How those pricks do it

Geeze, I shut up for months.

I guess it could be worse; I could be working for an editor.

There are at least two kinds of editors; the ones that read and the ones that write.

The guys and gals who work on daily papers are one of the groups that writes. They get stories before they’re published and have to make them readable.

Believe it or not very few reporters turn in absolutely clean stuff. They’re on deadlines that are often pretty tight. They get in front of their keyboard and often think more about the deadline than quality of their writing.

The editors depend more on the quality. Some of them are mean, nasty pricks because they have become editors instead of writers, I mean that papers pay most newspaper reporters to get out of the newsroom. Editors, from newsrooms to management, stay in the office.

Read?

These are magazine and book editors.

Most of them want very high quality stuff and have the time to ask writers to make changes. Most of the work doesn’t get heavy rewrites from editors, they get beat up by the publisher for quality.

This may sound easier than working with newspapers but it isn’t. And there is still a deadline. Magazine and book production get heavier criticism for writers.

Book editing can be a tough job. It’s more than likely that an author is going to (try to) reject changes. I mean, the writers usually thinks the book was ready to go when they signed up with a publisher.

That’s not so. Often the contract requires editing. All too often writers who sell a book don’t completely understand this. Some places can essentially make major changes.

You weigh this. A book is risky to most publishers, they are hoping they can make a buck off of something. Like 85 percent or more. Major publishers have editors who spend a lot of time producing a marketing product.

Most writers care more about what is changed. I mean their name is on it and all.

So in all writing and editing are closer to being important to the stuff you read. Granted, it’s very rare an editor’s name isn’t almost ever listed on a book or story.

What do you want to do? Do you want to be the on who initially writes the stuff or the one who helps create a marketable story?

The again, there is a gambler you’ll work with. It’s the publisher. That one hopes to make some serious money after everything.

Gamblers are the same way.