How you fall in love with a copy editor
And now, for the other copy edit . . . as good as the first was bad. . . .
It's not just that this editor knows the nuances of tense, or actually improves things when suggesting changes. In today's pages, there's a note in the manuscript citing the Chicago Manual of Style chapter and section supporting my word choice . . .
Wow.
Showing posts with label editors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label editors. Show all posts
Letter to the editor
The copy edit from hell goes back. Excerpt:
The copy edit from hell goes back. Excerpt:
. . . Finally, what is up with [copy editor]? If he's not making snotty remarks in his queries, he's rewriting the copy and screwing crap up. This is the second ms. in a row where he's gone over the wall. . . .
Remind him that I have access to heavy weapons and enjoy using them . . .
Copy editing - a matter of trust
While dealing with the copy edit from hell, a manuscript for another of my books arrived. This one, too, had been copy edited.
By a master. Or at least someone who understands the concept of past, present and future.
Which isn't to say there aren't queries, let alone copy editing, on the pages. There are plenty. But I trust this editor, whether I agree with her or not.
Copy editing isn't about rules; it's about judgment. A writer can only assess the copy editor's judgment from the way the questions are phrased, when they're asked, and the changes that are proposed. It takes only a few pages to decide whether you can trust the editor or not. If you can't . . . you're in edit hell.
STET - which means return to the original, or in the vernacular, stop fucking with my prose - is really a poor and very limited weapon. Even after you do that, you're faced with the question: What did the editor miss that I got wrong? Because you definitely got something wrong.
If you don't trust the editor, you no longer trust the manuscript.
Speaking of no longer trusting manuscripts, the review of the copy edit from hell continues.
I have a question I can't answer relating to my responses: Should FU be capped? What about WTF?
I may have to consult a copy editor . . .
While dealing with the copy edit from hell, a manuscript for another of my books arrived. This one, too, had been copy edited.
By a master. Or at least someone who understands the concept of past, present and future.
Which isn't to say there aren't queries, let alone copy editing, on the pages. There are plenty. But I trust this editor, whether I agree with her or not.
Copy editing isn't about rules; it's about judgment. A writer can only assess the copy editor's judgment from the way the questions are phrased, when they're asked, and the changes that are proposed. It takes only a few pages to decide whether you can trust the editor or not. If you can't . . . you're in edit hell.
STET - which means return to the original, or in the vernacular, stop fucking with my prose - is really a poor and very limited weapon. Even after you do that, you're faced with the question: What did the editor miss that I got wrong? Because you definitely got something wrong.
If you don't trust the editor, you no longer trust the manuscript.
Speaking of no longer trusting manuscripts, the review of the copy edit from hell continues.
I have a question I can't answer relating to my responses: Should FU be capped? What about WTF?
I may have to consult a copy editor . . .
We only work with legends
So a good friend calls up and starts talking about this book project he's got out at a publisher. And of course the unwritten rules is that even among friends, you don't talk too much about the project itself, because you don't want to jinx it, so he's talking about the editor...
Him: He's great. A real editor. A throwback type who really edits.
Me: Uh-huh.
Him: You know what I mean. Really helps improve the book. Understands what writing is all about.
Me: Uh-huh.
Him: A legend. Old school. An editor's editor.
Me: Wait a second. Who are we talking about?
Him: Xxxxxxx.
Me: Xxxxxxx?!? Are you kidding? . . . I've never seen him sober.
Him: I rest my case.
Then again, Xxxxxxx has never seen me sober, so maybe I'm old school, too.
So a good friend calls up and starts talking about this book project he's got out at a publisher. And of course the unwritten rules is that even among friends, you don't talk too much about the project itself, because you don't want to jinx it, so he's talking about the editor...
Him: He's great. A real editor. A throwback type who really edits.
Me: Uh-huh.
Him: You know what I mean. Really helps improve the book. Understands what writing is all about.
Me: Uh-huh.
Him: A legend. Old school. An editor's editor.
Me: Wait a second. Who are we talking about?
Him: Xxxxxxx.
Me: Xxxxxxx?!? Are you kidding? . . . I've never seen him sober.
Him: I rest my case.
Then again, Xxxxxxx has never seen me sober, so maybe I'm old school, too.
Closer . . .
It figures that a Romance publisher would get it:
Won't be long now until it all comes together.
It figures that a Romance publisher would get it:
Harlequin is the first publisher to release entirely enriched eBooks
TORONTO, July 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Harlequin Enterprises Limited (http://www.eharlequin.com/), the global leader in series romance and one of the world's leading publishers of women's fiction, announced today the launch of their Enriched Edition eBooks. With this launch, Harlequin becomes the first publisher to offer entire eBooks that are enriched with interactive buttons that hyperlink to Web sites with more information about the content.
Won't be long now until it all comes together.
Rogue Warrior
The new book and the game are coming out together (well, almost together) this fall. There's supposed to be some sort of press stuff and information in March (??) and a regular promo campaign and all that crap, but wtf. Bob Gleason is the editor at Tor/Forge who's now shepherding Rogue Warrior . . . as much as anyone can "shepherd" Dick . . .
There was a typo in one of the titles on this vid that no one picked up on for, I don't know, a month? . . . I musta missed it a million times myself. Finally the video got around to one of our agents, who pointed it out right away. Obviously it pays to have someone on the team who can read.
The new book and the game are coming out together (well, almost together) this fall. There's supposed to be some sort of press stuff and information in March (??) and a regular promo campaign and all that crap, but wtf. Bob Gleason is the editor at Tor/Forge who's now shepherding Rogue Warrior . . . as much as anyone can "shepherd" Dick . . .
There was a typo in one of the titles on this vid that no one picked up on for, I don't know, a month? . . . I musta missed it a million times myself. Finally the video got around to one of our agents, who pointed it out right away. Obviously it pays to have someone on the team who can read.
The future of publishing (part two)
What's happened to the music and newspaper industries in the last ten years is admittedly very complex, and neither is an exact model for publishers. But it does seem to me that some lessons can be drawn from them:
2. If you devalue the product you’re selling, it’ll eventually catch up to you.
There are three things publishers can do to meet the challenge of the changing technology:
1. Increase the value of the product they are selling. They can do this by paying more attention to editing above all, but in other areas related to the books as well. Part of this probably means they should decrease the number of books they publish as well, allowing them to concentrate their resources to do a better job on the books they do publish. But it primarily means that they should pay more attention the quality of the talent they have working for them. Every editor I know is underpaid by a good mile, especially the young ones. Anyone entering the profession basically has to swear an oath of poverty and work under ridiculous pressure. Editing is a difficult art to master; many if not most publishers make it even harder with their work conditions.
2. Make themselves known to their real customer. Most readers don’t have a clue who publishes a book. There’s a legitimate reason for this: For years, the publishers’ customers have actually been the bookstores, and the people who deal with them. But the internet and other facets of modern commerce have weakened these middlemen, in some cases making them irrelevant. The publishers have to build a brand identity with the end customer, so that the house name means something. “We’re the people who bring you Stephen King and all those other writers you like...”
3. The publishers have to take back control of the distribution channel. If that sounds a little antagonistic, it is. The big mistake the record companies made was following the old model of letting the middlemen sell their music. Yes, the first threat was to record stores, etc., but the ultimate victim were the companies that depended on those stores for their sales. Why should I go to Itunes to buy music? If I’m buying my music on-line, it’s just as easy – or rather, it could be just as easy – to buy it from XYZ as it is from them.
. . . (to be continued)
Editors on the edge
Overheard at the bar:
Writer1: I really wanted to punch out [an editor]. He was being such a @#$@#$ @#$@#$#@$.
Writer2: Did you?
W1: No. I realized it would be bad for business to get that sort of reputation.
W2: You're wrong there. Editors like living dangerously. Believe me, I know. I used to be one.
Overheard at the bar:
Writer1: I really wanted to punch out [an editor]. He was being such a @#$@#$ @#$@#$#@$.
Writer2: Did you?
W1: No. I realized it would be bad for business to get that sort of reputation.
W2: You're wrong there. Editors like living dangerously. Believe me, I know. I used to be one.
Rituals of winter
Every winter, certain rituals must be observed to appease the ancient gods of cold and ice. Among the most difficult and arcane is the annual selection of baseball tickets, a process so involved that it cannot be successfully completed without elaborate computer snafus. This is especially true for fans of the NY Yankees, whose suffering when they attempt to secure seats serves as a crude initiation ritual to make sure they truly deserve to worship at the Cathedral in the Bronx come spring. Call it penance.
Engaged in a critical part of the ceremony yesterday, Fellow Writer encountered a series of computer screwups unique even for the Yankees, who have set new standards for electronic chaos over the past few years. He kept calling me with reports as the day went on; between calls I studied the suicide prevention manual.
In the end, he came away with three times the number of tickets he'd tried to buy, and the realization that he's related to someone who works in the Yankee ticket office. Unfortunately, the Yankee employee is from the black sheep side of the family, which may explain why Fellow Writer had so much trouble. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he is convinced that every ticket he reserved will be flushed and, if any are forthcoming at all, they will be for seats behind the McDonald's a block from the Stadium.
"Weren't you on deadline today?" I asked toward the end of the day.
"Who could work on a day like this? My editor's a Mets fan; she understands."
That's the difference between the regular season and the off-season. If there were a pennant race on, she'd've nailed him to the wall.
Every winter, certain rituals must be observed to appease the ancient gods of cold and ice. Among the most difficult and arcane is the annual selection of baseball tickets, a process so involved that it cannot be successfully completed without elaborate computer snafus. This is especially true for fans of the NY Yankees, whose suffering when they attempt to secure seats serves as a crude initiation ritual to make sure they truly deserve to worship at the Cathedral in the Bronx come spring. Call it penance.
Engaged in a critical part of the ceremony yesterday, Fellow Writer encountered a series of computer screwups unique even for the Yankees, who have set new standards for electronic chaos over the past few years. He kept calling me with reports as the day went on; between calls I studied the suicide prevention manual.
In the end, he came away with three times the number of tickets he'd tried to buy, and the realization that he's related to someone who works in the Yankee ticket office. Unfortunately, the Yankee employee is from the black sheep side of the family, which may explain why Fellow Writer had so much trouble. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he is convinced that every ticket he reserved will be flushed and, if any are forthcoming at all, they will be for seats behind the McDonald's a block from the Stadium.
"Weren't you on deadline today?" I asked toward the end of the day.
"Who could work on a day like this? My editor's a Mets fan; she understands."
That's the difference between the regular season and the off-season. If there were a pennant race on, she'd've nailed him to the wall.
Deadlines
Call from a fellow writer:
Him: So this editor is freaking because I'm a day late with a manuscript. Harangued my agent and sent an email with multiple exclamation marks.
Me: Isn't this the same house that took nine months to pay you on your last book?
H: Yup.
M: And aren't they the ones that only sent you the contract a couple of months ago?
H: Yup.
M: And aren't they the ones that only paid you the signing money two months ago?
H: The same.
M: Did you point any of this out?
H: In an email.
M: What'd he say?
H: Email bounced back with an auto-reply. "Out of office until next month."
Call from a fellow writer:
Him: So this editor is freaking because I'm a day late with a manuscript. Harangued my agent and sent an email with multiple exclamation marks.
Me: Isn't this the same house that took nine months to pay you on your last book?
H: Yup.
M: And aren't they the ones that only sent you the contract a couple of months ago?
H: Yup.
M: And aren't they the ones that only paid you the signing money two months ago?
H: The same.
M: Did you point any of this out?
H: In an email.
M: What'd he say?
H: Email bounced back with an auto-reply. "Out of office until next month."
Creative excuses
So I didn't get much work done yesterday because a helicopter spent about an hour circling my house. I finally got annoyed and took the binoculars to check him out - like to see who I'm shooting before letting loose. All I could see was some bozo leaning out the cockpit with a camera in his face. Chopper buzzed out soon after.
Talked to one of my editors and he wasn't impressed:
"This isn't going to end up being an excuse for missing a deadline, is it?"
So I didn't get much work done yesterday because a helicopter spent about an hour circling my house. I finally got annoyed and took the binoculars to check him out - like to see who I'm shooting before letting loose. All I could see was some bozo leaning out the cockpit with a camera in his face. Chopper buzzed out soon after.
Talked to one of my editors and he wasn't impressed:
"This isn't going to end up being an excuse for missing a deadline, is it?"
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