Beyond cuts: the many roles of a writer's editor

Novelist Eleanor Catton and her editor Max Porter's alliance shows how much more than wielding a blade goes into this relationshipHenry James called editing "the butchers' trade". But he also said, "I glory in the piling up of complications of every sort," so you can see how the old anglophile and his editors may have crossed horns.However, if we're honest, wouldn't we, the reader, prefer to chew over a well-honed slice of literature than wade through fatty hunks of unedited, flabby prose? Isn't the editor's first loyalty to the reader, and not the author? Isn't it better to wield the knife than to club out something that the cow might approve of?This weekend, as part of the New Zealand festival, The Luminaries author and winner of the Man Booker prize, Eleanor Catton, discussed deletion, deadlines and several other facets of the writer-editor relationship with her British editor Max Porter. If this sounds a little like sitting down with your ex-husband to publicly discuss why he always disliked your sense of humour, then think again; the modern editor is, according to Porter, "part proofreader, part therapist, part in-house champion and, increasingly, there to put a marketisation on the written word." This was less meat cleavers at dawn, more gentle emails about getting off Twitter.With 391,000 books being self-published in the US in 2012 alone, the old 20th-century model of the creative editor is, according to Porter, "an endangered species". While Porter described his... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #step back

Other Publishing stories related to: 'Beyond cuts: the many roles of a writer's editor'


Beyond cuts: the many roles of a writer's editor

Novelist Eleanor Catton and her editor Max Porter's alliance shows how much more than wielding a blade goes into this relationshipHenry James called editing "the butchers' trade". But he also said, "I glory in the piling up of complications of every sort," so you can see how the old anglophile... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2014-03-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #step back


Love, grieving, intimacy and enduring war: what is the role now for books and writers in Ukraine? | Charlotte Higgins

The Lviv BookForum was vibrant this year, but still there is the backdrop of conflict and the need to find a place for storytellingLast year’s Lviv BookForum, a literary festival in the elegant western Ukrainian city, was mostly an online affair, held in a basement lecture theatre that might... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2023-10-21 05:00:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #selling books #bomb shelter #live music #literary festival


An Open Letter in Support of Adania Shibli From More Than 350 Writers, Editors, and Publishers

This letter was originally published by ArabLit. The shocking and tragic events that began on October 7th and are ongoing today have had repercussions all over the globe, including within the publishing world. Award-winning Palestinian author Adania Shibli, who was a finalist for the 2020... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2023-10-17 09:05:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #open letter #adania shibli #originally published #publishing world #national book award


Roger Angell, editor, baseball writer at the New Yorker, dies at 101

As fiction editor, he helped mold the stories of generations of writers. As a sportswriter, he was enshrined in the writers’ wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-05-20 21:24:22 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fiction editor


'PW' Announces New Nonfiction Reviews Editor, Writer-at-Large

Harmony Difo joins 'Publishers Weekly' as nonfiction reviews editor, replacing Mark Rotella, who left the magazine earlier this summer. Zoe Christen Jones has been hired in a newly created writer-at-large position, which includes a new magazine column on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-09-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book business


Multiple Editors-in-Chief Exit Modern Luxury Amid Staff Cuts

High-end regional magazine publisher Modern Luxury Media parted ways with several employees in a restructuring earlier this month, including at least seven editors-in-chief, Folio: has learned. Those who have exited the company since the start of July include the editors-in-chief at both San... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-07-14 13:28:14 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #rely heavily #content shared #emailed questions #covid-19 pandemic #produce content #provide details #print editions #michigan avenue #magazine publisher


Ella Griffiths takes on newly created role of editor for Faber's classics

Faber assistant editor Ella Griffiths has been appointed to the newly created role of editor with specific responsibility for Faber’s classics, backlist, and heritage publishing.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-10-03 02:21:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Former Hearst Editors Take On New Roles | People on the Move

[caption id="attachment_123566" align="alignright" width="150"] Joanna Coles[/caption] [caption id="attachment_138919" align="alignright" width="150"] Robbie Myers[/caption] Robbie Myers, the longtime editor-in-chief Elle magazine who departed from the brand at the end of last year, is rejoining... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2018-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #drag race #business reporter


Berrett-Koehler CEO Transitioning to Editor Role

Steve Piersanti, president and CEO of Berrett-Koehler, is moving away from his managerial role at the publisher into a full-time editorial position. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-09-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #editor role


Book clinic: do editors often have to cut authors down to size?

Overwriting is a common problem among beginners, but it happens to the best of them – ask a professional editorMost writers I know massively overwrite. How common is it for a published author to have had an editor do a big cutting job?Retired 72-year-old psychotherapist, living in IndiaRichard... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2018-04-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #book clinic #published author #sounding board


The Good Immigrant's editor plans new journal and agency for writers of colour

Nikesh Shukla and literary agent Julia Kingsford have launched Kickstarter appeal to fund The Good Journal, with further plans for an affiliated agencyAfter selling more than 50,000 copies and being named the British public’s favourite book of 2016, the success of anthology The Good Immigrant... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2017-09-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #british public #favourite book #bame writers #nikesh shukla #good journal #literary journal #good immigrant #big names #jk rowling


The case against combining publisher and editor roles

Tribune Publishing decided to combine the editor and publisher roles at its major dailies, in a major break with publishing tradition. There's more collaboration than ever in publishing, but even the most forward-leaning digital media companies find a lot to like in the traditional editorial... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #vox media #top editors


BuzzFeed Launches Emerging Writers Fellowship: An Interview with Literary Editor Saeed Jones

BuzzFeed is going literary. The ever-growing media company launched BuzzFeed Books in December of 2013, and this year it is launching several projects under new Literary Editor Saeed Jones. First up is the BuzzFeed Emerging Writers Fellowship pr ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-04-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Man Booker Prize: Two American writers make the cut for the shortlist

In addition to the American contenders Karen Joy Fowler for 'We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves' and Joshua Ferris of 'To Rise Again at a Decent Hour,' other nominees include Richard Flanagan for 'The Narrow Road to the Deep North' and Ali Smith for 'How to Be Both.' Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2014-09-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #joshua ferris #narrow road #deep north #ali smith


Senior editor role for Cornerstone's Mitchell

Emma Mitchell has been appointed as senior editor for Cornerstone imprints William Heinemann,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2014-05-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #senior editor


Amazon Cuts Publishers Out of the Mix, Makes Deals With Writers

Releasing a book on one of the world’s largest publishing marketplaces could help your company. Here's a quick guide to the basics of self-publishing. Continue reading at PC World

[ PC World | 2011-10-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #quick guide


Smithsonian Editor Carey Winfrey to Step Down From Role

Carey Winfrey, the editor of Smithsonian magazine for since 2001, has announced his resignation from the publication, effective September 30th. Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2011-04-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this |


Want more women writers in magazines? Get more female editors.

As Meghan O'Rourke reported here last week, VIDA, an organization for women writers, has released a tally of male and female bylines for the 2010 run of 14 high-end, literary-oriented magazines. Despite a couple of relatively bright spots (the New York Times Book Review surprisingly being one),... Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2011-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bright spots


Denis Johnson, 'Writer's Writer's Writer,' Dead at 67

The award-winning fiction writer, poet, and playwright, whose best-known and most influential work, the story collection 'Jesus' Son,' turned 25 this year, has died. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-05-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #denis johnson #story collection