RE: just the two of us on the Fourth
PODESTA,Lesley (Lesley.PODESTA@deetya.gov.au)
Tue, 07 Jul 1998 11:52:58 +1000
Camille said:
> I don't think it's fair to perceive editors as big
> ugly ogres out only to ruin our original intention and put our books
> in
> airport bookstores worldwide. I see them merely as the first official
> reader of the work; one whose job it is to read, who possibly has more
> experience than I in both writing and reading, and ultimately, the one
> who
> can assist me in most effectively saying what I really want to say. A
> good
> editor will shape, not alter.
Well I live with a vaguely famous editor and I can tell you that a
editor's real job is to:
1. massage the ego of writers who seem to believe that every word they
write is sacred, can never be altered or rephrased
2. correct punctuation
3. Cut, cut, cut and cut the voluminous outpourings to readable chunks.
Now before I get howled down let me add that this applies only to those
writers who want to publish commercially, want to sell books and make
money.
A good editor is a very good reader. And a very good therapist.
Lesley