Why some of my challenging editorial projects succeeded, and why some failed

I take enormous pride in my writing and editing projects. I like to take on projects that look extremely challenging and succeed anyway, and to charge accordingly. Sometimes those risks pay off; sometimes they don’t.

Editorial work is more about making other people look good, which is mostly a behind the scenes effort. But I thought you might enjoy learning why some of these projects succeeded, and why some didn’t.

Challenging projects that succeeded

A few successes:

• Ghostwriting a book with many collaborators. My largest project was a ghostwriting projects for a CEO who had a clear point of view and a lot of data behind it, but needed a lot more research to back it up. The CEO also had a team of collaborators within their organization who were going to weigh in on every draft. Even so, the project succeeded because (1) the CEO and the team put in the time to meet with me regularly and review progress, (2) team members had specific feedback responsibilities and stuck to them, (3) the CEO was clear and nonjudgmental in their criticisms, which I made sure I addressed, and (4) we developed a lot of trust over time. This project was so successful that the client voluntarily paid me a bonus for my work.
• Developmental editing on a highly technical book. A publisher asked me to edit a longish book on AI. Upon reading it, I found it was full of great content, but repetitive and poorly organized. I told the publisher and the author they’d need to reorganize it before I do an effective job of editing it. Fortunately, the author was willing to put in the hard work based on that feedback. When the next draft came back, I was able to suggest fixes for most of the problems, which were at the level of language, rather than organizational. The project succeeded because (1) the basic content was excellent and (2) the author was willing to do the work to revise it into a form worth editing before I dug into it. The book is slated to be published soon, and the author and publisher are happy with the result.
• Book proposal for a customer experience book. I worked with a former colleague who had an excellent book idea. We collaborated on a strong book proposal that highlighted the author’s idea, wealth of fascinating case studies, well-written sample chapter (after editorial feedback), and unique promotional assets. While I was unable to find an agent to take it, I did put it in front of acquiring editors I knew at several publishers. The proposal received two solid offers. The project succeeded because (1) the idea was original and well-supported, (2) the author was highly open to feedback and responded well to it, (3) we did a good job highlighting the author’s ability to market the book. The book will be published in 2027.
• AI and the writing profession study. Gotham Ghostwriters approached me about conducting a survey of writing professionals on their use of AI. We tried and failed to sign up other sponsors, so I ended up doing the work at well below my normal rate. Even so, we were able to design a clever survey, field it to almost 1,500 writers, and publish a report about it in the short timeframe of just three months. The project succeeded because (1) it was on a topic of great interest, (2) I was able to take charge of the whole process of survey design, data analysis, and report authoring, reducing collaboration overhead, (3) several other organizations spread the word, allowing us to reach a large sample size, and (4) we got sufficient feedback during the design phase to avoid survey design mistakes that would have crippled the result. The study enabled me to build on my knowledge and reputation regarding AI and writing, which has been valuable for my career.
• Collaborative editing on AI guidelines. As a follow-on to its annual ghostwriting conference, Gotham convened a group of eight or so people in the ghostwriting industry to write guidelines for ghostwriters and AI tools. I volunteered to be the lead writer. This was a challenging project because of the large number of people who provided diverse feedback, all of which needed to be incorporated into the document without turning it into mush. It succeeded anyway, because (1) there was one lead writer, rather than a committee, (2) committee members raised substantive issues responsibly and logically, rather than taking inflexible positions, (3) the project manager from Gotham ensured that the project continued to move forward. The guidelines will be announced shortly.

Projects that didn’t succeed

These were two projects that hit bumps in the road. I learned a lot from where they went wrong, and both could still ultimately succeed.

• Ghostwriting project that failed to converge. I worked with a brilliant and renowned author with a wealth of content on a highly technical topic with a large audience. We worked together on a book proposal and book chapters over a period of a year and half and produced a lot of good material, but in the end, we mutually agreed to suspend my work on the project. The project hasn’t succeeded yet because (1) the author didn’t use email, which made communication more difficult, (2) the author placed conditions on the content that constrained it in directions very different from most advice books, (3) despite our working together for so long, I was unable to successfully capture the author’s voice, and (4) the author continued to significantly revise and refine the direction of the content based on feedback from others in the field even as I was attempting to get the content to converge into the form of a book. While I may continue to contribute to the project in some way, I will not be the primary writer.
• Coaching project that I almost undermined. I worked with a clever and creative author, a former colleague, on a topic that’s likely to gain a large audience. The author submitted chapters for review and I provided feedback. Their content was excellent, but like all first drafts, had flaws. Based on my experience with them, I had high expectations. I became a little too casual and personal in my feedback, and the client had a negative reaction. This problem was completely my fault. The project is continuing and I am working on earning back the author’s trust. I have learned to more clearly draw the line between humor and banter, which deepens relationships, and inappropriate value judgments.

Arrogance, confidence, and continual improvement

After 45 years as a writer and 11 as a freelance editorial consultant, I thought I knew everything. Of course I didn’t. Things keep changing; you need to keep learning to keep up.

My batting average is still high, and I never give up on a project. But I’ve learned to make decisions early on — including turning down some projects — to maximize the chances of success.

I look forward to continuing to succeed on projects that almost nobody else can do, and to learning when I occasionally fall on my face.