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Jim Cox Report: February 2026
Dear Publisher Folk, Friends & Family:
I've spent January recovering from cataract removal eye surgery. I'd been urged to get it from my optometrist for the past 5 years during each of my annual eye examinations -- and then made the mistake of taking my wife along with me this last time and she heard it all from the lady eye doctor. She, my daughter, and the doctor all ganged up on me and so I had it done.
The good news is that I should have had it done 5 years ago! What a difference to my vision. My long distance vision is practically 20/20, but I am going to need a new pair of reading classes.
So I've had to take it easy -- but the recovery is going exceptionally well. However, because my eyes are still healing, what I'm doing for the February "Jim Cox Report" is a good old 'copy & paste' of an article that writers (and their publishers!) should find of immense and practical interest. -- And underscores that it is so good to have online friends in the publishing industry like Amanda Quintero and benefit from book coaches like Jen Braaksma.
Subject: GUEST ARTICLE: 5 reasons flaws and messiness make writing shine, from author & book coach Jen Braaksma
1/29/2026 6:21:15 AM Central Standard Time
I'd like to offer you a reflective craft piece for writers from author and book coach Jen Braaksma, drawn from an unexpected lesson she learned while working on her latest book, Befriending Betsy.
As a book coach, Jen is hired to make manuscripts work. That's until she encountered one that required the opposite.
Asked to finish the unfinished manuscript of Betsy Pauly, who had died years earlier, she faced a dilemma: how do you revise a book when the author can no longer iterate?
The pages were messy but alive. Polishing flattened them. So she changed her approach.
Instead of trying to "fix" the manuscript, Jen shifted into a posture closer to stewardship than correction. She stopped asking how to improve the text and started asking how to listen to it - approaching the pages almost archaeologically, attentive to what was already there and careful not to damage it.
That experience reshaped how she thinks about writing - and how she now works with writers.
In the piece, Jen shares the craft insights that emerged from that shift. Feel free to use and quote them directly:
1. Pause before revising and ask whether a "problem" is actually a signal of voice
While working on Befriending Betsy, Jen realized that repetition, tangents, and uneven pacing were often the carriers of Betsy's humor and urgency.
When you notice yourself wanting to cut or "clean up" something immediately, pause. Ask what that passage is doing emotionally before deciding it's wrong.
2. Watch for the difference between clarity and control when editing your own work
Jen's attempts to impose a clean structure didn't clarify the manuscript; they stripped it of energy.
You can tighten language and sharpen focus without dominating the page. If every sentence starts to sound like you rather than the voice on the page, something has gone too far.
3. Remember that over-polishing often flattens humor, risk, and emotional truth
Each round of smoothing made the writing technically tighter and emotionally thinner.
As a writer, notice when revision improves precision but drains feeling. Some roughness is not carelessness; it's where life enters the work.
4. Let the material reveal its own structure before you impose one
When Jen stopped forcing a linear arc, the stories began to cohere on their own terms.
Many writers sense this intuitively in early drafts. Instead of overriding it with a formula, excavate the text for what the story is already trying to become.
5. Edit with humility, assuming the page may know something you don't (yet). Working with a voice she couldn't question taught Jen to treat the manuscript as something to learn from, not master.
Revision isn't about proving authority, it's about practicing attention, patience, and judgment.
Jen would be happy to explore this topic as a bylined craft essay for your readers, adapt it for your audience, or discuss it in an interview. I can also provide a review copy of Befriending Betsy upon request.
Warmly,
Amanda Quintero
Editorial Note #1: Jen Braaksma (www.jenbraaksma.com) is the co-author of Befriending Betsy and author of two young adult novels, "Evangeline's Heaven" and "Amaranth". A former journalist and high school English teacher, Jen is now a book coach who helps writers develop their stories. She lives in Ottawa, Canada, with her husband (soulmates do exist!), two daughters (Best. Kids. Ever.) and her four cats (who know they're in charge).
Editorial Note#2: Amanda Quintero Aguerrevere is a writer and economist who joined BookSavvy after partnering with us on the launch of her two books, We Said Farewell: Stories of Forced Exile and Unfiltered: From the Feed to the Page - Stories of Wanderlust. She brings a rare blend of creative storytelling talent, publishing insight, and experience in global finance and economic strategy, having worked with organizations including the European Energy Exchange and CAF -- a multinational development bank based in Caracas. Originally from Venezuela, Amanda sought exile in France in 2016 due to the country's escalating political crisis. She earned a graduate degree from l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques in Paris, where she also honed her creative writing skills in workshops. (https://www.booksavvypr.com/team).
Quote of the Month
"Your writing voice is the deepest possible reflection of who you are. The job of your voice is not to seduce or flatter or make well-shaped sentences. In your voice, your readers should be able to hear the contents of your mind, your heart, your soul." -- Meg Rosoff
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