I Edited the Illustrations (And Robin Still Likes Me)

My former boss and I had a fantastic working relationship—built on trust, respect, and a shared appreciation for a well-timed joke. He valued my work, my perspective, and my commitment to the craft.

One day, he walked over to my team with a piece of paper in his hands and announced that he was about to demonstrate my editing skills.

He looked at me and said, “Hey, Fecher, can you edit this?” Then he glanced down at the document and ripped it clean in half. It was his playful way of acknowledging my … thoroughness.

I've been known to edit like this a time or two ....

I’ve always loved editing. There’s something deeply satisfying about taking someone’s work, making a few thoughtful tweaks, and helping the whole piece sing. It’s a skill that has always come naturally to me.

That said, I can honestly admit—not everyone has been quite as delighted with my brand of edits.

But, for the most part, my colleagues appreciated the results because I never edit for the sake of editing. Whether it’s a press release, social post, video, talking points, speech, or script, my goal is always the same: make the content stronger, clearer, and more effective.

Editing the illustrations created by my incredible illustrator, Robin Boyer, took my skills to an entirely different level. I had never edited a picture book before—let alone my picture book.

I’ll admit, I was a little intimidated. Robin is a phenomenal artist, and I wanted to be thorough without being overbearing, thoughtful without nitpicking, and collaborative without becoming the kind of client who makes changes just to leave fingerprints on the page.

I cared deeply about getting the book right, and thankfully, she did too.

When I received the first full-color draft of the illustrations last week, right away, Robin immediately encouraged me to speak up, ask questions, and take note of any details that needed refinement to help the final book reflect the story I envisioned.

I need to pause a minute to reflect on just how amazing it was to literally see my book in full color on the screen. It was surreal in the best possible way! I'm honestly still pinching myself!

I sat with the illustrations for a few days, letting them sink in, and then we met in person to review them together. I feel very lucky that ours is a local collaboration—a first for both of us—and that we get to build this book side by side.

Robin and I visited Odd Side Social Brews to review my book's illustrations together.

Today, she sent the second round of full-color illustrations my way, and every single item we discussed was addressed—adjusted with total care and precision. In fact, she even threw in a few happy surprises.

I’m sitting here taking it all in with a smile, because once you enter the editing phase, you never quite know how it’s going to go. And as someone who has spent a career fine-tuning other people’s work—sometimes, I admit, a little too enthusiastically—I can say wholeheartedly that I’m incredibly lucky to have Robin on my team.

She meets my edits with openness, answers my questions with patience, matches my attention to detail, and elevates every page in ways I never could have imagined.