tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post1091277627000209824..comments2023-06-12T17:08:36.320+01:00Comments on How Publishing <i>Really</i> Works: EditingJane Smithhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03411253302725735470noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-10562855348639571032008-09-09T22:46:00.000+01:002008-09-09T22:46:00.000+01:00The editor of a classical text has the job of elim...The editor of a classical text has the job of eliminating textual corruption, restoring the text as far as possible to what the author wrote. Scribes and Scholars (Reynolds and Wilson) gives a good account of this. The scholar who undertakes this task must immerse himself or herself in the style of the author under consideration and may well spend years on a single text. By the standards of classical scholarship, most modern published texts are corrupt.Helen DeWitthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07619602559096610012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-14066112035279183302008-07-22T17:25:00.000+01:002008-07-22T17:25:00.000+01:00OK, Jane, full-fat plug coming up!'Murder Most Wel...OK, Jane, full-fat plug coming up!<BR/><BR/>'Murder Most Welcome': Victorian mystery, published by Robert Hale Ltd<BR/>'Scuba Dancing' : romantic comedy, published by Transita Ltd.<BR/><BR/>Thanks,<BR/>Nicky<BR/>xNicola Sladehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03076176253820195827noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-25142790117645733722008-07-22T13:43:00.000+01:002008-07-22T13:43:00.000+01:00JaneThanks for the reply which confirms what I ass...Jane<BR/>Thanks for the reply which confirms what I assumed. Think I'm reasonably wised up on editing, but interesting to hear that novels still usually do get a professional edit. A few I've read of late have made me wonder if it had gone by the board. (Not just typos - which always slip through - but also repetition, plot holes etc) <BR/>Oh dear, hope this doesn't come under the heading of sour grapes!<BR/>Cheers<BR/>AliBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-5829837154048229952008-07-21T18:45:00.000+01:002008-07-21T18:45:00.000+01:00Sally, with most vanity presses you'd be lucky to ...Sally, with most vanity presses you'd be lucky to get a Word spell check. And even the "enhanced" edits that they offer tend to be no more than a quick whip through looking for typos--nothing like the depth and thoroughness that is involved in an edit from a commercial publisher. And then there's the standard of work--which is a whole separate issue.<BR/><BR/>JaneJane Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03411253302725735470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-88904221318365358482008-07-21T18:24:00.000+01:002008-07-21T18:24:00.000+01:00Ali, you should always make sure that the work you...Ali, you should always make sure that the work you submit is as close to perfect as you can possibly get it. There's a huge amount of work submitted every day and if it comes down to a choice between two submissions of equal merit, then the amount of editing that they require is going to be a deciding factor. <BR/><BR/>That's not to say that your work will not then need editing, or that your publisher will miss this stage out: it'll still happen. But writers must make sure that their work is pretty near perfect before they submit to maximise their chances of publication.<BR/><BR/>I wonder: why do you ask? Do you find editing difficult, or are you perhaps not clear what it entails? Just wondering. I'm so used to working on my side of the fence that I sometimes don't see the other side as clearly as I should.<BR/><BR/>JaneJane Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03411253302725735470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-41529468717573731012008-07-21T18:18:00.000+01:002008-07-21T18:18:00.000+01:00Don't forget that what a vanity/subsidy publisher ...Don't forget that what a vanity/subsidy publisher calls editing is not editing at all. Their 'basic' editing is a cursory copy-edit. They do very little else and if you want something more, they call it an 'enhanced' editing service and charge a lot for it. They claim that this is standard practise. It isn't.<BR/><BR/>Which is why most subsidy published novels are full of typos and desperately require the services of a big fat red editing pen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-17685405675140534662008-07-21T15:23:00.000+01:002008-07-21T15:23:00.000+01:00Hi JaneAs a still-to-be published (!) novelist I'v...Hi Jane<BR/>As a still-to-be published (!) novelist I've heard that agents and publishers are increasingly looking for books that require minimal editing of any kind - i.e. something as near to the finished article as possible. Do you think this is the case? (Just found your blog by the way - really useful - will add to my links soon as, if that's okay.)<BR/>AliBAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-10044787505209063542008-07-21T11:42:00.000+01:002008-07-21T11:42:00.000+01:00Nicky, I spot typos in most books I read, and you'...Nicky, I spot typos in most books I read, and you're right: it's particularly awful to spot them in your own work.<BR/><BR/>Next time you post here, you'll have to tell us who your publisher is, too, just to make it a full-fat plug.<BR/><BR/>Ha!<BR/><BR/>JaneJane Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03411253302725735470noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5519912440753252776.post-39079974542423208212008-07-21T11:06:00.000+01:002008-07-21T11:06:00.000+01:00Both my novels(Scuba Dancing and Murder Most Welco...Both my novels(Scuba Dancing and Murder Most Welcome, since you ask so kindly!)have gone through all those processes: editing, copy-editing and proof-reading. And yes, it was a tad painful sometimes though luckily I didn't have to rewrite very much. What I did find, however, was that on reading the published book I was mortified to spot a few typos that had slipped past all those edits!<BR/><BR/>Nicky<BR/>www.Nicolaslade.comNicola Sladehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03076176253820195827noreply@blogger.com