Editors on Editing: What Writers Need to Know about what Editors Do

Front Cover
Gerald Gross
Grove Press, 1993 - Biography & Autobiography - 377 pages
Covering both the practical and the theoretical aspects of publishing, Editors on Editing includes essays on the evolution of the American editor; the ethical and moral dimensions of editing; how books are chosen; what an editor looks for in a query letter, proposal, and manuscript; line editing; copy editing; the free-lance editor; the question of "political correctness"; making the most of writers' conferences; plus numerous other pieces that provide a fascinating, provocative, and sometimes controversial look into the complete editorial process. An annotated bibliography helps make this completely revised edition essential for anyone interested in the art and craft of this all too often misunderstood profession.

From inside the book

Contents

What Is an Editor?
3
The Evolution of the American Editor
10
An Open Letter to a Wouldbe Editor
22
Are Editors Necessary?
29
Lunch with a Favorite Agent
40
A Publishing Parable
42
Publishing Today
56
The Ethical and Moral Dimensions of Editing
73
Editing True Crime
188
Editing Crime Fiction
194
The Pleasures and Perils of Editing MassMarket Paperbacks
205
Editing Trade Paperbacks in Middle AgeTheirs and Mine
218
The Question of Political Correctness
229
The Question of Political Correctness
243
Editing Scholars in Three Modes for Three Audiences
252
Publishing the Way It Used to Be
260

What Goes into Making an Editorial Decision
83
What Editors Look for in a Query Letter Proposal and Manuscript
93
Why They Go What They Do
101
The Editor as Negotiator
109
Editing for the Christian Marketplace
117
A Commitment to Community
125
A Creative Collaboration
134
the Author
143
Drawing Out the Best Book Possible
153
The Art of the Reasonable Suggestion
169
Editorial Assistant
173
Working with a FreeLance Editor or Book Doctor
179
Editing Fiction as an Act of Love
267
Multiple Majors in a University of Subjects
280
and Fantasy Novel The Importance of Calling Everyone Fred
290
Editing Childrens Books
304
Editing Reference Books
315
The Editor of Lives
327
Editing Popular Psychology and SelfHelp Books
338
Editing the Romance Novel
347
Escapist Fiction
356
of Books on Editing and Publishing
366
Copyright

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Page 372 - Chicago Guide to Preparing Electronic Manuscripts: For Authors and Publishers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

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