I began working with Pat, a retired physician and well-known fertility specialist, in 1996 when his first book, a volume of short stories entitled Only Wounded, was to be published by Key-Porter. He was a writer of some renown in his field, but fiction was relatively new to him. I helped him dig out and polish his diamonds in the rough, teaching him fiction technique, brainstorming with him and coaching him through the revisions. We've been working together ever since. Here's Pat's quote about my work from my website:
"Carolyn Bateman has been the editor of my five works of fiction. She has an uncanny ability to enter a writer's thoughts and gently but firmly guide the author in turning good writing into excellent work. I would not submit a manuscript unless it had first had the benefit of her highly professional expertise." —Patrick Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of An Irish Country Doctor (Forge, New York)
"Carolyn Bateman has been the editor of my five works of fiction. She has an uncanny ability to enter a writer's thoughts and gently but firmly guide the author in turning good writing into excellent work. I would not submit a manuscript unless it had first had the benefit of her highly professional expertise." —Patrick Taylor, New York Times bestselling author of An Irish Country Doctor (Forge, New York)
An Irish Country Doctor, the story of a crusty but lovable country doctor and his wet-behind-the ears assistant, was first published by Insomniac Press in Toronto in 2004 as The Apprenticeship of Dr. Laverty. We worked on it the same way we worked on Only Wounded as well as the intervening two books about the Troubles in Northern Ireland. While the book received good reviews, it wasn't until it was nominated for a BC Book Prize that things started to happen. Pat attracted the attention of Forge, a sister imprint of well-known science fiction publisher Tor Books. Forge was looking for just the kind of book he'd written: a nostalgic, emotionally engaging, well-written story that readers could identify with. Forge relaunched the book as An Irish Country Doctor, commissioned a beautiful cover illustration, and gave it good marketing and distribution support. Pat has since completed two other books in the series, An Irish Country Village, published earlier this month, and An Irish Country Christmas, scheduled for December 2008.
I'm delighted Pat has had such success with these books and find his story inspiring. We started working together more than 10 years ago and during that time he has never stopped writing (books, book reviews, articles, essays) never stopped growing as a writer, never stopped "putting it out there," even when it looked as if nothing was happening. He has also been generous with his time, mentoring and encouraging new writers by reading their work and teaching (until these new book contracts meant writing was a more than full-time occupation). He has also consistently acknowledged my part in his success. He is a firm believer in the importance of good editing! It's been a great pleasure to work with him.
