We’ve all
heard horror stories about editors. Complaints range from “She just doesn’t get
it” to “He totally ruined the book” to anything and everything in between.
Some of
those tales might be true. It’s unlikely that editors, on average, are more
capable at their chosen craft than other folks are at theirs—so, odds are there
are some idiot editors out there. On the other hand, it’s equally unlikely that
the ratio of dumb editors exceeds the human average, either.
Most
editors, in my experience, are smart folks. Perhaps I’ve been lucky. But none
of the editors I’ve worked with has ever done anything other than help make a
book (or article or story) better. And their “touch” has tended to be light,
and deft. The same holds true with copy editors. Their assistance has been
valuable and, on occasion, they’ve kept me from making a fool of myself.
On the other
hand, I have heard a few editors at writers’ conferences say that once they’ve
accepted your book it’s no longer “your” book, but “our” book, and you can
expect wholesale changes to suit their fancy.
As a writer,
I’m afraid I would have to edit that attitude. Because, despite the important
contributions editors can make, it’s still my
book, not theirs.
And any
editor who doesn’t recognize that basic fact is, at best, a frustrated writer.
And, quite possibly, an idiot.