Is this true? Is this disturbing yarn true? Can I no longer trust a publisher to provide me with a competent editor who will help me polish my WIP into something worthy of publication? Do I have to undertake my own quest to find an independent editor?
If this is so, is there a demand for good editors out there (I mean aside from you guys), and how does one become an editor? Is the internet and (dare I say) communities like Hatrack biting into the career field of the paid editor?
Or is it all a myth--like the myth that the industry is harder to break into than it was 20 years ago--meant to sell more copies of Self-editing for Fiction Writers?
I mean, in a way it's every writer's dream to be unedited -- to have their work put out there as is. On the other hand, we don't want to look incompetent.
Perhaps it's all subjective. A story that works for one editor won't work for another. And possibly, established authors have contracts that state their work is not to be tampered with. Publishers want the easy buck, and wouldn't it be easier to give in to the demands of a best-selling author just to have the chance to capitalize on their selling potential?
Or maybe some editors/publishers are just lazy...? More fairly, maybe they have enough to do and can't find time to work with any author, let alone up and comers. Every business looks for way to cut costs, so hiring less editors to do twice or thrice the work seems plausible, thus limiting the amount of time an editor can effectively deal with an author.
Really, I don't know. Just thinking out loud...
That is one of my favorite writing books, btw. Full of excellent advice.
However, I don't think you should rely on a competent editor to turn your work into something worthy of publication. You should try to have it to that state before submitting it.
They don't have time to even read the slush pile let alone actually help you rewrite it.
Now some smaller pubs like mine will actually review, critique, and edit the work IF we are particularly moved by the writing or the person. But even so I am not able to do deep edits of every submission. I reject on the first major error or if I have not been hooked within 5 to 20 lines. I just have too many stories to read.
Some people actually hire editors to help them. Smart writer's will hire an editor to ensure they are not submitting garbage. Even Stephen King uses an editor to help protect his reputation as an author.
But it is not free and publishers are just too cash strapped and time strapped to do this anymore.
JB Skaggs
At any rate, it seems like the situation is looking bleak for us unpublished authors...
[This message has been edited by Jeraliey (edited March 23, 2005).]
Also, while there are many good books on writing out there, many use scare tactics to make you think that you need their book. so take it all with a grain of salt.
Josh Leone
www.JoshLeone.com
[This message has been edited by Josh Leone (edited March 23, 2005).]
[This message has been edited by Josh Leone (edited March 23, 2005).]
it never stops. enjoy the process as much as you can.
You're not just competing against the likes of us (really, I don't think of it as a competition, but never mind). You're also competing against people who:
--Don't know how to spell and are too lazy to spell-check or have their stuff proofread;
--Don't bother to have anyone check for quality;
--Don't realize that people will recognize the story of Odorf the Tibboh and his quest to destroy The Fancy Bracelet in the fires of Mount Heck;
--And are just plain incompetent. (I edited on my high school paper for a little while, so while I'm no expert on what pros have to look at, I can assure you that ten years ago at least there were still a number of people who believe the "it was all a dream" ending is still original and unique and not at all a hideous cliche. I doubt it's changed much in the intervening years.)
I've been shouted at a few times on other boards (most notably Asimov's) for bringing that up, but I stand by it.
quote:
I can assure you that ten years ago at least there were still a number of people who believe the "it was all a dream" ending is still original and unique and not at all a hideous cliche. I doubt it's changed much in the intervening years.
i have no personal fantasy opposing this, however, i have used the "it was all a dream" near-ending (the true ending was a little more complex, it was: "it was all a dream which fortells of future events") in a recent story of mine. i know full well it was cliche, but the entire story was written as a spoof of other things which are by now considered cliche...
basically you have to be aware of what you are writing, if you are writing a spoof piece, cliche is ok, as long as your writing reflects it obviously and makes it appearant that you KNOW you are using cliche and are doing it anyway in an attempt to put a grin on the readers face!
The stages manuscript acceptence are like this:
1. Is it submitted in the format and way we asked you to? If not we reject. About 1/2 of submissions are rejected for this reason- because it means the writer did not take the time to study what the publisher wants.
2. Is it the genre and type of story / book we publish? if not we reject. Don't send sci-fi to a christian romance publisher. Of the remaining submissions that survived the first check- about a 1/3 of the remaining stories are rejecting because they are the wrong genre.
3. Is the story appropriate to the age or group? if not we reject. Don't send your Penthouse letters to Highlights kid's magazine. Avoid needless controversy, gore, and sex in mainstream publishing and make sure it is age appropriate.
4. Is the story cliche or undesired? If so reject. Check the submission guidelines if they say no time travel DO NOT SEND TIME TRAVEL STORIES! Editors get miffed when writers are too lazy to read our submission guidelines.
5. At a minimum your writing should be professional- it's expected. If not- then it's rejected. Most editors reject at the first sign of innappropriate adverbial usage, glaring POV error, poor spelling, etc. If you write poorly get your writing checked by someone knowledgeable in English grammar. Even if you have to pay for it.
6. Lastly if your story does not grab and hold onto the editor within the first few paragraphs they are not going to finish your book. Why? Becuase they have 200+ more books right behind it and they will not waste time if you don't have the skill to hook them on the first few paragraphs.
Why did I say these things? Because you CAN be published. YOU HAVE TO LEARN THE MARKETS! If you don't know the markets and know who might want your book, then randomly submitting will not result in a sale. learn your market. Learn who does what. Submit how they want it, when the want it, like they want it, and you will be read and given the chance to sell your book. But too many authors do not study markets and are lost as to who does what in the industry.
If you were a flour factory. And you wanted to sell your flour would you try to sell your flour to auto part stores? Or to bakeries?
JB Skaggs
My flour is a work of genius and should be instantly recognized as such, and any business owner who rejects my flour is obviously a moron. Of course, business owners nowadays only want the "big name" flour anyway.
Here's actually what I had come to hope from any publisher insane enough to accept my work 
. I had the expectation that my manuscript would be accepted based upon its merits, that it would be of high enough quality that it would be 'worthy of publication' but that a competent editor would be assigned to me to help me tweak it just that little bit more that would take it up a notch or two. I especially hoped to look forward to this on my first novel, as I learn the business and the process of bringing a novel (and my dream) to life.
But, it looks like I'll have to find one on my own.
Hey, EricJamesStone. Now that you're famous , are you in the process of snagging that publishing contract you've been working toward? What's it like? What are you learning along the way?