Peru: The editor and writer connection

"We writers cannot write in isolation from editors," wrote Elsa Chigne, who attended MAI’s recent editor and author workshop in Lima, Peru. She and 23 others met for a three-day intensive training last October, the second in a three-year program developed by MAI. Local organizers included publishers Buena Tierra, Ediciones Puma, Verbo Vivo and Unión Bíblica.

Led by MAI trainers Adriana Powell and Silvia Chaves of Argentina, the workshop provided time for writers and editors to discuss book and article drafts.

Patricia Vergara of Verbo Vivo left with two possible manuscripts. She also invited a talented new writer, a 20-year-old woman, to collaborate on a devotional series for youth.

Other outcomes include Buena Tierra’s plans to publish a youth discipleship manual and several articles on hyperactivity in children. María Esther Ramírez of Ediciones Puma may publish two new books and a revision of another.

Elsa and fellow writers better grasped the connection between editor and writer. "The facilitators taught us to be humble enough to accept corrections, especially when we are working with an editor," she said. 

MAI sees a continuing need for proactive editors in Latin America and beyond who seek out budding authors and are responsible for shaping the author’s manuscript.

-Sasha Brady, MAI intern