Editors on Editing What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do

by Gross, Gerald C.

• ISBN13: 9780802132635
• ISBN10: 0802132634
• Edition: 3rd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1994-01-12
• Publisher: Grove Press

Summary

Since 1962 Editors on Editing has been an indispensable guide for editors, would-be editors, and especially writers who want to understand the publishing process. Written by America’s most distinguished editors, these 38 essays will teach, inform, and inspire anyone interested in the world of editing. Editors on Editing includes essays on the evolution of the American editor; the ethical and moral dimensions of editing; what an editor looks for in a query letter, proposal, and manuscript; line editing; copyediting; the freelance editor; the question of political correctness; making the most of writers’ conferences; and numerous other topics

Table of Contents

Preface: Reflections on a Lifetime of Editing
What Is an Editor?	p. 3
The Evolution of the American Editor	p. 10
An Open Letter to a Would-be Editor	p. 22
Are Editors Necessary? (revised for this edition) and On the Decline of Western Literature	p. 29
Lunch with a Favorite Agent	p. 40
Breaking Faith: A Publishing Parable	p. 42
Mistah Perkins - He Dead: Publishing Today (with a postscript for this edition)	p. 56
Doing Good - And Doing It Right: The Ethical and Moral Dimensions of Editing	p. 73
How Books Are Chosen: What Goes into Making an Editorial Decision	p. 83
What Editors Look for in a Query Letter, Proposal, and Manuscript	p. 93
The Editor and the Author at the Writers' Conference: Why They Go, What They Do	p. 101
The Editor as Negotiator	p. 109
Editing for the Christian Marketplace	p. 117
Editing Books for the Jewish Market: A Commitment to Community	p. 125
Developmental Editing: A Creative Collaboration	p. 134
The Copy Editor and the Author	p. 143
Line Editing: Drawing Out the Best Book Possible	p. 153
Line Editing: The Art of the Reasonable Suggestion	p. 169
The Role of the Editorial Assistant	p. 173
Working with a Free-Lance Editor or Book Doctor	p. 179
Editing True Crime	p. 188
Editing Crime Fiction	p. 194
The Pleasures and Perils of Editing Mass-Market Paperbacks	p. 205
Editing Trade Paperbacks in Middle Age - Theirs and Mine	p. 218
Editing Nonfiction: The Question of "Political Correctness"	p. 229
Editing Fiction: The Question of "Political Correctness"	p. 243
Editing Scholars in Three Modes for Three Audiences	p. 252
Editing for a Small Press: Publishing the Way It Used to Be	p. 260
Editing Fiction as an Act of Love	p. 267
On Editing Nonfiction: Multiple Majors in a University of Subjects	p. 280
Editing the Science-Fiction and Fantasy Novel: The Importance of Calling Everyone Fred	p. 290
Editing Children's Books	p. 304
Editing Reference Books	p. 315
The Editor of Lives	p. 327
Editing Popular Psychology and Self-Help Books	p. 338
Editing the Romance Novel	p. 347
Editing Male-Oriented Escapist Fiction	p. 356
An Annotated Bibliography of Books on Editing and Publishing	p. 366
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.