodreads
    Gotham Writers Workshopbfddbcea09
    Grace Lin
    Graduating
    Graduation
    Graham Salisbury
    Grease Trucks
    Guru Nanak
    Haiyan
    Happy New Year
    Harlan Coben
    Hawaii
    Hines Ward
    Holden Caulfield
    Holiday
    Hone Your Craft
    Hong Kong
    Hunger Games
    Hyphen Magazine
    Identity
    Imagination
    Immigrant
    Inclusion
    Indie Author
    Indie Books
    Indie Publishing
    Indiereader
    Indie Reader
    Indiereader.com
    Ing Nycm
    Innocence
    Interview
    Intra-asian
    Ipad
    Iphone
    Irdas
    Itf
    Jeremy Lin
    Jhoon Rhee
    Jhumpa Lahiri
    J. K. Rowling
    John L Parker
    Joy
    Judgement
    Judging
    June
    Katniss
    K C Liquete
    Keshni Kashyap
    Kevin Costner
    Kidlit
    Kids
    Kindergarten
    Kindle
    Knowledge
    Kobe Bryant
    Kukkiwon
    Learning
    Legacy
    Legend
    Life
    Life Of Pi
    Linda Sue Park
    Linekdin
    Lisa See
    Literacy
    London 2012
    Longevity
    Looking Back
    Losers
    Lost Girl
    Lottery
    Macys Parade4a0a6280fe
    Magic
    Manila Bulletin
    Manuscript
    Marathon
    Marie Lu
    Mark Dacascos
    Marriage
    Matt De Lan Pena
    Matt De La Pena
    Matt De La Peña
    Meaningful
    Memories
    Mhm Editorial
    Michael Phelps
    Miss World
    Mma
    Mockingjay
    Monica Harris
    Montauk
    Mo Willems
    Mr Morris Lessmorec9bf63e964
    Ms Fiji
    Multiethnic
    Multiracial
    Murakami
    Music
    Musical Tastes
    Naboplomo
    Nanowrimo
    Naomi Benaron
    Negatives
    New Brunswick
    Newspaper
    New Writers
    New York City
    New York City Marathon
    New York Times
    New York Times Book Review
    Next Generation
    Nj Books
    Nook
    Nycm
    Obama
    Obi Wan Kenobi
    Office Of Letters And Light
    Once A Runner
    Orange
    Oscar Pistorius
    Pacific Islander
    Panlasa
    Parenting
    Pasta
    Pbs
    Philippines
    Phillip Rhee
    Picnic
    Pitching
    Pitching Agents
    Politburo
    Poomsae
    Pope Francis
    Positives
    Power
    Prodigy
    Pronunciation
    Publishing
    Pulitzer
    Race
    Racial Slur
    Ray Bradbury
    Read Across America
    Reading
    Rebecca Hamilton
    Recipes
    Relief
    Religion
    Reminiscing
    Resolutions
    Respect
    Review
    Revisions
    Rex Pickett
    Rocky
    Rocky Iv
    Rod Dixon
    Runners World Magazine
    Running
    Running The Rift
    Russell Peters
    Rutgers
    Rwanda
    Ryan Lochte
    Ryan Songalia
    Sam Tanenhaus
    Santa Claus
    Sarah Skilton
    School
    Sci-fi
    Screenplay
    Season
    Seasons
    Self Publishing
    Selfpublishing8081e9eb37
    Sensitivity
    Setting
    Sharon Leal
    Sideways
    Simon Rhee
    Six Degrees Of Separation
    Small World
    Social Media
    Something Wicked This Way Comes
    Sons
    Spelling
    Spike Lee
    Sports Movies
    Spring
    Stand By Me
    Star Wars
    Stephen King
    Steve Bertrand
    Stuff Yer Face
    Summer
    Summer Holiday
    Super Why
    Surreality
    Tabloid
    Taekwonco
    Taekwondo
    Tax Day
    Teaching
    Television
    Ten Years
    Thanksgiving
    The Body
    The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao
    The Collective
    The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night-time
    The Fall
    The Filipino Reporter
    The Forever Girl
    The Hunger Games
    The Manila Bulletin
    The Manila Times
    The Master
    The Newbery Honor
    The Olympics 2012
    The Ring Magazine
    Things Not To Say To Children
    Tiger Kim
    Tiger Woods
    Tita
    Tito
    Top Ten
    Torika Watters
    Tradition
    Trivia
    True Blood
    Tutsi Hutu
    Twilight
    Twitter
    Typhoon Ellen
    Ufc
    Uncles
    Volleyball
    Wat Misaka
    William Inge
    William Joyce
    Winners
    Wisdom
    Words
    Workshop
    Worst
    Wrack And Ruin
    Writer
    Writing
    Writing Classes
    Ya
    Yahoo
    Young Writer

    RSS Feed

✕