BOOKS, AUTHORS & THE IDEAL EDITOR

What Authors Should Know: The Essential Principles, Values & Goals that Inspire & Guide Editors

in Striving to Help Authors Achieve Their Best Books

Paul D. McCarthy

New York Times hardcover bestselling authorof WRITING, EDITING & PUBLISHING

Copyright © 2011

PRAISE for . . .

BOOKS, AUTHORS & THE IDEAL EDITOR

* Dr. Robert W. Fuller, former President, Oberlin College, Ph.D. in Physics, Princeton University, co-author of MATHEMATICS OF CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM PHYSICS, wrote

comprehensively:

"Professor Paul D. McCarthy sees editing as a noble profession.

"The ideal editor he describes in BOOKS, AUTHORS & THE IDEAL EDITOR is one

who understands that when we authors write and tell our stories, we are creating our personal

and cultural identities.

"Since so much is at stake, nothing short of impeccability is good enough.

"This is a book for authors as much as editors.

"Authors will learn what to expect from editing and how to enable their editors to do

more for the books into which they pour their hearts and souls.

"Editors will become aware of subtleties in their relationship with authors that, once

brought into consciousness, will greatly enhance their effectiveness.

"The author-editor relationship is every bit as complex, and arguably as important, as the

doctor-patient or the professor-student relationship, and in THE IDEAL EDITOR, Professor

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McCarthy has taken the understanding of that relationship to a new level.

"Authors and editors who absorb the teachings that he has distilled from decades of

hands-on experience will only create better books."

_____________________________________________________________

* Professor Charles Levine, Hofstra University wrote in generous appreciation:

"I have read...your book on THE IDEAL EDITOR, and have enjoyed it immensely. It is

Platonic and philosophical--it is wonderful that you ...capture the loftier and noble realms of

editing and working with authors and manuscripts."

_____________________________________________________________

* "You are a creative genius."

--Terry Chimes, author of HUNGRY FOR HAPPINESS?, medical doctor, musician, member, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, CEO and founder of several of UK & Europe's largest healthcare companies, and chairman of various philanthropic foundations.

______________________________________________________________

* "Your selection of Clausewitz as your model guides me, plus your suggestions of

targeting transcendence and endurance as ultimate objectives....

"Von Clausewitz wrote with his mind, like a Newton or a Galileo. He sculpted a treatise

of reason, ratiocinating right to the root of meanings: of war, of strategy, of conflict --- all

enduring, not evanescent phenomena.

"You have done the same thing. You have focused on values that are as permanent as the

human condition. Values that are forever, and not transitory....

"Your book is a touchstone, a standard to hold high.

“Yours are essential principles, a philosophy for a Keats seeking beauty and truth. Yours

is not a book to guide technique; but it is a bible for editors and authors in their search for textual

meaning and, within that context, the purpose of our lives."

--Paul K. Smith, author of WHAT THE BUSINESS SCHOOLS DON'T TEACH: "Championship Checkmate Tactics for the CEO. Only the Strong Survive." Global Executive/Business Consultant for CEOs worldwide.______________________________________________________________

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--Rick Hubbard, Ph.D., after multiple readings, felt compelled to give this encompassing expression & description:

* "Not only do established authors, editors, agents and publishers benefit from the

reading—and periodic re-reading—of BOOKS, AUTHORS & THE IDEAL EDITOR, this work is

an essential guide for the savvy-writer-with-ambitions-of-published-author.

"With crisp precision, IDEAL EDITOR explains editorial context, situation and approach

so that understanding displaces lore. Vaulting the reader from sub-thought to clarity, writers and

editors glean unrivalled insights regarding the ostensibly opposing forces of authorial creativity

and editorial response. Then, from this special zenith, author and editor confidently pursue a

joint task to fashion the best work possible.

"When the Greek philosopher, Heraclitus, spoke of the 'Unity of Opposites,' he

understood that the bank, and the water, both shape a river’s flow; and a river is comprised of

both. We cannot imagine a river without bank and water. We understand they do not work in

opposition. They work in a harmony of opposites. Each contributes a vital component the other

cannot to create a whole. This same harmonic relationship between author and editor is revealed

and explained—possibly for the first time—in IDEAL EDITOR.

"IDEAL EDITOR is especially valuable for those who have yet to tread once on the path

that noted editor, Paul D. McCarthy, has worn by dint of thoughtful consideration supplemented

with decades of purposeful toil. Emergent authors are naturally apprehensive—perhaps even

defensive, or timid—regarding the purpose, role and responsibilities of various editors with

respect to the author’s work. In clear fashion, IDEAL EDITOR explains the inner workings of

these processes and inspires a writer’s expectation for a pleasant, professional and productive

experience.

"McCarthy’s work enrichens experienced and inexperienced alike. For the

inexpert, IDEAL EDITOR creates a sense of familiarity with the unfamiliar. For the

expert, IDEAL EDITOR provokes appraisal of the familiar in unfamiliar ways. It is then a

delight when a topic once thought understood is discovered to merit renewed, deeper,

consideration. Such reflection inspires further combinations of truth and art in pursuit of even

greater perfection.

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"When the editor-reader or writer-reader complete IDEAL EDITOR, they enjoy the same

sense of deep satisfaction found in all works unique in original and singular expression of deep

knowledge. Similar to AN ACTOR PREPARES by the great Constantin Stanislavski, or Carl von

Clausewitz’s ON WAR, Paul McCarthy’s BOOKS, AUTHORS & THE IDEAL EDITOR is a long

overdue—and equally needed—exposition of the elementary nature of an art form otherwise

unexamined in similar depth, breadth and clarity.

"BOOKS, AUTHORS & THE IDEAL EDITOR brings forth an organized approach—

where some find chaos—which enables editors and authors to focus, foster and fashion works as

real as possible."

____________________________________________________________

To Chicquita

____________________________________________________________

CONTENTS

Introduction 8

PART ONETHE PHILOSOPHY

Chapter One STRIVING FOR THE IDEAL 11 A Philosophy of Editing

PART TWOTHE RELATIONSHIP

Chapter Two IT SHOULD LAST A LIFETIME 15

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The Nature, Lifespan and Purpose of the Relationship

Chapter Three THE RIGHT COMBINATION 18 The Constant and Variable Elements of the Relationship

Chapter Four KNOWING WHAT TO DO 24 The Relationship Responsibilities of the Editor, Author and Publisher

Chapter Five WORKING IN HARMONY 27 The Forming, Building and Maintaining of the Relationship

PART THREETHE EDITING

Chapter Six ASSISTING THE AUTHOR 35 The Function, Nature and Range of Editing

Chapter Seven PUTTING IT TOGETHER 50 The Elements of Editing

Chapter Eight THE BEST WRITING AND EDITING 58 The Creative and Editorial Responsibilities and Goals

Chapter Nine MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS 65 The Forms, Methods and Consequences of Editing

Chapter Ten ACHIEVING THE BEST BOOK 78 Editing from Concept to Final Manuscript

PART FOURASPECTS, VARIATIONS AND REFLECTIONS

Chapter Eleven ASPECTS 93 Further Views of Editing, Writing

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and the Relationship

Chapter Twelve VARIATIONS 108 Working with a Range of Authors

Chapter Thirteen REFLECTIONS 124 Some Thoughts about Certain Editorial Matters

Recommended Reading 133

Author Biography 145

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INTRODUCTION

A small number of books have been written by and about editors, including memoirs,

biographies, collections of essays and practical books about specific editorial techniques. These

books have made substantial and important contributions to our understanding of the work and

lives of editors but none of them encompass the whole of editing and consider every significant

aspect and element of the editor’s work with books and authors.

My purpose and ambition in writing BOOKS, AUTHORS & THE IDEAL EDITOR is to

comprehensively analyze editing at the philosophical and theoretical level, and develop and

present a philosophy and theory of editing.

I examine the essential nature of the book, the author and the editor and the fundamental

ways in which the editor works with the author and on the book, and I describe the basic goals

and principles that guide the editor’s work. I have organized these concepts, principles and goals

into a philosophical system that provides a structure and context for the understanding and

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application of the ideas. Throughout I use brief, general examples to expand on and further

illuminate certain ideas.

I have divided the book into four parts. In Part One: The Philosophy, I describe the

editor’s purpose, values and goals. This philosophy is the book’s moral and conceptual

foundation. It establishes what the ideal editor is and does and provides the context for the rest

of the book.

Part Two: The Relationship examines the relationship between the author and the editor.

In these chapters, I consider the relationship’s nature, purpose and lifespan, and constant and

variable elements, and the relationship responsibilities of editor and author. Also, I describe the

editor’s forming, building and maintaining the relationship with the author.

Guided by the philosophy and having established the relationship, the editor is ready to

work with the author on the book, and in Part Three: The Editing, I analyze the function, nature

and range of editing, the elements of editing and the creative and editorial goals and

responsibilities. I go on to discuss the forms, methods and consequences of editing, and examine

the editorial process as the editor works with the author from concept to final manuscript.

While in the first three parts, I present the concepts that are essentially valid for all

books, authors, and editors, in Part Four: Aspects, Variations and Reflections, I consider

particular elements, issues and aspects of the editor’s work. Part Four ranges from the attributes

of a good editor to learning from authors and other editors, from representative types of authors

the editor may work with to the rewards and pleasures of editing.

The body of work about editors and editing is too small and growing too slowly. With

BOOKS, AUTHORS & THE IDEAL EDITOR, I have added one book and I intend to write more,

and I know that other editors and authors are making their own contributions but there are too

few of us. I hope that soon we will be joined by others and that together we will substantially

increase our knowledge and understanding of how editors assist and support authors, and

improve the work that editors do.

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PART ONE

THE PHILOSOPHY

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CHAPTER ONE

STRIVING FOR THE IDEAL

A Philosophy of Editing

The editor’s fundamental purpose is to give the author maximum psychological support

and editorial assistance in writing the best book he can. The editor has a passionate and enduring

belief in the absolute importance and ideal value of the book and the author, and that belief

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drives him to sustain at the highest level his realization of his purpose with every book and

author.

In that realization, the editor is guided by the ideal goals. He comprehends fully the

nature of the book and of the author’s creative talent and experience, personality and moral

character, making his work with each particular author and book maximally effective and

appropriate to them.

He establishes, builds and maintains the finest relationship with the author, helping the

author create the most productive environment for writing, providing all the support the author

wants and needs, and maximizing the ease, pleasure and joy of their working together.

Through his building of the author’s trust and confidence in and respect for him, the

editor prepares the author to be receptive and responsive to the editing and increases the author’s

willingness to involve the editor in his work. He develops and continues the finest

communication with the author so that all aspects, elements and issues of the writing, editing and

relationship can be easily, honestly and thoroughly discussed.

The editor maintains the relationship with the author for the rest of their working lives.

The enduring relationship increases the harmony and effectiveness of their work on each book

and makes it easier for the author and editor to work together again after short or long periods

when they are not joined by the common purpose of a book.

As they work on the book, the editor gives the author the finest and most comprehensive

editing so that he can most efficiently, productively and effectively achieve the best book which

he is capable of writing and which will get the best response from the critical and popular

audiences for whom the book is intended.

He helps the author choose, develop and complete the particular book that is most

appropriate to his creative strengths. He fully understands the author’s vision of the book and

helps the author refine and expand that vision. The editor comprehends the author’s particular

creative goals, assists him in achieving them, and perhaps suggests additional or more ambitious

goals. In his responses to the book, the editor is representative of the particular audiences the

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author is trying to reach, helping the author understand how to write the book that the readers

will find most satisfying and entertaining.

He confirms what is working well in the book, gives the author all of the ideas,

suggestions, questions and comments that might stimulate his thinking and lead to development

and improvement, and makes the direct changes that he thinks improve the book, with the author

approving the changes he agrees with.

The editor helps the author grow creatively by building on what he has achieved in the

current and previous books, and becoming more ambitious in his goals for the current and future

books. He also helps the author develop morally, able to write with increasing commitment to

the achievement of each best book. The editor pursues his own growth, editorially by becoming

more imaginative and effective in his thinking about the books, and morally by striving ever

harder to realize his purpose and achieve the ideal goals.

Also, he assists the author’s psychological growth and concentrates on his own so that

they work together with increasing harmony and productivity, and enjoy and benefit from greater

passion about their work and joy and satisfaction about what they are accomplishing.

Through their working lifetime, the editor helps the author achieve the finest creative

body of work through his writing of each best book and then through the cumulative

achievement of writing as many fine books as is appropriate to his talent and ambition. Also, the

editor strives to achieve the finest editorial body of work, which is the finest editing of all the

books by the author and all the authors the editor works with, and the best relationships with the

authors.

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PART TWO

THE RELATIONSHIP

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CHAPTER TWO

IT SHOULD LAST A LIFETIME

The Nature, Lifespan and Purpose of the Relationship

The Fundamental Nature

The relationship is formed when the author and the editor first make contact with the

purpose of working together on the book. It is that purpose which defines the relationship, gives

it its fundamental nature, and establishes the responsibilities of editor and author. That purpose

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makes the relationship different from any other relationships the author and editor may have with

each other or with others, whether marriage, friendship or family.

The relationship is comprehensive, taking in any pre-book relationships between the

author and the editor, and expanding to integrate new non-book relationships as they may evolve

and shared activities as they occur.

Because of the comprehensiveness, anything that happens in the lives of author and

editor potentially affects their work together and their development of the book. If they have

common interests in music and sports, their sharing of those interests enhances their work on the

book. However, if the editor accidentally angers or hurts the author as a friend, spouse or

business partner, the author may become less willing to consider the editor’s thoughts or involve

the editor in the writing.

The free flow between what author and editor do creatively, editorially and socially,

means that there is a tremendous opportunity for growth in the editor and the author that derives

from the whole of their interaction, and the editor expands the relationship in all directions that

are productive and pleasurable, however unrelated to the book.

The Lifespan and Purpose

The potential lifespan of the relationship is the remainder of the working lives of editor

and author. Whether they work together on only one book or combine their efforts on many

books over the years, the editor maintains the relationship with the author until there is no longer

the possibility of another book, perhaps because the author or editor has finally retired or is no

longer physically, emotionally and intellectually capable of writing or editing. Through this

lifetime maintenance, the editor increases the possibility of helping the author with every book

that he writes, and further developing the relationship.

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While the maintenance is continuous, the intensity of the editor’s maintenance varies

with the active or potential purpose of the book. When the purpose is active and the author and

editor are engaged in work on a book, are developing the next book or know that they will work

on another book, the editor maintains the relationship at the highest level, giving the author

maximum support and assistance.

If the author has completed work on the book and there is no next book to work on but

only the potential for another book, the editor maintains the relationship at a high level to make

it more likely that he will work with the author again and easier for them to resume working with

the same ease and productivity that they enjoyed when they last worked on a book.

When the purpose becomes active again because the author and editor have a new book

to work on together, the editor immediately rebuilds the relationship until it is once again at its

highest level.

Sometimes the relationship may become suspended with no contact at all between editor

and author. The suspension may occur very quickly, because the author moves to another

publisher or the editor was not able to buy the author’s next book, or may be the conclusion of a

long period of diminishing interaction as the author still does not begin another book and the

editor concentrates on the needs of the authors with whom he is actively working.

However it occurs, suspension is damaging to the relationship because so many of its

elements, including harmony, knowledge of each other, easy communication, trust and respect,

must be actively maintained to remain fully effective. The longer the suspension continues, the

less likely it becomes that author and editor will again work together, and the more difficult it

will be for them to reactivate and rebuild the relationship. The editor therefore strives to keep

suspension from occurring and then, if it does occur, he keeps any period of suspension as short

as he can.

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CHAPTER THREE

THE RIGHT COMBINATION

The Constant and Variable Elements of the Relationship

The Constant Elements

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Communication

The relationship is developed and maintained through the regular, substantial and

diplomatic sharing of thoughts and feelings. Through that flow, the editor builds the author’s

trust in him, shares his passion for and joy in the work, helps motivate the author and shows

sensitivity to the author’s moods and needs. Also, through regular communication, author and

editor are able to agree on and refine their common purpose, share and gain knowledge of

themselves and each other, and adjust and improve the relationship.

All communication should have the highest clarity, accuracy and diplomacy to minimize

the possibility of misunderstanding and emotional damage but the form and tone vary with the

particular situation, ranging from a casual and friendly conversation intended for enjoyment and

not problem-solving to a lengthy, encouraging, comprehensive and highly focused editorial

letter.

The frequency of communication is determined by the particular requirements of the

relationship and the editing. If the author requires constant encouragement from the editor to

stay motivated, the editor keeps the communication continuous but if he has worked with the

author on several books and knows the author prefers to work independently, he communicates

only as necessary and waits for the author to contact him.

Because action has as much potential for communication as writing and speaking, the

editor applies the same high standards to what he does. There is complete integration of the

principles and values that guide communication so that the editor is consistent in how he

communicates with the author through his actions, correspondence and conversations. The

editor should not write to the author, telling him how important the book and the author are to

the editor, and then be slow in doing the editing and ignore the author’s calls and letters.

Respect, Trust and Confidence

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When author and editor begin their relationship, they usually have at least a minimum

regard for each other, which is based on their function and professional position as editor and

author, even if they otherwise have no specific knowledge of the other. The editor respects the

author for his creative capacity, trusts him to strive for the best book, and has confidence in his

ability to achieve it. The author respects the editor’s ability to assist him in the writing and edit

the book, trusts him to support the author as much as he can, and is confident that he will help

the author do more than the author could alone.

The more the author and the editor know about each other’s creative and editorial

achievements and abilities and their relationships with other authors and editors, before they start

working together, the more accurate and appropriate is the trust, confidence and respect with

which they begin the relationship.

As they learn more about each other and the particular nature of their working together,

they adjust their regard accordingly, making it fully appropriate to their knowledge of the other.

The author’s trust in the editor may rise significantly while the editor may confirm that his great

respect for and confidence in the author are justified.

The development of the author’s respect, confidence and trust is vital to the editor

because those elements are a major factor in determining the extent to which the author wants to

work with the editor and therefore how much the editor is able to assist and support the author

and contribute to the book.

It is during the editing that the extent of the author’s regard is most critical because it is

then that the editor’s involvement has the greatest potential value to book and author, and the

higher the regard, the greater the potential contribution and assistance.

The author gives much more weight to the ideas, suggestions and opinions of the editor

whom he trusts and respects, and in whose thoughts he has confidence because of their proven

value in the past, than he does to the thinking of the editor about whom he knows little or whom

he does not respect or trust.

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Thoughtfulness, Harmony, Patience and Sensitivity

The editor is constantly thoughtful of the author’s feelings, priorities, needs, sensitivities

and insecurities, wanting him to be comfortable, at ease and satisfied. His thoughtfulness leads

him to be diplomatic, acting and communicating in the ways that are easiest for the author to

accept and respond to. The editor is also conscious of his actions and aware of their potential

effect on the author, and anticipates and eliminates potential problems.

Part of the thoughtfulness is making the author feel as though he is the editor’s only

author, even though the author knows that many other authors are making simultaneous demands

on the editor.

The editor’s courtesy and thoughtfulness often motivate the author to work harder at the

relationship himself and show the editor the same consideration he is being shown.

The editor steadily strives for harmony, when he and the author work together with

matching emotional and intellectual rhythms, common goals, commitment and values, and with

a substantial understanding of and agreement with each other that minimizes problems.

An element of harmony is flexibility, with the editor adjusting to the author’s changing

moods, needs and desires through the course of the relationship and work on the book. The

flexibility is balanced by the consistency that derives from the editor’s pursuing and adhering to

the editorial goals and principles.

Patience is vital for harmony. The editor accepts that the author will have weaknesses,

flaws, insecurities and inabilities, and has a willingness to work as much as he can within the

author’s limitations. The author may be lazy in the writing, prone to anger and uncertain about

his talent but the editor does not compromise his commitment or respond with irritation and

impatience. He remains diplomatic, encouraging and committed.

The editor builds and sustains harmony through constant and comprehensive sensitivity.

He knows the author so well and is so responsive to the author’s communication, actions, moods

and needs, that he understands fully how the author is thinking and feeling, and therefore what

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he may need to do to keep the relationship most comfortable, satisfying and supportive for the

author.

As the editor and author continue to work together, the author’s regard for and sensitivity

to the editor may gradually increase, making it ever more important that the editor be aware of

how his actions might inadvertently hurt or offend the author. Also, the author’s increased

sensitivity and regard make the author more responsive to the editor who then further motivates,

inspires and supports the author.

Passion, Joy and Enthusiasm

When the relationship begins, the editor already feels great passion for his work, an

intense, continuous, emotional commitment to his relationship with the author, the achievement

of the best book and the related creative and editorial goals.

During the course of the relationship, the editor sustains and increases the depth of his

passion because it is a primary source of motivation for him. He also fully shares that passion

with the author because it becomes motivating for the author too and makes him feel more

secure about the editor’s commitment.

The editor is inspired by the author’s own passion for the book in particular, the creative

process in general and the shared goals, and their common passions strengthen their connection

to each other.

Because passion has such emotional force, the editor keeps it properly channeled so that

it does not become destructive or negative. The editor does not allow his passion to be so great

or uncontrolled that he overwhelms the author with his enthusiasm or gets intrusive and too

involved in the relationship, or berates the author for not being equally passionate about

improving the book.

The emotional rewards of joy and pleasure are usually not the constant element in the

relationship that passion is but the editor makes them as frequent and constant as possible.

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Pleasure and joy are motivating and relieving, making it easier for author and editor to endure

the exhaustion, trouble and pain of the ongoing work by providing at least a brief easing.

Enthusiasm and excitement are other ways in which the editor feels and shares pleasure

and motivates himself and the author. Like joy, enthusiasm is not continuous but the editor

increases the opportunities for its occurrence, builds enthusiasm in himself and the author as

much as possible, and is very responsive to the author’s excitement when it occurs.

Motivation

The editor keeps his own motivation at the highest level, maximizes the author’s

motivation for working with and involving the editor, and to the extent necessary, helps the

author increase his self-motivation and his commitment to achieving the creative goals.

In building the author’s motivation, the editor makes maximum use of all of the

relationship’s constant elements, and regularly gives the author intelligent, insightful and sincere

praise and expresses genuine appreciation for the author’s achievements, commitment and talent.

The editor gives the author so strong a sense of the editor’s commitment, support, belief,

and passion, that the author has enough to sustain him when he is working alone, in those long or

short intervals between his connecting with the editor.

The Variable Elements

Personality, Character, Talent and Experience

The variable elements of the relationship are introduced by the personality and character

of the editor and the author, and by the nature and depth of their talent and the substance and

range of their experience.

Their personality is the emotional qualities of author or editor, who may be easy-going,

neurotic, depressed, passionate, thoughtful, arrogant, intense, patient or irritable. The particular

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personalities of the editor and author are significant in establishing the rhythms, moods and

easiness or difficulty in maintaining the relationship.

Their character is the moral qualities, which derive from their principles and values and

determine the extent of their commitment to and pursuit of the creative and editorial goals. If the

editing is tremendously difficult and the author moody and unappreciative, it is the editor’s

profound belief in the value and importance of the book and the author that sustains him in his

struggle to contribute as much as he can. It may also be that the author’s passionate dedication

to writing the best book inspires the editor to work even harder.

The author’s talent is defined by the form, subject and substance of the books he has

written, and the editor’s talent by the extent to which he has assisted and supported the authors

he has worked with and the range of the books he has edited. The talents of author and editor are

further defined by the critical and popular value and success of the books they have written and

edited, and their creative and editorial potential for further achievement.

The amount of talent the author and editor have and their experience, as measured by

their years of writing and editing and by the number of books they have written and edited, have

a significant impact on the respect and confidence with which they begin and continue the

relationship and on the particular form of that relationship. The editor works quite differently

with a prize-winning novelist than he does with an author who is writing his first book in an area

of nonfiction that is new to the editor also.

In forming and developing the relationship, the editor analyzes and understands the

specific variables of his and the author’s personality, character, talent and experience and then

works with the author to smoothly integrate those variables in the ways that help them to achieve

the maximum harmony and productivity. The editor also keeps adjusting to his own evolution

and that of the author as they develop their talent, personality and character and become more

experienced.

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CHAPTER FOUR

KNOWING WHAT TO DO

The Relationship Responsibilities of the Editor, Author and Publisher

The Major Relationships

The editor’s relationship with the author occurs in conjunction with three other

significant relationships: the editor’s partnership with the publisher, the author’s contractual

relationship with the publisher, and the larger relationship of author, editor and publisher. The

nature of each relationship determines the particular responsibilities of the editor, author or

publisher.

The partnership of the editor and the publisher begins on the first day of the editor’s

employment and continues for the duration of that employment. Their responsibilities to each

other extend for the life of their partnership.

The editor’s principal obligations are to find the authors and books that have the greatest

value to the publisher, and then edit and help publish the books and maintain the relationships

with the authors in the ways that maximize their value. The publisher is obligated to provide the

maximum assistance and support as the editor pursues the editorial goals, fulfills his obligations

to the authors and the publisher and helps the authors achieve their creative goals and satisfy

their responsibilities to the publisher.

When the editor buys the book, the contractual relationship between the author and the

publisher begins, and it continues for the duration of the contract. The specific obligations of

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publisher and author to each other and the form and nature of the book are stated in and defined

by the contract.

The author’s principal responsibility is to write and maximize the potential of the

mutually defined and agreed on book, and the publisher’s to publish the book as well as possible

and to provide the editor to work with the author.

When the author begins the contractual relationship with the publisher, he accepts the

particular terms of the publisher’s partnership with the editor. If the author later prefers that the

editor expand or change his responsibilities and ways of working with the author, he discusses

his preferences with the editor or makes a request of the publisher.

Because the editor is already working for the publisher when he forms the relationship

with the author, that relationship occurs in the context of the editor’s partnership with the

publisher, and the editor’s responsibilities to the author are combined with and balanced by his

obligations to the publisher.

The editor’s primary responsibility to the author is to help him write the book that is his

best work, has the greatest critical and popular value, and satisfies his contractual obligations.

The editor represents the author’s best interests to the publisher through the whole of the writing,

editing and publishing processes, perhaps clarifying for the publisher why the author has chosen

to write the book in a certain way or may need more time to finish, or requesting adjustments or

different approaches if the elements of the publishing do not fully advance the author’s interests

or potentially damage them.

The editor also represents the publisher’s best interests during the developing, writing

and completion of the book. The editor completely supports the author’s right to make the final

creative decisions but if the author begins to move away from the mutually agreed on book in

ways that may diminish the book’s value to the publisher, the editor explains the problem to the

author and works with him to return the writing to what was contractually defined.

Sometimes when representing the best interests of author or publisher, the editor is not

able to resolve with the publisher or author a potential conflict. When this occurs, the editor is

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responsible for informing author and publisher of the problem, suggesting that they work out the

problem directly, and assisting them both as necessary and appropriate.

The editor keeps the author and the publisher fully informed about what the other is

doing and thinking so that when author and publisher do communicate and work together they

already have full knowledge of each other’s thoughts, positions and goals.

The Relationship Variables

Within the context of the active purpose of the book, there are four significant

relationship variables that partially determine the form and need for adjustment of the editor’s

responsibility to the author: new or continuing, when the editor is forming a relationship with a

new author, or continuing the relationship with an author he has worked with on previous books;

and pre-contractual or contractual, when the editor is working with the author before or after he

has acquired the book.

When the editor forms and builds a pre-contractual relationship with a new author, his

responsibility is to support the new author at a high level while the new author develops and

writes the best book to be acquired. However, if at any time the editor’s involvement begins to

conflict with his responsibility to his regular authors, he diminishes his involvement or stops it

entirely.

The editor maintains the relationship with the new author until the book is acquired,

when his responsibility becomes building and maintaining the finest relationship, or until the

publisher makes a final decision not to acquire the book and the editor suspends his relationship

with the new author, or perhaps supports the new author while he develops another, more

appropriate book.

If the book has already been acquired when the editor begins to form the relationship, he

has immediate and maximum responsibility to the new author.

Since the editor maintains his relationship with the continuing author at the highest level

at all times, when the continuing author is working on the best book to be acquired, the editor’s

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responsibility is simply to continue that full maintenance through acquisition. The editor

maintains his maximum support even if the new book and perhaps subsequent books are not

acquired, and only lowers the intensity of his maintenance if the continuing author finally stops

trying to write a book the publisher will find appropriate or moves to another publisher.

CHAPTER FIVE

WORKING IN HARMONY

The Forming, Building and Maintaining of the Relationship

The Forming

Before beginning the relationship, the editor fully comprehends the book and reads all of

the new author’s previous books, if there are any. The creative and psychological insights that

reading gives him into the new author’s character and talent, and possible strengths, weaknesses,

desires and needs, help him determine how best to develop the relationship.

If the writing is disciplined, elegant and intense in its emotional power, the editor

approaches the new author in one way, but if the books are warm, humorous and sprawling, the

editor makes contact with the new author in a quite different way.

The editor’s comprehensive reading also gives him the solid base of knowledge of the

new author’s work that helps him be immensely and genuinely enthusiastic about the new

author’s accomplishments and potential.

The new author does not have this same advantage of getting to know the editor’s work

directly. He may know the editor by reputation or friendship, or read books the editor has edited

but it is almost impossible for him to be able to estimate how much and exactly what the editor

has done.

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The new author then begins the relationship, perhaps with personal knowledge of the

editor from their non-book relationships, but usually with whatever professional knowledge he

gained from what he heard or read about the editor. The new author also knows that the editor

liked the book enough to acquire it, or if the book has not been acquired yet, that the editor sees

enough potential in the new author and the book that he is willing to work with the new author

developmentally and without certainty of acquisition.

As the relationship forms and develops, the editor clarifies and corrects what he knows

about the new author, or what the new author may have heard about him. It is vital to the

relationship that their perceptions and information are accurate because that minimizes

misunderstanding and the potential for later difficulty, and facilitates the strong building of the

relationship.

The editor and new author also share as much information as is appropriate about their

character, personality, talent and experience, which they may be adding to the knowledge they

already have or which may form an initial base of knowledge they then build on.

They discuss their creative and editorial approaches and commitment, their thoughts and

values concerning writing and editing generally, and their ideas about the particular book that

has brought them together. They discuss too what they perceive as their responsibilities and

goals so that their expectations of each other are appropriate.

This exchange of knowledge and extensive discussion helps them understand how to

develop the relationship and what adjustments they may have to make in their editorial and

creative approaches and goals to work together most harmoniously and productively.

The editor usually has the advantage of particular experience and knowledge in that he is

likely to have formed many more relationships with authors than the new author has with

editors. The editor makes full use of that experience and shares with the new author everything

he has learned about developing successful creative/editorial relationships.

The Building

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During the building, the editor is guided by the relationship’s primary goals. He creates

with and for the new author the most productive environment for the writing. The editor fully

supports the new author’s efforts, helps him with his motivation when necessary and reassures

him about the importance and value of his work and the editor’s belief in him and the book.

The editor also makes the relationship the finest medium for editing, by establishing the

best communication and maximizing the new author’s trust and confidence in the editor’s

thinking and willingness to consider and act on or approve the editing.

The editor pursues these goals constantly and simultaneously because they are so deeply

connected that the development of each significantly enhances and influences the other. As the

editor’s support and enthusiasm help the new author write more productively, the new author’s

willingness to involve the editor in his work and consider editorial thinking increases and he

becomes more responsive to and stimulated by the editor’s support.

As the editor learns more about how the new author is most comfortable working with

him and writing, he steadily adjusts the level of his involvement so that it stays appropriate to the

new author’s varying needs, moods, desires and creative rhythms.

If the new author prefers to work mostly alone and involve the editor only when he has a

particular creative problem or perhaps has a brief need for social contact, the editor gives the

new author the isolation he prefers while remaining ready to help or talk to the new author

whenever it is necessary.

It may be that as the new author continues to work with the editor, he finds that he writes

with greater confidence and commitment when the editor is regularly involved. The editor is

enthusiastic about and responsive to the new author’s request for more of the editor’s time, and

he is alert to the possibility that the new author may want more involvement but does not feel

comfortable asking for it, and directly offers to help the new author more.

When the editor is fortunate enough to be working with a new author who is

energetically, happily and enthusiastically involved in the relationship and is as interested as the

editor or even more interested in developing the relationship, the editor responds with at least

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equal enthusiasm and commitment and works with the new author to take the relationship to an

even higher level.

The editor may slowly realize that despite the new author’s outward confidence he is

beset with doubts and anxieties that are interfering with his writing of the book. The editor

sensitively approaches the new author about his fears, reaffirms his strong belief in him and

suggests ways of overcoming those fears. If the new author responds positively, the editor

continues or increases his support but if the new author becomes angry and defensive, the editor

changes his approach and tries again or perhaps reduces his involvement and waits for a more

appropriate time.

While maintaining his sensitivity to the author’s needs and desires, the editor increases

the new author’s motivation for involving the editor. If the new author has never worked with an

editor before, or worked with editors who provided little support and encouragement, he may not

realize how much the editor can potentially help him. The editor discusses with the new author

the advantages the relationship can provide and asks him to involve the editor briefly so that the

editor can demonstrate the extent to which the author may be able to achieve greater ease,

confidence and productivity.

Perhaps the new author was damaged by his experiences with previous editors. The

editor then concentrates on slowly rebuilding the new author’s trust and confidence until he

finally becomes willing to risk having the editor become involved in support of his writing and

in working through the emotional struggles that are so often a part of writing.

With every new author, the editor begins with whatever respect, confidence and trust the

new author may have in him because of his function and reputation, and steadily increases those

elements. He demonstrates to the new author through the strength of his commitment and the

honesty of his communication and interaction with the new author, that he can be trusted to

maintain his involvement at the highest level the new author needs. He builds the new author’s

regard for and confidence in him by showing the new author great respect, making the maximum

effort appropriate to the new author’s needs and desires, and by proving through the

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appropriateness of his responses and involvement that he fully comprehends the new author’s

talent and character.

The editor has continuing patience with the new author’s creative and psychological

weaknesses and sensitivity to his moods and fears. This is vital if the new author is going to

continue to involve the editor because through this involvement the new author exposes his

vulnerability. If the new author takes the risk of letting the editor see or know about his doubts,

struggles, anger, frustration and disappointment, he must be reinforced in his decision by the

editor’s sympathy, understanding and patience. The editor can do considerable damage to the

building relationship by reacting negatively to what he learns about or sees in the new author.

As the editor continues to work with the new author, problems may develop from

misunderstanding of personality and character, differences in styles of working, or creative and

editorial goals that are slightly or significantly in conflict. The editor resolves the problems with

the new author as quickly and diplomatically as he can, and simultaneously works with the

author to develop a consistent approach to problem-solving that allows them to deal with new

problems while they are still forming and gives them confidence about their ability to work out

with each other any difficulties that may occur in the future.

The editor uses his increasing knowledge of and insight into the new author’s

psychological and moral strengths and weaknesses to help the new author develop his strengths

further and compensate for or minimize his weaknesses. If the new author has tremendous

passion for writing but is easily frustrated and discouraged, the editor helps him use his passion

to sustain his writing effort, even during long periods when the new author cannot get the book

started properly or is unable to find a solution to a difficult narrative problem in the middle of the

book.

The new author may also have excessive confidence in his creative ability and either

thinks his work is better than it is and therefore does not do the necessary revision or sets

creative challenges for himself that are too ambitious for him to realize. As diplomatically as

possible, the editor discusses with the new author the true measure of his talent, and the

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consequent increase in commitment he should make to improving his work, or appropriate

scaling down of his challenges.

Perhaps the new author is charming and talented but too casual about his writing and too

prone to not working on the book at all. The editor enjoys but is not distracted by the new

author’s charm, and explores with him the reasons for his weak commitment and the value and

importance of his fulfilling his significant creative potential even though that requires his intense

effort.

The editor increases the new author’s joy and pleasure in their relationship. He

maximizes the ease, satisfaction and friendliness of their working together so the new author

enjoys the relationship as much for their interaction as for the benefit he derives from the editor’s

support during the writing.

While the editor is developing the relationship and supporting the new author in his

writing, he may or may not be editing the book. Sometimes the editor has the advantage of a

long period of learning about and supporting the new author and improving the relationship

before he presents the editing.

At other times, the forming and building and the editing begin simultaneously perhaps

because the editor acquired a complete manuscript by a new author he is making contact with for

the first time and there are urgent publishing reasons for the book to be edited, revised and

published quickly. In this situation, the editor accelerates as much as he can the development of

the relationship and the new author’s regard for him and responsiveness to the editing, however

partial that may be. Whatever the level and intensity of editorial activity, if any, the editor keeps

the basic relationship development continuous.

Maintenance

The relationship that the editor and new author steadily build and improve should evolve

into the mature and enduring relationship. At this level, the editor and the author are working

together with substantial knowledge and understanding, their creative and editorial approaches

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are smoothly integrated, they resolve problems quickly and effectively and the relationship’s

elements are strongly developed.

Because of the value of the mature relationship and the potential for further development,

the editor maintains everything that he and the author have achieved while simultaneously

continuing to develop the relationship so that he and the author move closer to the finest

relationship.

If the relationship never reaches the stage of maturity perhaps because the author and

editor work well together but are too different in character, personality and style of working to

achieve full harmony, or the author continues to prefer to work almost entirely by himself, the

editor maintains the relationship at the highest level of development it does reach.

The effort the editor needs to make to develop and maintain the relationship varies

considerably. The relationship with one author may have so much ease, harmony and joy that

little improvement is necessary and minimal maintenance is required. With another author, even

when the writing and editing are at their most intense and the need for the finest relationship is

greatest, the editor has to struggle heroically to keep the relationship even adequate.

During the short and long periods between books, the maintenance and building have less

urgency. If the author’s preference is to have almost no contact with the editor until he is ready

to work with the editor on the next book, the editor communicates with the author infrequently

but is responsive when the author contacts him.

However, it may also be that the author needs the editor’s support almost as much

between books as he does during the writing because the editor’s constant belief, enthusiasm and

passion are so important in keeping the author motivated and confident in his talent. Without

that support, the author might lose the courage and commitment he needs to start another book.

Once the author and editor start working together again, the editor increases

appropriately the level of maintenance and resumes his development of the relationship, building

on and perhaps rebuilding what he and the author have previously established.

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PART THREE

THE EDITING

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CHAPTER SIX

ASSISTING THE AUTHOR

The Function, Nature and Range of Editing

The Function of Editor and Author

The nature and process of editing is determined by the functions and responsibilities of

the author and the editor. The author develops, writes and completes the book and acts on and

approves the editing, and the editor assists the author in the writing by confirming what is

working well, suggests development and revision and makes appropriate changes.

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These functions and responsibilities are specific to the particular book. As they work on

that book, author and editor clearly understand who should be writing, approving and assisting,

and they act consistently and accordingly.

However, when working on a different book, if the editor has become an author and

assumed the creative function, and the author an editor, assuming the editorial function, their

responsibilities have changed along with their functions. The editor as author writes the book,

with the author as editor assisting him.

Within the context of their particular functions, the extent and value of their creative

achievement and editorial contribution is significantly determined by the depth and range of their

individual talent.

The editor may make a maximum effort but never become a superior editor, while the

author may steadily develop his creative gifts until he is able to write books of enduring critical

and popular value. It may be that the editor is actually more talented as an author, while the

competent author can edit brilliantly, and that if on a different book, they were to switch

functions, they might actually increase the value and extent of their new contribution and

achievement because of their greater ability in the new function.

Once author and editor assume their appropriate functions for work on the book, the

distinction between those functions is clearly and steadily maintained. The editor should not

make too many creative decisions himself, do too much of the writing or ignore the author’s

creative needs, and the author should not become too dependent on the editor for creative

development.

A major difference between the creative and editorial functions is that the function of the

author is independent, because he has the freedom to write the book himself without assistance

and can therefore function with and without the editor, while the function of the editor is

dependent, in that he can only be an editor if there is a book to respond to or an author with

whom to develop the book.

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Also, the author’s function represents creative potential which is gradually realized as the

author writes the book, and fully realized when the book is finished, while the editorial potential

represented by the editor’s function is realized as the editor provides the author with

confirmation, suggestions and changes, and is completely realized when the final manuscript is

ready or when the editor no longer sees any further possibilities for development, revision or

change.

The creative function becomes active when the author begins to develop and write the

book, and the editorial function becomes active when the editor starts assisting the author in

conceiving, developing or revising the book. The functions remain active until author and editor

have fully realized their creative and editorial potential for the particular book.

If the editor stops editing, temporarily or permanently, the author can complete the book

without him, but if the author stops responding to the editing, the editor may continue to compile

his thoughts and make changes to the manuscript, but until the author begins to respond again,

the editor’s continued work is only potential in its contribution to the book.

There is a balance between the author’s right to act on and approve the editing and the

extent of the editor’s final contribution to the book. By deciding how much of the editing to act

on or approve, the author determines the form and extent of the editor’s contribution and his

decision is by far the more important in its consequence, but the author can only respond to the

editing that has actually been done, so the editor’s choosing to do more or less editing influences

his final impact on the book.

Regardless of the amount of editing, the ultimate value of the editorial contribution is

determined by how much it helped the author achieve the best book. If the editor did massive

amounts of work but the author decides not to approve or act on most or all of it, the editing has

little or no ultimate value. Conversely, if the editing is minimal but the author uses or approves

all of it, the editing has some and perhaps substantial value.

The value of the contribution is in some ways independent of the fulfillment of the

editor’s function. The editor maximizes his function when he provides the author with all

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possible assistance. The editor wants that assistance to make an equally maximum contribution

to the book but even if the author accepts almost none of the editing, the editor has still fully

realized his purpose.

Creative and Editorial Integrity

It is the combined whole of the author’s particular talent, experience, moral character and

personality that comprise his creative integrity, which makes the book unique to him and

produces the book’s substance and potential. In all of his editing, the editor comprehends and

works within the context of the author’s creative integrity and maximizes its potential as

represented by the current book, and does not make suggestions or changes which are

inappropriate or damaging to book and author.

The editor working with a vastly talented but inexperienced and insecure author with

enormous novelistic ambitions proceeds differently from the way he works with a competent and

confident veteran author who is writing the next book in a series.

Because all of the editorial thoughts and changes must be acted on or approved by the

author before they become part of the book, the editing that does result in development and

revision is an integral extension and enhancement of the author’s integrity.

While working within the author’s creative integrity, the editor defines his work through

his editorial integrity, which is also comprised of talent, experience, moral character and

personality. It is through the strength of his commitment, power of personality and full

application of his particular talent and knowledge that the editor maximizes his contribution to

the author and the book. The author’s receptivity to and decisions about the editing are

influenced by his perception of the nature of the editor’s integrity.

The author may think that while the editor may be well qualified in other areas of fiction

or nonfiction, he does not fully understand the author’s current book and is not making much of

an effort to acquire the knowledge that would make him more effective. This perception makes

the author much less likely to consider and approve the editor’s suggestions and changes.

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Just as the author’s integrity is what gives the book its individuality, it is the editor’s

integrity that makes his approach and contribution to the book distinct from what another editor

would do and contribute if he were to edit the book instead.

Creative and editorial integrity are not fixed but evolutionary. As author and editor

develop their talent, acquire more experience, mature in their moral character and become richer

in their personality, their integrity grows and changes commensurately, and increases the

editorial and creative potential of their work.

The Action of Editing

There are three major editorial actions: confirmation of what is already working well in

the book or in its projected development; questions about the written material and suggestions

for revision, comments and questions on how the author proposes to finish the book, and the

editor’s own ideas about the book’s potential development; and the structural and textual

changes the editor makes himself. The particular action determines the possible need for the

author to act.

Confirmation requires no action by the author but the questions and comments may lead

to revision and development, depending on how much the author decides is appropriate and

productive, and structural and textual changes must be approved or modified by the author

before they become part of the final book.

It is because of the author’s profound creative involvement in writing the book, the

frequent lack of objectivity about his work, and the impossibility of envisioning all of the

creative possibilities, that the editor can assist the author through confirmation, suggestion and

change.

The author often finds it difficult to know with certainty how much and which parts of

the written book are working as they should, how appropriate and rich are his ideas about how

the written portion should be revised or the remainder of the book should be written, and what

additional writing or revising he should do or let the editor do.

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Combining objectivity with comprehension of author and book, the editor confirms for

the author that some or much of the book is as effective as it should be and that many or all of

his developmental and revision ideas have potential. This confirmation may be active, when the

editor praises certain portions or elements of the book and certain ideas, or implied, in that

everything the editor has not specifically requested revision of or changed himself is effective

enough at this stage of the work.

The editor also informs the author about which of his ideas and which aspects and

elements of the book are not sufficiently effective, suggesting ways in which the written book

can be further developed within what has already been written, and evolved into the remainder

of the book, and asking questions about the various parts and elements of the book that do not

seem to be quite right, are not clear, or are inconsistent with the rest of the book, as well as

questions about how the author intends to complete the book if it is not yet fully written.

If it is not necessary or possible for the author to do all of the work and the editor is

certain that he can act with almost the same creative integrity and appropriateness as the author,

he edits the manuscript line by line, rearranges and cuts small and large portions of the text, and

writes additional material though usually not extensively, and then presents his work to the

author for partial or full approval.

Editing should be continuous throughout the process of the book’s writing so that the

editor can confirm for the author that the book is moving as it should toward best book, alert him

that perhaps he is taking the book in an unproductive direction, and inform him that the new

material suggests some exciting revisions and developments for what has already been written.

The author does not have to involve the editor in his writing of the book but if he chooses

to, he then has some of the creative burden eased in that he no longer has to feel entirely

responsible for seeing all of the book’s problems and areas of potential development. He does

not have to think of and do everything because the editor is there to give him as much

appropriate help as he wants and needs.

39

The editor’s objectivity and understanding are also valuable for the author because they

provide him with a detached perspective on the book’s strengths and weaknesses that he

otherwise might be able to achieve only by spending time away from the book. The author can

then stay fully involved with the book and maintain his creative momentum, and simultaneously

get the benefit that comes with detachment, saving him important creative time that he can spend

improving the book or on future books.

The Range and Forms of Editing

The creative function encompasses the book’s entire development because it begins with

the basic creative concept and only ends when the final manuscript has been achieved.

The editorial function has the same potential range as the creative function, in that the

editor can help the author develop the book from the time of its conception and remain involved

until the book is complete. However, the actual range varies considerably. The editor may help

the author expand the concept into a partial manuscript and then not become involved again until

the whole manuscript has been written, or he may acquire the complete manuscript and help the

author achieve the final version.

The range of the editing of the particular book is determined by the stage of the book’s

development when the editor begins working with the author and by the author’s creative needs,

desires and goals.

The potential for editorial involvement is greatest at the beginning of the book’s lifespan

when it is only an idea because the editor has the opportunity to make a contribution throughout

the author’s development and writing of the book. When the book is partially or mostly written,

the editor is working with what the author has already done, and while he seeks to make the

greatest contribution to maximizing the potential of what has been written and of the remaining

unwritten portion of the book, the maximum potential contribution is less.

Within the context of the stage of the book’s development, the editor’s involvement is

influenced by how much assistance the author needs or wants from the editor. If the book has

40

only been partially written, the editor’s potential contribution is enormous, and if the author

needs and wants his help, the editor is able to contribute as much as he can. However, even if

the author’s creative need is great and he is struggling with the book, if he does not want the

editor’s assistance, there is not much the editor can do except wait for the author to finish the

book himself or reach a stage in the writing where he is ready for the editor’s thoughts.

When he is ready to begin or continue editing, the editor chooses the forms and methods

of editing most appropriate to the particular book and author. The editor may engage in major

editing, with all of his thinking being given to the author to consider and act on, or direct editing,

when he makes changes to the manuscript which the author must approve, or a combination of

both. The editor does major editing when the revisions and developments are best made by the

author, and direct editing when he can save the author time by making the changes himself.

If the editor becomes involved when the book is an unwritten concept, whether

originating with the author or contributed by the editor, he can only engage in major editing

because there is no written material for the editor to change.

Later, after part of the book has been written, the editor may directly edit the written

portion while continuing the developmental editing, helping the author envision and write much

or all of the unwritten remainder of the book, building on what has been done and is being

revised.

The editor also may find with a partial or complete manuscript, that in combination with

developmental editing or by itself, it is through strategic major and direct editing with its focus

on and analysis of the larger elements and aspects of the book and possible textual

rearrangement, that he is most effective.

Finally, he may decide that the book is fully enough developed to pursue comprehensive

major and direct editing, and consider and work on the book in all its aspects, concentrating on

every element from the most important to the smallest.

Comprehension of Book and Author

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Part of the value of the editor’s thinking and involvement is that he helps the author see

and understand aspects of himself, his talent, creative achievements, goals and the book’s

potential that he might not have seen and understood if he had been working alone. The editor

therefore comprehends everything about book and author that the author does so that he can

build on that knowledge and insight, and everything else about the book and author that will help

the author develop the book and grow creatively.

The author’s greater understanding of himself and the book which the editor helps him

achieve, increases the author’s creative efficiency because it enables him to develop, write and

improve the book in far more productive ways, thereby saving him the considerable time and

energy that would go into rewriting parts or all of the book because it was developed and written

improperly or inappropriately. That understanding also increases the author’s creative

effectiveness because what the author does finally produce is that much closer to being the best

book.

The editor comprehends the whole of the book, all of the elements and aspects of what

has been written and the entirety of its potential for development into the final manuscript.

The editor also knows as fully as possible, through reading and discussion with the

author, the author’s previous books and the nature and range of his achievement in them, his

current vision of the best book, which they continuously refine as they start and continuing

working on the book, all of his ideas for achieving that goal, and his various creative goals

specific to the book and for future books.

As his comprehension expands, the editor confirms with the author that they understand

his achievements, vision, ideas and goals in the same way, and makes any adjustments in his

conceptions and perceptions necessary to bring them fully in accord with the author’s

understanding.

By comprehending the creative goals and the book, the editor determines the extent to

which the author is reaching or can reach those goals in the portion of the book that has already

been written, and helps the author work out how to achieve what has not yet been done.

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Through his comprehension of the nature of the author’s talent and the emotional

elements of his character and personality, the editor makes the editing most appropriate to the

author emotionally, intellectually and creatively.

Using his knowledge and understanding of the author’s particular creative strengths and

weaknesses, the editor helps the author make full use of his strengths and minimize or

compensate for his weaknesses, by perhaps choosing and improving a structure for the book that

the author has used effectively in previous books, or not preparing a highly detailed outline

because of the author’s creative inability to envision the parts and elements of the book before he

writes the full manuscript, but instead concentrating on the general concept.

The editor understands the nature and flow of the author’s creative process, how the

author likes to work, what his creative rhythms are and when the author is developing

momentum and should not be disturbed and when he is going through a slow, difficult period

when editorial involvement may help him reestablish the momentum.

The editor knows whether the author works best independently or collaboratively and

how strong his commitment is to achieving the creative goals, and adjusts his involvement

accordingly.

Through his editing and in his relationship with the author, the editor communicates his

understanding of the author and the book with complete precision and accuracy. It is not enough

to understand. Unless the editor can explain to the author exactly how he sees the book’s being

revised and developed or how he thinks the creative goals should be changed, the value of the

editor’s comprehension cannot be realized.

The editor comprehends his editing as a whole and in all of its parts and aspects as fully

as he understands the author and the book, and does not communicate his editorial thinking or

show his changes to the author until he is confident that they are completely appropriate,

productive and effective. He is conscious of the potential influence on the author and book of

every suggestion, comment and actual change in the manuscript, and aware of how the editing is

43

structured, organized and presented, and understands all of the ways in which the book will

change if the author acts on all of the editorial thinking and approves all of the changes.

The editor’s comprehension is active, conscious and constant. The author’s creative

integrity is evolving as he gains in experience and grows creatively, and as he learns and

develops new ideas and approaches, he adjusts his goals and ambitions. Also, as the book

develops through the writing, editing and revising, it too keeps changing, and the editor keeps up

with all the changes in both author and book so that his comprehension and editorial responses

are current and appropriate, adjusting his understanding and approach as necessary.

The editor builds on his understanding of the author through all of their work together.

As they move on to the next book, the editor draws on everything he already knows about the

author and his previous books, incorporates it into his comprehension of the achievement of the

current book and the potential of the new book, and presents the author with editorial thinking

that is fully appropriate to the latest stage of the author’s growth and the new book’s

development.

Immersion and Detachment

In preparing for and during the editing, the editor achieves comprehension of the book

through the dual processes of immersion and detachment.

Immersion is the process of reading and rereading for the purpose of comprehensively

understanding and simultaneously remembering as many of the large and small elements and

aspects of the book as possible. It is also the process of considering the current stage of the

book’s development in the context of all the development and revision that has been done and of

the particular creative and editorial goals which guided that revision and development.

Through immersion, the editor comes to understand the book so well that he sees all the

ways in which it is and is not working, and all of the potential areas for revision and

development.

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There is a momentum and rhythm which develops during immersion. His full conscious

and subconscious knowledge and sense of the book help the editor keep moving forward in the

editing with a sure sense of the development and continuation of the book’s narrative, themes

and ideas. Each time the editor stops editing for an extended period and as a consequence loses

the subtle and extensive awareness he had of the book in all of its aspects and elements, he

reestablishes that awareness, and momentum and rhythm, by re-immersing himself in the book

and then maintains them as he continues editing.

If necessary, the editor explains to the author the value of the author’s own immersion in

the editing. That immersion helps the author fully understand all of the editorial ideas and

implications, separately and cumulatively, and see extensions and possibilities the editor may not

have imagined.

During detachment, the editor seeks to approximate through conscious effort, the

intellectual and emotional distance from and perspective on the book that is otherwise achieved

only by setting the manuscript aside and not reading or analyzing it for a long time. The

advantage of detachment to the editor and author is that the editor can quickly and efficiently

attain the same perspective as he can through a long period away from the book, thereby

minimizing the loss of important creative and editorial time.

When striving for detachment, the editor consciously sets aside his comprehensive

knowledge of the book’s creative development and the particular creative and editorial goals,

and considers the book as though he were reading and editing it for the first time. He does not

let what he already knows about the book get in the way of his seeing and understanding it in

new ways and envisioning new areas of potential development and revision. He considers the

parts as well as the whole but only in the context of his new understanding of the book which is

not intended to be comprehensive.

The editor acts on that new understanding by giving his thoughts to the author or making

the appropriate changes, and uses it to expand his comprehension when he again immerses

himself in the book.

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Whether engaged in immersion or detachment, the editor’s analysis of the book occurs on

both the conscious and subconscious levels. The editor cannot retain consciously the whole of

his comprehension of the book or all the implications of the aspects he is concentrating on. He

therefore retains in his conscious awareness as much as possible of what is relevant and

significant, and lets everything else flow into his subconscious where it enriches and informs his

editing as parts of what he subconsciously recalls return to his conscious mind.

The process of conscious retention requires constant adjustment as the editing continues,

and the editor retains and recalls all of the thoughts and ideas that continue to be important, even

as new ones keep developing in his conscious mind.

The more intense his awareness and analysis of and sensitivity to the book, the more

likely his thoughts are to flow into his subconscious where they continue to inform his thinking,

and the greater is the possibility of inspiration and intuition.

The intensity and frequency of immersion and detachment is determined by the particular

and changing needs of book and author, and by the stage of the book’s development when the

editor becomes involved.

If the author has worked alone for a lengthy period and written a considerable portion of

the manuscript which the editor has not seen, and then requests a carefully considered editorial

response, the editor immerses himself in the book and seeks to understand it completely.

However, if the author and editor have worked continuously and heavily on the complete

manuscript, and they need to know what else needs to be done, the editor may do a detached

reading of the manuscript, reading it as though for the first time and separating what was actually

achieved from what they were attempting.

The Book’s Critical and Popular Audiences

The author’s creative purpose is to write the best book of which he is capable and which

will get the best response from its intended readers. The best book then maximizes the author’s

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creative strengths and simultaneously has the maximum impact and influence on its audiences

and gives them the greatest satisfaction.

To fully conceive and develop the book that will achieve the best reading response, the

author and editor consider the nature and expectations of the particular book’s critical and

popular audiences. The book’s value and importance is determined by the extent to which it

entertains and satisfies those audiences. The combined creative and editorial goal then is to get

the best reader response immediately and for as long as possible through the years and

generations, so that the book will have immediate and enduring critical and popular success.

The final determination of the book’s significance cannot be made until there are no more

readers at all. As long as the book is read, the value of the author’s creative achievement is still

being determined and the ultimate value will be based on the range, depth and cumulative

response of all of the readers during the whole of the book’s reading lifespan.

The respective importance of the critical and popular audiences varies considerably with

each author and book, and the author and editor decide how important each audience is to the

particular book and then establish the most effective ways of reaching them in accordance with

their importance.

The critical audience is those readers who have the capacity and desire to consider the

book in all of its aspects and to judge the extent to which the author has achieved his creative

goals by measuring the book against appropriate standards. The goal of author and editor in

reaching this audience is to maximize their assessment of the book’s creative achievement and

enduring critical value.

The popular audience is the largest group of readers who will be entertained, informed

and satisfied by some or all of the book. The goal of author and editor is to expand this group of

readers as much as possible and maximize their entertainment and satisfaction.

It usually is not possible to identify or define the specific critical and popular audiences

with full precision but the author and editor make their knowledge of the audiences as accurate

and comprehensive as possible.

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Before the writing begins or early in the process, they identify the particular book’s exact

or probable audiences, comprehend and define their expectations and anticipated responses,

knowing that it is not possible to completely satisfy every reader, and then refine their concept of

best book to maximally satisfy the audiences’ expectations and generate the best response.

As the author develops and writes the book, he and the editor steadily adjust the book’s

progression and their concept of best book so that it remains appropriate to the audiences, or

perhaps change their definition of the audiences they are trying to reach because the book is

changing in very exciting ways and has become so different from the original conception that it

is no longer appropriate for one or both of its original audiences.

As the editing begins and continues, the editor is representative of the appropriate

audiences in his perception of and response to the book, describing to the author the ways in

which the book is or is not effective and satisfying for those readers, and giving the author the

opportunity to change the book and make it more appropriate while it is still possible to do so.

In the writing, the author is himself representative of the audiences he is trying to reach

but because of his creative immersion in the book, he may not be able to detach himself enough

to fully approximate the readers’ response to the book. The editor’s representative response then

expands the author’s understanding.

The editor has his own audience in the author and he makes his editing as useful,

effective, persuasive, entertaining and satisfying for the author, as he and the author make the

book effective, entertaining and satisfying for the readers.

Completion and Separation

The author’s creative purpose of having the best book reach and satisfy an audience is

realized only by his achieving the final manuscript, accepting the end of potential improvement,

and separating from the book so that it can be published and read.

Sometimes it is necessary for the editor to assist the author in reaching this point of

completion and separation. The author should not try to realize the book’s creative potential

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endlessly, however much he wants to achieve the best book. He should make the book as good

as he can but the writing and revision should not go on for so long that they become

counterproductive, steadily preventing the book from reaching its audiences.

The editor then considers the achievement of best book in the context of time. He helps

the author find the right balance, neither rushing to complete the book nor spending excessive

time on it.

The appropriate amount of time for completion of the final book varies considerably with

the particular book and the creative strengths and needs of the author, and is difficult to judge

precisely. At some point though, the editor reaches agreement with the author that they have

done as much as is reasonable and possible and should bring their work to a conclusion, not only

so that the book can go on to be read but so that they can begin work on the next book.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

The Elements of Editing

Receptivity

There are three stages in the author’s response to editing: receptivity, which is the

author’s general willingness to receive and consider the editorial thoughts and changes; the

actual consideration of all of the editing’s elements, aspects and implications for the book; and

action, which results from the author’s decision to act on or approve some or all of the editing,

and which may be balanced by no action concerning that part of the editing the author decided

not to act on or approve.

The editor maximizes the potential of each stage but begins with the author’s creative and

psychological receptivity because if the author will not receive and consider the editing, nothing

can happen. The potential editorial contribution increases with the extent of the receptivity.

In preparation for the presentation of the editing to the author, the editor through the

relationship establishes and builds on the author’s basic receptivity and his trust and confidence

in and respect for the editor. The author then anticipates that the editing, when he gets it, will

have some value for him and the book.

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The editor sustains and increases the author’s psychological and creative receptivity by

presenting the editing in the ways that are most diplomatic, motivating and comfortable for the

author, and producing editing that is most productive, stimulating and appropriate for the

development and improvement of the book.

If the author in going through the editing generally finds that it is motivating and

appropriate, he is much more likely to give the editing the profound consideration that

potentially increases the extent of his actions and approvals, but if he decides that the editing is

inappropriate and poorly done, his receptivity ends and his consideration goes no further.

The author is not always equally receptive, creatively and emotionally. The editor waits

for the periods of higher receptivity, knowing when the author must concentrate on the writing

undisturbed, when he can productively consider editorial thoughts, and when he is most likely to

be emotionally receptive to editorial involvement.

Once attained, the author’s receptivity is constantly reinforced and maintained by the

editor until the best book has been achieved. In discussing the editing with the author, giving

him additional thoughts, considering his responses, decisions and changes, the editor responds in

the ways appropriate to the author’s evolving vision of best book, and motivating for the author.

The editor in turn is motivated by the receptivity of the author. The more the author is

willing to receive and consider, the more the editor gives all of his editorial ideas, comments,

suggestions and changes.

Maximum receptivity increases the author’s creative growth and potential, and his

comprehension of the book, because as he considers and responds to the continuing editing, his

understanding is steadily expanded by the editorial thought, even if he chooses not to act on or

approve it.

Creative Momentum and Rhythms

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The editor assists the author in establishing and maintaining creative momentum when he

is writing the book because it helps the author maximize his productivity, and makes the writing

easier than if he has to keep starting over.

The momentum may need to be established when the author begins to write the book or

perhaps later, after a lengthy period away from it. Also, he may have lost his momentum in

laboring with the book’s problems until he is making no progress at all. At these times, the

editor helps the author plan how the next portion of the book should be written, discusses at

length the written and remaining portions of the book, and provides some creative solutions for

the book’s problems.

In building and maintaining momentum, timing is important. The editor offers his

editorial thoughts only when they contribute to the author’s creative progress by stimulating his

imagination, reinforcing his decisions, or clarifying certain problems. The editor’s trying to get

involved with the book at the wrong time damages the concentration and flow the author has

worked hard to achieve.

The editor is sensitive to the author’s creative and psychological rhythms, those changes

in the pace and nature of the writing that let the editor know when the book is going well and

when the author is struggling. Depending on what is appropriate for the author, the editor may

get editorially involved when the book is progressing smoothly because that is when the author

may benefit most from the editorial thoughts, and stay away when the author is struggling until

the author is ready for the editorial involvement, or he may join the author in the struggle, and

step back when the writing again is easy.

The editor may also edit lightly, saving the more extensive editing for later, or give the

author all of the comprehensive editing at one time because the author is ready for it.

Sufficient Editing

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As the book moves toward becoming the best book, the editor at every stage in the

book’s development has full comprehension of book and author and is ready, if necessary or if

asked, to do the maximum editing required to help the author achieve that best book.

However, the actual extent of the editing, how much is sufficient, is determined by the

author’s needs, desires and receptivity, strengths and weaknesses, and ranges from minimal to

encompassing.

The amount of editing that the author considers sufficient is often independent of the

editor’s potential contribution. If the book needs considerable editing but the author is willing to

consider only a few editorial thoughts, the editor offers appropriately restrained thinking. The

author may also fully welcome the editor’s involvement but be writing the book so well that

there is not much the editor can contribute.

The editor engages in minimal editing if the author is resistant to editorial comments,

suggestions and changes, or if he needs only the basic ideas to comprehend exactly what the

editor has in mind and how the book should be developed and revised. The editor also

sometimes does minimal editing at least initially when he feels that it is important for the

author’s creative growth and increasing independence from the editor to identify and work out

some of the book’s problems on his own.

The editor may offer encompassing editing when the author’s need for assistance is so

great that the editor is compelled to give all of the editorial thought of which he is capable, or

when the author’s receptivity is so profound that he welcomes all of the editor’s comments

however minor because they may directly benefit his writing, and stimulate his growth and

understanding in general ways that may indirectly benefit the book and his work on future

books.

As necessary, the editor continually builds the author’s receptivity so that the author’s

perception of how much editing is sufficient is determined solely by the editor’s potential

contribution to the book.

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Clarity, Economy, Precision and Consistency

The editor understands his one-person audience, the author, so completely that he knows

exactly how to communicate with him, and makes his editorial thought so clear, logical,

economical and persuasive that the author easily and immediately comprehends, intellectually

and intuitively, what the editor is expressing. This comprehension increases the author’s

willingness to ponder and accept the editor’s thoughts.

The editor is precise in his thinking and communication to avoid any misunderstanding

or misinterpretation by the author that may lead to a waste of creative time because the author

went in the wrong direction, or to partial or complete rejection of the editorial thought.

The editor emphasizes consistency of thought, organization and approach throughout his

editing so that the author’s understanding does not have to keep shifting with his reading and

analysis of each note, suggestion and change, and all of the comments and questions are

appropriate to each other and to the book and author.

The Stimulation of Creativity

The editor communicates all of the book’s major and minor problems, weaknesses, and

areas of potential development through commentary and questions that in their entirety and

individually are so clear and stimulating that revisions and developments come easily to the

author. If possible, the editor simultaneously suggests changes and developments that the author

can act on or that inspire his own ideas.

In deciding whether to only ask questions and describe the problems, or propose

directions and solutions, the editor considers which approach is most stimulating for the author

and appropriate for the particular aspect of the book.

Through catalytic illumination and suggestion, the editor facilitates the writing by

making revision and development easier and more productive for the author, and by extending

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the period during which the author develops and writes the book independently. Also, the more

the editor makes the editing stimulating for the author, the more likely he is to stimulate his own

thinking and imagination.

As the author responds to the editing, the editor identifies and analyzes which approaches

and ideas were as illuminating for and stimulating to the author as they should have been, and he

continues with what worked and revises or eliminates what did not.

It is often useful and productive for the editor to give the author ideas and suggestions

that are not directly related to the book because the regular stimulation of the author’s

imagination and creativity has unexpected benefits for the current book and future books.

The editor may suggest that the author consider the core psychological issue in the book

from an unusual perspective, not because he should add that perspective to the book but because

analyzing the issue from that angle may give him a greater insight into it, and that increased

understanding may become important and useful then or later.

Sometimes the author changes from responsive to active, stimulates the editor’s

imagination with a provocative question or intriguing idea, and uses and builds on the editor’s

response. The process of creative stimulation may also become synergistic, with the author and

editor each getting excited about the other’s ideas and proposing developments of those ideas

and new ideas, which in turn stimulate the other’s thinking.

The consequences of creative stimulation, which is influenced by the richness and

appropriateness of the editorial thought and the talent and experience of the author, may be

immediate, if the author almost instantly sees new ways to develop and revise the book, or

delayed, if he needs time to think through the implications and potential of the comments and

suggestions. If the consequences are delayed, the editor is aware of them when they do occur,

and judges their impact and effectiveness.

Editorial Creativity

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Only the author is capable of the highest form of creativity, because only he can create

independently and entirely, and begin, write and complete the book. However, the editor is

capable through his editing of editorial creativity, a much more modest form which occurs within

the context of the book and the author’s creative integrity, and which the author approves or acts

on.

In contributing major structural or developmental ideas to the author, suggesting

significant revisions, completely reorganizing the manuscript, writing small portions of the book,

or in other ways directly expanding the book’s creative potential, the editor is being modestly

creative.

Without assuming the author’s function, the editor maximizes his creative contribution to

the book and the full creative potential of his editorial function.

Challenge and Risk

The editor encourages the author to set his particular and lifetime creative goals as high

as possible and to make his challenges as great as he can, and then constantly supports him in his

efforts to achieve those goals and meet those challenges. Only in this way can the author keep

extending the range and depth of his achievement, maximize his growth, and fully realize his

potential.

While the range of challenge should be as broad and demanding as possible, it occurs in

the context of the author’s creative integrity and the particular best book, and the editor suggests

and helps the author determine which challenges are currently appropriate for the author and

most likely to enhance his growth and advance the book.

In determining what is appropriate, the editor keeps evolving his vision of the author’s

creative potential, and sees new challenges for the author, higher, newly appropriate goals, and

fresh creative areas to move into.

The goal in challenge is for the author to do what he assumes he can do, and especially to

try what he is not certain he can achieve, and through the exploration of his creative limits and

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discovery of unexpected creative strengths, to increase his knowledge of his particular talent and

the book’s potential and limitations.

Their increased understanding, derived from the author’s achievements and failures,

helps author and editor set and adjust future challenges, making them more appropriate,

stimulating and rewarding.

The editor works with the author to determine the nature and extent of the risk involved,

the value of the potential achievement, and the damage that may be caused by failure. In setting

goals or taking on challenges, the author should be prepared for the psychological and creative

consequences of failing, whether a major loss of creative self-confidence or his significant and

unproductive development and revision of the book.

Once they have completed their assessment, author and editor balance the potential risk

against the potential reward, and if the author is prepared for the consequences of failure or only

partial success, the reward is great enough and the risk reasonable and appropriate, he takes the

risk and responds to the challenge.

The more ambitious the goal and the greater the challenge, the higher is the degree of risk

because the author is moving further away from what he has done successfully before and

therefore is less certain about the creative outcome. However, the greater the challenge, the

greater the potential achievement, which may justify the risk.

Timing is an important element in the consideration of risk and challenge. The editor and

author discuss and agree on not only what is the most appropriate and rewarding challenge but

when it is best to take it because at different times it may have different rewards and risks. It is

much less risky but also potentially less rewarding to proceed with a complete structuring of the

book while it is still in conceptual or outline form, than to do so when the book is a complete

manuscript.

In terms of achieving the best response from the critical and popular audiences, there is

inherent risk in the writing of the book because of the difficulty of defining and then satisfying

the readers’ expectations and desires. That risk increases with the degree of originality and

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difference from the author’s previous books, if any, and successful similar books. If the book is

so different from what has previously satisfied the audiences that they may or probably will

reject it, partially or completely, the author and editor should be confident that there will be other

new readers who will respond well to the book, or they risk having no audience at all.

The greater the difference and originality, the more completely the editor is

representative of the potential new audiences, through his response helping the author minimize

the risk by developing the book appropriately.

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE BEST WRITING AND EDITING

The Creative and Editorial Responsibilities and Goals

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The Creative and Editorial Responsibilities

When working pre-contractually with a new author because of the potential value to the

publisher of new author and book, the editor has an informal responsibility to help the new

author develop and write the book until there is enough material for the acquisition decision to

be made, and to explain the publisher’s interests and needs as the editor and new author define

and develop the best book to be acquired. Throughout this process the editor gives priority to the

editorial needs of his regular authors.

The new author’s informal responsibility is to justify the editor’s effort by making a

strong commitment to achieving their goal.

When the editor is assisting the continuing author in the development and writing of the

best book to be acquired, his responsibility is to give the continuing author the same maximum

editorial assistance he gave during their work on previous books because the acquisition of the

new book advances the best interests of the continuing author and the publisher and potentially

increases the importance and critical and popular value of the previous books.

The continuing author’s almost formal responsibility to publisher and editor is to make a

very significant effort to work with the editor and develop the best material.

If the publisher decides not to acquire the new author’s book, the editor and the new

author may conclude their work. However, if the new author’s potential value to the publisher is

great enough, the editor helps the author attempt once more or perhaps repeatedly to develop the

right book for the publisher.

If the continuing author’s next book is not acquired, the editor maximally helps him

develop more books, as long as the continuing author is willing to make the requisite effort, until

a book is finally acquired.

Once the editor is able to acquire the new author’s book, his responsibility formally

becomes giving the new author maximum assistance in achieving the best book. When the

editor acquires the continuing author’s next book, he maintains the level of full assistance.

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Whether the author is new or continuing, if the book is already under contract when the

editor starts working, the editor’s responsibility from the beginning is to provide maximum

assistance.

After acquisition, the new or continuing author becomes contractually responsible for

writing and completing the mutually defined best book. The author has the final creative

responsibility for the book and the right of final creative decision, up to the point of conflict with

his contractual obligations or the publisher’s best interests.

The author’s responsibility for writing the best book extends from concept to final

manuscript and requires maximum creative effort. As part of this responsibility, the author is

required to give the editing the fullest consideration because of its potential for improving the

book, but to approve or act on only those editorial suggestions and changes that he is certain or

confident will improve the book. Because of the author’s final creative responsibility, he is

responsible for all of the editing that becomes part of or influences the book.

In providing maximum assistance, the editor is responsible for analyzing and being aware

of every aspect and element of the book, and having comprehensive knowledge of the author’s

previous books, particular and lifetime creative goals, and creative integrity.

The editor makes sure that all of the editing is appropriate to achieving the best book, and

creatively and emotionally appropriate for the author, and that none of the editing that the author

approves or acts on damages the book, author or publisher. The editor is solely responsible for

the quality of the editing because usually there is no one to help him make it better.

While the editor cannot be responsible for all of the weaknesses in the final book, if he

saw them and the author did not and he did not deal with them editorially from laziness or

timidity, he and not the author bears the blame for those flaws.

The editor is responsible for maximizing the author’s receptivity to the editing, making

the editorial thinking as clear, precise, and persuasive as possible, and helping the author

maximize his creative growth during the writing of the book.

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The editor does not compromise his pursuit of the best interests of the author and the

publisher through the development, writing, completion and editing of the book.

If the relationship with the author is joyous but the author is writing lazily and badly, the

editor works to get the author back to writing the best book, is not overly influenced by the

pleasure of the relationship, and if necessary, informs the publisher that the author is failing in

his contractual obligation.

If the book is particularly difficult to edit and the author is almost impossible to work

with but is fulfilling all of his obligations, the editor still makes the same maximum editorial

effort.

The editor is fully aware of any creative development or decision that significantly

deviates from the agreed on best book or is otherwise in conflict with the author’s obligations or

the publisher’s interests. He attempts to work out the conflict or potential conflict with the

author through discussion, editing and revision, and then if necessary involves the publisher.

The editor and author consider and discuss challenge and risk in terms of the author’s

contractual obligations. The risk should not be so great that it potentially damages the

publisher’s best interests, but up to that point, the decision to take the risk is solely the author’s,

and once the decision is made, the author has the editor’s full support.

While the author is the primary audience for the editing, there are the secondary

audiences of publisher and agent. The editor shares the editing with the publisher and agent

because it is important to keep them informed about what the editor is doing and how he is

suggesting to the author that the book be developed. This provides agent and publisher with the

opportunity to get involved with book, author and editor, if they feel that the developing book is

moving away from what they think the best book should be, or if they have an editorial

contribution to make.

Once the best book has been achieved or simultaneously with its writing, assuming it is

in the best interests of author and publisher, the editor is required to work developmentally with

the author to help him write the next book which the editor can acquire and publish.

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The Lifetime Goals of Editor and Author

The ultimate lifetime goal is the finest creative and editorial bodies of work, with

enduring popular and critical significance. The author accomplishes his creative goal through

the cumulative achievement, quality and reader satisfaction of the books he has written. The

editor achieves his editorial goal, indirectly through the combined influence and value of all of

the books he has edited, and directly through the extent to which he has helped each of his

authors achieve the particular best books and expand and build on their bodies of work.

In achieving the finest editorial body of work, the editor makes the maximum editorial

contribution to each book, increases the potential maximum with each successive book, and

expands the range and quality of that body of work as much as possible, by challenging himself

to work effectively in new areas of fiction, nonfiction or poetry, attempting to productively assist

the authors of the greatest critical and popular acclaim and talent, and editing demanding and

difficult books that present problems and challenges he has not encountered before.

The editor increases the size and substance of his body of work through the highest

productivity, working on as many good and great books as he effectively can over the years. The

more books there are in the editorial body of work, the more substantial his contribution to each

one, and the greater their critical and popular value, the more significant is the editor’s lifetime

achievement.

He pursues all editorial opportunities by constantly finding new books and authors,

suggesting book ideas to his authors and if necessary finding new authors for those ideas, and

maximizing the potential for acquisition by working hard with every author in conceiving and

developing their next book.

Another lifetime goal of author and editor is creative and editorial growth. The editor

constantly develops his editorial ability, his understanding of the creative and editorial processes,

and his comprehension of the nature of the author’s talent, and the author’s goals for the book

and future books.

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The editor helps the author grow creatively, by expanding his understanding of each

book’s possibilities and of the nature and potential of his talent, and through regular and

appropriate challenge and risk. The editor also helps the author become increasingly

independent creatively, ever more aware of his own creative process and of what the editor can

contribute, and more able to edit himself.

The pursuit of editorial and creative growth is unending. The author and editor should

make each book and editorial effort better than the last, and keep redefining and expanding their

vision of what their lifetime bodies of work should be, as they increase the possibilities of

achievement through their growing understanding and the development of their creative and

editorial talent.

The Particular Goals of Editing

The most important editorial goal is helping the author achieve the best book, as

generally defined by author and publisher. Within that broad contractual context, the editor

builds on his full comprehension of author and book and helps the author specifically define the

particular best book in accordance with the book’s creative potential and the author’s talent,

achievements in previous books, and creative goals.

The editor then does maximum editing which is fully appropriate to the particular book

and author and guided by the goal of best book and the author’s needs and desires.

The author and editor steadily develop and refine their concept of best book as their work

continues, their comprehension of the book and each other grows, and the written portion of the

book becomes more complete, thereby making the creative possibilities more apparent.

The editor makes his editing of the book even more comprehensive and effective than

was his work on the previous book he edited, whether by the author or another author, and

applies everything he has learned in his editing of previous books by the author and by all his

other authors.

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The editor makes the author so receptive and the editing so stimulating and valuable that

the author gives all of the editing significant consideration, even if he does not act on or approve

all of it.

The editor considers the psychological impact of the editing on the author and adjusts his

thoughts and presentation of those thoughts so that they are most motivating, supportive and

comfortable for the author.

The whole of the editing has an internal consistency of thought, goals, and

appropriateness. The editor analyzes, revises and considers all of his editorial thinking, in its

parts and overall, to achieve and confirm that consistency because it is confusing and frustrating

for the author to act on or approve certain editing only to find later that it contradicts what the

editor has requested or done in another place in the book.

During the editing, the editor envisions and imagines all the ways in which the book can

be developed and revised because if the author has not imagined or cannot imagine more, then it

is only the editor who is able to expand the book’s potential for improvement.

The editor works with the author to get the book to the point of development where its

form, nature and direction are inevitable, and the final form of the best book is clearly in view.

The editor makes his ideas, suggestions and changes as clear, appropriate and creatively

stimulating for the author as possible so that the author understands precisely the editor’s

thinking, sees how the editorial changes and thoughts have improved or can improve the book,

and is inspired with many of his own ideas for development and revision.

The editing illuminates for the author the strengths and weaknesses of the book and

increases the author’s understanding of his talent and his particular creative process. The editor

helps the author become more consciously aware of what he has been doing instinctively and

intuitively so that he can with full awareness adjust or improve his ways of writing.

The editor also helps the author achieve such substantial creative growth that as he

continues to write the book and prepares for work on the next book, he has increasingly less

need of editorial assistance and response. However, the editor keeps suggesting new challenges

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and developments to the author, and as the author attempts what he has not done before, he may

again need the editor’s extensive involvement.

The author and editor should make the creative and editorial processes as collaborative as

possible, and get the maximum benefit from the blending of their different perspectives of the

book’s strengths and weaknesses and potential for development and revision, and from the

reinforcement that derives from all their areas of agreement about how the book is already

working well and where it needs considerable rewriting and editing.

The editor has the fullest possible comprehension of the nature and possibly changing

expectations of the critical and popular audiences for the particular book, and helps the author

most effectively define, develop and complete the book that will get the best reading response.

If author and editor anticipate change in the audiences’ needs and tastes during the

writing, they adjust their concept and development of best book so that the book will still fully

satisfy its readers when it is published.

The editor helps the author increase the book’s creative richness and durability, which

makes the book newly rewarding each time it is read, and motivates the reader to keep returning

to the book.

The editor assists the author in writing the book that is going to reach and maximally

satisfy the largest popular and critical audiences, immediately and over the years, and that will

have the longest reading lifetime because of the enduring way it entertains, influences, stimulates

and satisfies the readers, generation after generation.

The importance of the critical and popular audiences varies with the particular author and

book, and the editor helps the author define the best book in the way that will get the best

response from both audiences but especially the most important one for the particular book. The

success and value of the particular book may be judged by the extent to which it reaches and

satisfies its primary audience.

The editor assists the author in achieving the best book within the contractually allotted

amount of time, to satisfy his contractual obligations and realize his ultimate purpose of having

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the book read. Timely completion also makes it possible for the author to start work sooner on

his next book.

CHAPTER NINE

MAXIMUM EFFECTIVENESS

The Forms, Methods and Consequences of Editing

Major and Direct Editing

Editing has two basic forms: major editing, when the editor changes and contributes to

the book through the author, and which the author can act on; and direct editing, when the editor

works on the book directly, and which the author can approve. Both forms are done in the

context of and are guided by the author’s creative integrity.

Major editing requests change and direct editing produces it but each form represents

only potential contribution to the book. The author alone decides the amount of the actual

editorial contribution by either making or approving changes.

Both forms of editing can be very complex, with the editor working at the limits of his

talent. In major editing, it is his ability to see all the ways in which the book can be developed

and improved by the author, and in direct editing, his ability to do himself all the revisions and

development that he can envision and that are appropriate for him to do.

Major and direct editing often occur simultaneously, with the editor responding to the

whole and the parts of the book. The editor may make a lot of small revisions in the text and

accompany them with a lengthy commentary about how the author might restructure the book.

Direct and major editing can be engaged in until the best book has been achieved but

because of the difference in their nature, major editing can begin earlier than direct editing.

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Major editing only requires the author’s involvement, so it can start with the basic book

idea, which the author and editor develop in the abstract through discussion until the author is

ready to start writing, whether a brief description or a partial manuscript.

Direct editing however requires the actual written book, no matter how brief the written

portion is, for the editor to be able to make changes to it.

Major and direct editing both involve confirmation of what is working well in the book,

which may be as explicit as praise, or as indirect as implication, that everything that has not been

changed or had revisions suggested for it, is fine the way it is.

Because major editing occurs independently of the book and only the author makes the

changes, it is the form of editing that takes in most fully the author’s creative integrity and

produces the most appropriate revision and development.

Though direct editing is usually not as maximally appropriate as major editing, the editor

makes every change, whether significant or minor, have the same creative appropriateness as if

the author had made it himself.

One of the advantages to the author of direct editing is creative efficiency. The more

precise, enhancing and appropriate are the changes the editor makes, the more the author’s

creative time and energy can be spent on writing and developing all the other parts and elements

of the book.

To maintain and heighten the book’s development within the author’s creative integrity,

the editor asks the author to make any significant changes rather than trying to make them

himself.

However, if the author is unable to make those changes, perhaps because he has worked

on the book for so long that he has lost perspective, but is ready to approve the editor’s work, or

feels that the editor may understand the potential revisions and development even better than he

does, the editor does as much direct editing as is appropriate and possible to bring the book

closer to best book, whether that means entirely restructuring the book, adding material, or

making major cuts throughout.

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The editor does not though, especially in direct editing, exceed his editorial function and

move into the author’s creative function by trying to make such a huge editorial contribution that

he begins to function as the author. Instead, the editor in direct editing makes the maximum

contribution within the limits of his editorial function, and after that, whatever the author cannot

do or the editor cannot appropriately do, the editor accepts. The best book after all is defined as

the best the author is capable of writing, with the editor’s assistance, not the best book the author

and editor can write together.

In major editing, the editor presents to the author all of his editorial thinking about the

book, requesting that the author consider the editing and then make the revisions and

developmental changes that the author considers appropriate to his creative goals for the book.

Often the result is that the author must engage in the arduous creative labor of extensive

development and revision. It is this need for creative action which makes major editing so much

more demanding for the author than direct editing where he simply approves or disapproves.

From the time he begins to edit until his work is complete, the editor is constantly

deciding whether major editing or direct editing, solely, in sequence or simultaneously, is most

productive.

In those cases where the revisions or developments are clearly or probably beyond the

editor’s ability to revise or write at a level high enough to be appropriate to the author’s creative

integrity and the goals for the book, he asks the author to do the work.

When the revisions or additions are more minor and the editor is potentially capable of

making them, he then decides whether he can make these small changes as easily and well as the

author, and by doing so save him some creative time and effort, or whether the author could do

the work slightly or significantly better.

The editor also considers which is better for the author’s creative growth. If the author

can learn from making even small changes himself then he should but if they are more routine,

the editor saves him the trouble.

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If the editor is not sure whether major or direct editing is better or more appropriate for

any part or element of the book, he asks the author to make the change, because that minimizes

the potential for damage to the book, or offense to the author because of perceived editorial

arrogance in doing too much himself.

Developmental, Strategic and Comprehensive Editing

There are various approaches to and methods of editing which occur within the forms of

major or direct editing, or which combine them. During the course of editing the book, the

editor may use these approaches only once or regularly, simultaneously or progressively, in

accordance with the specific creative goals and frequently changing needs of the author.

The editor’s choice of methods is also influenced and determined by the two basic stages

of the book’s creative progression, which are developing, which ranges from the book’s being an

unwritten idea to an almost finished manuscript, and complete, when the entire manuscript has

been written but is not in the final form of best book.

While the book is still developing, the editor can use all appropriate editorial methods

which include developmental, which concentrates on the unwritten portion; strategic, which

focuses on the larger elements; and comprehensive, which considers all aspects; but after the

manuscript is complete, developmental editing is no longer possible, and the editor proceeds

with strategic and comprehensive.

The goal of developmental editing is to help the author conceive the book if necessary,

build on the book’s concept and on any written portion, and envision the most productive and

effective ways in which the remaining part of the book can be developed and completed, and its

creative potential maximally realized. This process continues until the book is in its complete

but not final form.

Developmental editing is major editing because the editor is working through the author.

Even if the editor writes or revises the concept, or the outline for all or parts of the book, his

work is merely a guide for the book. Only the author can write the actual manuscript.

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The editor can engage in developmental editing at any time in the creative process up to

completion of the manuscript. If he begins to work with the author when the book is half or

mostly written, he helps the author take the book the rest of the way. If the author needs a book

idea, the editor gives him one, or they conceive the book collaboratively.

Because the editor can function as an author, creative and independent, in conceiving the

book, he is not entirely dependent on the author for initiating the creative process. However,

unless he continues with the concept as an author and writes the book himself, he must find a

receptive author to give the idea to, and then function again as an editor, helping the author

develop, write and compete the book.

When the editor is proposing an idea to an author he is working with or looking for an

author who might be interested in the editor’s book concept, he makes the idea as appropriate to

his author as he can, finds the particular author who would best be able to realize the concept’s

potential, or revises the concept to fit the talent and experience of the author he does find.

Developmental editing often occurs when the author is beginning the book because there

are so many possibilities for development, and the final form of the book can be so hard to

envision. In this early stage, the editor’s ideas and perceptions are very clarifying and beneficial.

It is also at this stage that the editor builds as much as possible on the author’s previous books

because they provide such a solid foundation for the new, barely conceived book.

Even when the editor works with the author developmentally, the extent of the editing

may vary significantly through the course of writing the book. The editorial involvement ranges

from helping the author with the initial idea and then simply being supportive until the complete

manuscript is delivered, to working with the author continuously until the manuscript is finished,

to only helping the author figure out the book’s conclusion.

During developmental editing, the editor does more than simply respond to the author’s

ideas and the written material. He contributes as many suggestions and ideas of his own as

possible that the author can add to his own thoughts, and their potential for stimulating the

author’s imagination and creativity may lead him to produce even more of his own ideas.

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The editor maintains the proper balance between stimulating the author with his thinking

and overwhelming him with an excess of ideas, even if all of them seem appropriate and

potentially enriching.

The editor at each stage of the developmental process gives the author enough assistance

and stimulation to enable him to write the next portion of the book, and when that is complete,

the author decides whether he needs to involve the editor again, or whether he envisions the next

part of the book sufficiently well to be able to write it alone.

The goal of strategic editing is to isolate and focus on the larger aspects and elements of

the written portion of the book, including the structure, overall plot, presentation of information,

basic development of the book’s themes and ideas, and general pace.

The benefit to the author is that with the editor’s help, he can identify and eliminate any

major problems that may exist in the partial or complete manuscript before he goes on to write

the next portion of the book, or begins to make all the smaller revisions.

Strategic editing can occur at any stage in the book’s development from written concept

to complete manuscript. There is often strategic editing in the early stages of the book’s

conceptual development because author and editor are focusing on the basic elements of the

book, working to get them arranged and established so that they can build on them to achieve the

next portion of the book.

If they find it productive and useful, the editor continues to help the author make the

necessary major revisions in each portion of the book, before he goes on to the next portion, until

he has written the complete manuscript.

Strategic editing is usually major editing because the author must make the significant

revisions that are necessary but sometimes it becomes direct editing because the editor is able to

make the changes, perhaps by rearranging the chapters so that the book has a new structure, or

by cutting numerous large sections to improve the book’s pace and focus.

The editor may engage in strategic editing when he perceives that major problems are

beginning to occur in the book that will damage the book’s continuing development by perhaps

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taking it in wrong directions, and weaken the strength of the written portion as a foundation for

the remainder of the book. The resulting major revisions make the foundation more solid and

the direction of the rest of the book more effective and inevitable.

The editor may also do strategic editing when so much revision needs to be done in the

partial or complete manuscript that it is easier and more productive to separate the work on the

larger elements and aspects from the more finely focused work on the smaller parts of the book,

and make the major revisions first.

Strategic editing is often done at the request of the author who has a deeper and more

precise perception of the major problems he encountered in the writing and which he sees in the

manuscript.

Strategic editing is also useful for the author as he continues to write the book in that the

editor may confirm that the book is basically working well and the author does not need to stop

to make revisions but can wait until he has completed the next major portion or the whole

manuscript.

If possible, before the book is complete, the editor engages in strategic and

developmental editing at the same time, working with the author to improve the portion of the

book that has already been written, and refine their vision of how the rest of the book should be

developed.

Comprehensive editing is the complete understanding and analysis of every element and

aspect of the developing and complete book. The editor considers every part of the book

independently and then in coordination with and in the context of all of the other elements of the

book, so that he can confirm that the parts and elements are working as they should, and suggest

or make changes when they are not.

The nature of comprehensive editing combines major and direct editing because the

editor uses every effective approach, whether that requires the author to change the book, the

editor to make the changes himself, or the author and editor to do the work together.

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If appropriate, the editor considers the book’s creative history and its previous forms and

revisions so that he can contribute to the comprehensive editing any ideas or insights which he

might derive from that history or which might be effective in the book’s current stage of

development even if they were not earlier.

Because it encompasses all of the potential areas of revision and development,

comprehensive editing has the same goals as developmental and strategic editing, up to the point

of complete manuscript when only strategic and comprehensive editing are possible, and has the

additional goal of analyzing and understanding all of the remaining smaller parts of the book

which are not dealt with by the strategic and developmental methods.

Comprehensive editing is the most exhaustive editorial method and can occur at every

stage of the book’s development from unwritten concept to completed manuscript. It is intended

to produce comprehensive revision and development of the concept or written material, even

though it may be necessary later in the book’s progression for editor and author to again engage

in comprehensive editing, revision and development.

The editor may do comprehensive editing of the first half of the manuscript and the

outline for the remainder of the book, suggesting all possible changes for the written and

unwritten portions and directly editing the manuscript. When the author has finished revising

the manuscript and the outline, and has written the next portion of the book based on the newly

revised outline, the editor may then comprehensively edit the revised manuscript and outline and

the new material, asking the author to do further revisions, and continuing this process as long as

the author finds it helpful.

Comprehensive editing is often not necessary until the book has been fully written. The

author may not need to know while he is writing the book about all the small revisions he will

need to make at some point, and it may not be productive for the editor to edit and the author to

revise the minor elements of the book while the book is still being developed and written

because it is possible that as the book progresses and by the time it is complete, many of those

minor elements will have changed, making the editorial comments irrelevant.

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The editor however engages in comprehensive editing whenever it is vital or potentially

useful for the author, at any stage in the book’s progression, to be aware of every area of the

book, no matter how insignificant, that the editor thinks should be revised or developed.

The Expression of Editing

The expression of editorial thought, in writing or conversationally, occurs as part of

major editing, when the editor communicates all of his thinking to the author, or in support of

direct editing when the editor explains why he has changed the book in the ways he has.

The particular form of the expression is chosen by the editor, requested by the author, or

determined by the specific creative and editorial circumstances. The editor usually engages in

both written and conversational editing through the course of his work on the book, sometimes

alternating between them as the nature of the editing changes and at other times using them in

conjunction.

The editor may send the author the written editing and then discuss the editing and other

ideas he may have before the author begins to revise. The editor may also use written editing as

a way to follow up on their editorial discussions.

Especially when writing but when talking also, the editor considers the entire structure

and presentation of the editorial thought as well as all of its parts and elements so that he can

develop and arrange the thoughts into the most effective, consistent and comprehensive whole,

and present them with the greatest clarity.

The editor engages in written editing when it is necessary to give the author more

extensive and detailed thinking than can be effectively or comfortably presented in a

conversation or meeting, it is more efficient and convenient to put the thoughts in writing, and it

is not critical that the author respond immediately to each suggestion or comment.

The editor also writes out his thoughts when it is important for him to have the time he

needs to evolve his thinking in solitude, and analyze deeply the portion or whole of the book he

is working on.

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Part of the value of written editing to the author is that he can read and reread the editor’s

thoughts until he understands all the implications and aspects, and he can go back to them as

necessary as he continues writing. Often through his study of the editing and extension of the

thoughts, the author can come to conclusions about or have insights into the book that go far

beyond what the editor had envisioned about the potential developments and revisions.

The structure of written editing ranges from a short series of brief questions and notes to

lengthy, highly analytical commentaries which almost become essays to a variety of

combinations of both.

The written expression of editorial thinking has considerable structural, thematic, stylistic

and emotional potential, and the editor maximizes that potential with each presentation of his

thoughts. Also, it is often through the writing that the editor gives some of the fullest expression

of his personality, talent, imagination and intelligence.

The editor can be creative in the arrangement of his thoughts, witty and ironic in some of

his comments, elegant in his writing style, and passionate in his belief in the book’s importance.

He can deeply explore the book’s themes and issues because of his interest in them and not only

because he sees the possibility of improvement, and be highly imaginative in his extended

developmental suggestions.

Through the quality and style of his writing, the editor increases the persuasiveness of his

thinking and the author’s enjoyment of it, thereby strengthening the author’s receptivity and

motivation, and his own pleasure and satisfaction in the work.

As the editor writes his thoughts, he considers their form and substance fluid, revising,

rearranging and further developing them as he continues to work on the book, in accordance

with his increasing understanding of the book and the creative and editorial goals. The editor

does not consider the editing final or give it to the author until he is certain that it is most

appropriate for author and book and achieves his editorial goals.

The editor varies the rhythm and structure of the writing, perhaps by alternating the

longer commentaries with brief questions or humorous remarks. Also, he keeps the author

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motivated, especially if the editing is extensive, by regularly offering encouragement,

appreciation and support.

Because copies of the written editing are usually given to the publisher and the agent, the

editor makes that editing maximally effective in representing to them the editorial thoughts and

goals and the editor’s commitment to and skill at their expression.

The verbal or conversational expression of editing is inherently less formal and

structured than the written but the editor uses many of the same approaches, keeping his thinking

clear, persuasive, varied, motivating and entertaining.

The editor engages in conversational editing when it is the most efficient and effective

way to communicate his thoughts, his questions and concerns are few enough that they can be

dealt with in a discussion or short series of discussions, it is important to strengthen the

relationship through this direct interaction, and it is vital that author and editor discuss certain

problems and work directly together to develop concepts or decide on the direction for the

remainder of the book.

Conversational editing has the advantage of immediate response. The author and editor

can ask each other questions, make responsive suggestions, work out solutions for various

problems, ask for clarification, quickly correct misperceptions, and eliminate inappropriate or

unproductive ideas.

Conversational editing also creates the opportunity for author and editor to have a

catalytic effect on each other. Editorial discussions can become so stimulating that the author

and editor respond and counter-respond with developmental suggestions and ideas for further

productive revision.

The Consequences of Editing

To fully realize the potential of editing, the editor analyzes, comprehends and responds to

the consequences of that editing which include the author’s revision of the written portion of the

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book, his development and writing of the remainder of the book, and his approval or disapproval

of the editorial changes.

Through his analysis and comprehension of the development, revision, and approval, the

editor gains greater insight into the particular nature and form of the author’s creative process,

and that increased knowledge guides him as he continues to edit.

He also learns how well he understood the book’s potential and the author’s creative

integrity and goals, and how effectively he presented his thoughts. If the author has clearly

considered and acted on or approved some or most of the editing, and responded well to the rest

of the editing even if he did not act on or approve it, then the editor continues the same basic

approach, adjusted for his growing understanding of author and book.

If the author has misunderstood, rejected and been made angry by the editing, the editor

reconsiders his approach, comprehension and presentation, and works much more closely with

the author until he is confident that his understanding is correct.

The editor is as aware as possible of the author’s changes in the book as they are being

made or soon after, so that he can confirm that the changes are appropriate and effective, and

become involved if the book appears to be going in the wrong direction, he was not clear enough

in his questions or solutions and the author is misapplying the editing, or he has come to

understand the book differently as he sees it developing and therefore must revise or add to his

editorial suggestions.

After the editor has read and considered the revised partial or complete manuscript, he

confirms everything that the author has done well, and discusses with the author the extent to

which the revised material may need to be edited and revised again, perhaps because new

problems have appeared, old ones were not fully dealt with, and new areas of potential

development are envisioned.

The editor also considers the editorial changes the author did or did not approve and

discusses with the author any important changes the author may have misunderstood and

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therefore did not approve but perhaps should have, and any new changes the editor made as he

was going through the revised manuscript.

If the author was guided by editorial ideas in his writing of new material, the editor

analyzes the material in the context of his suggested ideas and the related developmental goals

and suggests to the author any necessary further ideas or development and all of the revisions

which are evident at this stage of the new material’s progression.

The alternating processes of editing, then development, revision and approval, and

editing again, are continued until the best book has been achieved.

When determining how much editing to do in the next stage of the book’s development

or on the next book, the editor is not overly influenced by how little the author may have acted

on or approved the previous editing. He is instead guided principally by the particular needs of

author and book at that stage, and if the author’s receptivity needs to be expanded, the editor

works on that simultaneously.

Of course, if the author has been wonderfully receptive and very committed in his

consideration of the editing, even if he did not approve or act on most of the suggestions and

changes, then the editor continues to give him the maximum amount of editorial thought.

The editor learns everything he can from the author’s direct response to the editing. The

author may annotate the written editing, or call or write to the editor to tell him what he thought

of the editor’s work. The editor discusses with the author his annotations and comments, until

the editor is satisfied that he fully comprehends the author’s response.

If the author has not directly responded to or commented on the editing and the editor is

not certain that he has fully grasped the author’s reaction on the basis of his revisions and

decisions about which editorial changes to approve or disapprove, then he approaches the author

and asks him to comment and respond.

In considering the consequences of editing, the editor understands that the author has the

right of final creative decision and that the goal is the best book, not the author’s acting on or

approval of all of the editing.

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Even if the author has decided to approve or act on only a small portion of the editing or

none at all, the editor’s contribution still has significant value if the author has grown in

understanding of his own talent and creative process and the book’s nature and potential, and

been creatively stimulated in ways that may have consequence for the book and future books.

CHAPTER TEN

ACHIEVING THE BEST BOOK

Editing from Concept to Final Manuscript

The Editorial Process

The process of editing ranges from the earliest, pre-contractual stage, when the editor is

helping the author conceive the book, through the development, acquisition and writing, to the

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concluding stage, when the editor is engaged in the last editing of a complete and almost final

manuscript that is under contract.

While the ultimate goal throughout the entire editorial process is the best book, if the

author and editor are working together during the pre-contractual stages, they pursue the

intermediate goal of the best book to be acquired. If they achieve that intermediate goal, they

pursue the ultimate goal until the author has completed the final manuscript.

Within the context of these goals, the editorial process is influenced by the stage of the

book’s development from concept to complete manuscript, how close the book is to its final best

form, the author’s needs and desires, and whether the author is new or continuing.

The Best Book to be Acquired

At the earliest stage of the process, the goal is the best book to be acquired and the editor

and the new author are developing what is usually a written or unwritten concept or perhaps a

partial manuscript. They are engaging in this work because they agree that the book in its

current form is not yet ready to be considered for acquisition, perhaps because its potential is not

clear enough or it is too rough in structure and style. They also agree and are confident that the

book has value and that its potential can be sufficiently realized that the publisher will want to

buy it.

As they refine their vision of the best book to be acquired, the editor explains and

represents the publisher’s needs and tastes so that the new author can develop and write the

material, within the context of his creative integrity, that they anticipate will be most likely to

interest the publisher.

The editor helps the new author write enough material or additional material so that the

publisher can make a decision but not so much that the author is doing unnecessary work.

Because the new author is working without the certainty of a contract, the editor cannot ask him

to write and revise endlessly with only the hope that the book will be acquired. The new author

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though should be prepared to do as much preliminary work as may be necessary to get the best

response from the publisher.

At this stage they are not trying to achieve the perfection of the best book, so the editor

and new author do not have to make the material superb in every way. The editor therefore is

less likely to edit the material in a highly detailed way because that is work that can be done after

the book has been acquired.

What the editor does though is work with the new author on refinement of the concept

and of the clarity and logic of the structure, on effective presentation so that the partial material

accurately and substantially represents the rest of the book, which is still unwritten, and on the

preparation of enough material so that the publisher can make a decision.

While assisting the new author, the editor does not strive for the full comprehension of

the new author’s creative integrity and his previous books published elsewhere, that he would if

the new author were already under contract, but for basic understanding of the new author’s

talent, character, achievements and goals, because he wants the best book to be acquired to be

fully appropriate to the new author, even as it meets the publisher’s needs.

It is important for the material to be appropriate because if the developing book is

acquired, the more closely it fits the new author’s particular strengths, the more easily and

effectively editor and new author will achieve the best book that satisfies the new author and the

publisher.

If the editor is already publishing the author and has worked with the continuing author

on previous books, the goal of best book to be acquired remains the same but editor and

continuing author have the advantage of working on a higher level of knowledge and

understanding of each other and of the particular balance and merging of the needs of continuing

author and publisher that occurred in the past.

The editor helps the continuing author develop and refine his ideas for the next book in

the context of his previous books with the publisher as well as his creative integrity. The editor

uses the context and critical and popular success of the continuing author’s previous books in

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presenting the partial material to the publisher, and that may reduce the need for the continuing

author and the editor to do extended developmental work before acquisition.

Because the editor knows the continuing author well and knows that the publisher wants

to keep building and publishing him, he often suggests book ideas to the continuing author

which may satisfy the mutual needs and interests of the publisher and continuing author.

Although almost all editorial work done before acquisition is developmental, with the

goal being only a representative portion of the manuscript, there are times when the editor works

on an almost complete or complete manuscript.

Because so much of the book has been written, the publisher could easily make a

decision about it, but if the editor feels that the book has significant potential that has not been

realized sufficiently well, and that showing the complete rough manuscript will not lead to a

decision to acquire, he may suggest to the new or continuing author that possibly extensive

revisions should be made. If the author is prepared to do this work and prefers not to risk the

publisher’s rejection, the editor and author will then work on the complete manuscript until its

potential has been realized, but only to the extent necessary to achieve acquisition.

Once the best book to be acquired has been prepared for presentation to the publisher,

whether as a brief concept, substantial outline or revised manuscript, the decision to acquire or

not is made. If the editor is able to buy the book, he and the author adjust their efforts in

accordance with their new goal of best book and keep working.

However, if the editor is not able to buy the book, then he and the author decide how to

proceed. The editor may discuss with the publisher whether further revisions could improve the

book in the ways necessary to achieve acquisition. If that is a possibility, the author decides

whether he wants to do additional work in the hope of getting a contract. If he is willing, then he

and the editor go back to the book and make the necessary changes and improvements.

When the author concludes that he is not willing to revise the book, he and the editor

decide if they want to attempt another book and go again through the process of trying to achieve

the best book to be acquired. At any time before there is a contract, the author’s decision not to

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proceed with further work on the book or not to start a new book, brings to a temporary or

permanent halt the developmental process, leaving the editor to go on with his other authors.

Preparing for Editing

Once the book is acquired, the editor prepares in various ways to assist the new or

continuing author in writing the best book. If he is working with a new author, he increases his

knowledge of the author’s previous books and of his character, personality, talent and

experience, until he has full comprehension of the author’s creative achievement and

commitment, and the current level of development of the author’s talent. With the continuing

author, he builds on what he already knows.

With both new and continuing authors, before doing any editing, the editor discusses at

length the author’s thinking about the book in its current form and how the author sees the final

form. He learns and understands all of the author’s creative goals and what the author sees as his

creative strengths and weaknesses. He discusses with the author his creative goals for the next

book and for his lifetime body of work, and their mutual perceptions of the critical and popular

audiences from whom they are hoping to get the best response to the book.

The author and editor refine their thinking about what constitutes the best book within

the context of the contractual understanding of author and publisher, and work out any

misconceptions about the best book that might have occurred when it was being generally

defined by author and publisher. This refinement and clarification allows them to work

efficiently and appropriately as they begin or return to writing and editing.

The editor merges what he has learned from his discussions with the author with his

previous understanding of the book, and enlarges that understanding by reading and rereading

however much written material there may be until he is certain that he has perceived and

comprehended all of the existing book’s aspects and elements, and how it is organized and

working in its smallest parts through to the largest structural elements. He then extends his

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comprehension of what is written to a consideration of how the remainder of the book can or

should be developed.

Because this understanding is preliminary to and in preparation for the editing, the editor

is not going to have and does not need the profound comprehension that he has during the actual

editing. What he achieves at this early stage is sufficient understanding to determine

approximately how much editing to do, what the appropriate level of involvement is, and what is

the most effective approach to the book directly and through the author.

Beginning and Continuing the Editing

Whether the editor plans to engage in major or direct editing or both simultaneously, he

discusses with the author before the editing is done, the nature and extent of the editorial

commentary or changes he anticipates making, to increase the author’s receptivity to the amount

and form of the editing and to give the author some sense beforehand of how extensive the editor

thinks the revisions and development may need to be.

This is less of a problem if the book needs only a little work but if the suggested or actual

revisions and additions are going to be massive, the author needs to prepare himself

psychologically and creatively.

This preliminary discussion also gives the author the opportunity to respond to the

editor’s perceptions and plans in advance of the editing so that if the author thinks there are any

adjustments in approach or perception the editor needs to make, the author can tell him before he

begins to edit.

If the author wants and the book needs little editing, the editor lets the author do almost

all of the work, makes minor suggestions to the author if the author asks for his response while

the book is being written, and then does light editing of the manuscript once it is complete.

If however the author needs or welcomes the editor’s maximum involvement, and the

editor acquired the book on the basis of a brief written concept or suggested to the author the

basic idea for a book that is already under contract, then the editor has the opportunity to

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experience much of the full range of editorial possibility because he can work with the author

from concept to final manuscript.

After completing the editing but before presenting it, when the editor knows exactly what

he will be asking the author to do or what he has changed himself, the editor again discusses the

editing with the author to give him a more precise idea of what to expect when he does receive

it.

The editor may give the author all of his thoughts and suggestions as the book is being

developed and written, and simultaneously add to, revise and restructure the steadily growing,

written portion of the book.

The editor may also do massive developmental work with the author as they move from

concept to partial manuscript until the author comes to see the final book so clearly that he can

write the rest of the book independently.

If the editor acquired the book as a complete manuscript, he may decide that the book is

so close to being final that he can make the remaining tiny improvements himself, or he may

conclude that there is still much that needs to be done and begin to edit comprehensively.

Through all of these editorial variations, the pace of the editing varies significantly, with

the editor perhaps able to work quickly during the catalytic discussion of a book concept or

having to slow down enormously while he edits comprehensively and strives to understand the

book in all of its aspects and consider all of the possibilities for development and improvement.

Whatever the pace though, the editor works at the speed that is most effective for the editorial

method and appropriate for book and author. There may be no particular benefit to editing too

slowly but it is better to be more measured than to reduce understanding and the possibility of

improvement by editing too quickly. The editor must give book and author enough time.

From the beginning of the editorial involvement, through the whole process of writing

and editing until the final manuscript is achieved, the author and editor constantly refine and

confirm their vision of the best book because as the book is written, edited and revised, their

concept of best book is likely to change in minor and possibly major ways.

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Editor and author keep coordinating their vision so that any necessary adjustments in the

writing or editing are made as the book is being written and worked on, thereby keeping all the

work entirely appropriate. The danger of not staying coordinated in their ultimate goal is that

their efforts and intermediate goals may begin to diverge without their realizing, and though

working on the same book, they are pursuing different and possibly conflicting goals.

Editing the Book as Concept and Partial Manuscript

If the editor begins to work with the author when the book is still an unwritten concept or

an idea that has been briefly described in writing, he and the author discuss the concept and

clarify their mutual understanding of it, then analyze the fundamental nature of the book idea

and revise it, whether in conversation or in writing, until the concept is clearly and thoroughly

enough understood to be the creative foundation for the whole book.

As a result of this process, when the author is ready, he begins to write the book

effectively and efficiently, knowing what the potential best book should basically be and what

creative directions he should go in. He does not waste creative time and energy by taking the

book in unproductive directions because he eliminated them as possibilities before he began

writing the book.

When the author and editor begin work at this very early stage, the book is almost all

potential and the number of creative possibilities can be overwhelming. However, it is also at

this stage when the book is still so subjective in its form, with very little written if any, that it is

easiest for the author and editor to keep changing the concept, to explore variations and to extend

the book in different directions to see how effective and appropriate those directions might be.

The editor helps the author with the creative challenge of so much potential and the

simultaneous opportunity for easy developmental revision and variation by working with him as

the author comprehensively explores the range of the book’s potential development. They then

choose, combine and adjust the best creative possibilities, forming them into a well-defined

concept.

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During this effort, the author may write a description or outline of the book, and keep

revising it until he and the editor are satisfied that the outline or description generally indicates

how the author should proceed, or he may do all or most of the developmental work in

conversation with the editor, and write an outline only at the conclusion of their discussions.

This process continues until author and editor substantially envision the overall direction

and form of the book, if not all of its aspects and elements, and understand how the author

should begin and continue the book at least through the first portion of the manuscript.

It usually is not necessary for the editor to work directly with the concept or outline

because it is more efficient and productive for the author to do the writing and make the

revisions himself but there may be times when the editor sees the structure of the book more

clearly than the author and rather than repeatedly explaining to the author how the book should

be organized, he writes or revises the outline himself. Since the outline is a guide to the book,

rather than being the book itself, the editor is merely reordering or writing the guide and not

actually writing part of the book.

Sometimes, the final written or discussed concept of the book is so comprehensive,

stimulating and illuminating that the author sees the direct progression to the final manuscript,

and begins writing the book, without stopping until he gets to the end.

The author may find the collaborative, developmental process so useful that even though

he has a sharp vision of the whole book, he wants to keep the editor closely involved and sends

him every chapter as it is written so that the editor can respond to every incremental

development of the book, comment on the new material and make suggestions about the

remainder of the book.

As the author begins to write the actual manuscript, the editor combines strategic with

developmental editing, as appropriate, and analyzes the steadily increasing written material at

the same time that he is considering and making suggestions about how the rest of the book

should be developed and written. He confirms that what the author is writing does build directly

and productively on the concept they have finally achieved and tells the author of any major

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revisions of the written material that may become necessary or new creative possibilities that are

becoming apparent.

The editor may also edit the partial manuscript directly by cutting some parts of the book

that do not quite fit or are not as strong as the rest of it, or by rewriting some small portion of the

book to give the author an idea of how the book may be improved in those particular ways. The

editor usually does not edit line by line because the manuscript is still too subject to change.

As the book moves from concept to partial manuscript, the creative choices about how

the book should be basically developed become fewer and the overall form and direction of the

best book become more evident and inevitable. However, if in the writing, the book’s direction

and form become unclear or confused, the editor asks the author to stop writing, and they discuss

what has been written and where the book should go until the productive and effective form and

direction become clear again.

During these early stages, the editor is not concerned about all the small elements and

aspects of the book because the author can go back and revise them later. Instead the editor

concentrates on the larger elements and on helping the author build and sustain his creative

momentum. It is vital that the author move from the conceptual stage to partial manuscript to

complete manuscript, and that he not continuously revise the concept, outline or partial

manuscript, though he should not be too hasty in moving forward either. The editor helps the

author achieve the right balance between sufficient clarification of the idea and revision of the

partial manuscript, and the steady writing of a significant portion of the manuscript.

If the editor begins to work with the author when the book is a partial manuscript, certain

directions are already established and the overall form of the book is becoming evident. At this

stage, the editor engages in developmental editing, discussing with the author how he plans to

continue and complete the book and making suggestions about how the book might be more

appropriately and productively developed and written, based on what the author has already

done and what he wants to achieve.

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The editor may also conclude that the partial manuscript should be slightly or

substantially revised before the author resumes writing new material because the creative

foundation is not as strong as it should be, and because the revisions of the partial manuscript

may lead the author in quite different directions. The editor suggests the necessary revisions to

the author, and asks him not to start writing again until the revisions have been made and they

have a full understanding of how the book should be continued and finished.

It is when the book is a concept, outline or partial manuscript that it is easiest and best for

the author and editor to build on the author’s previous books and establish a general creative

progression to the next book, even though the next book may remain unconceived for some time.

As the book progresses and establishes its own substantial direction, it becomes harder to

change and shift, if necessary, in the ways that build most directly on the author’s achievements

and position the author so that he can move productively and smoothly into the next book and

not have to undergo a wrenching adjustment because the current book is so dissimilar from the

books he wants and should be prepared to write next.

Editing the Book to Completion

When the book is a substantially written though incomplete manuscript, its basic form

and direction are solidly set, and the editor works within the context of that current state of

development. Through developmental editing, he concentrates on helping the author complete

the book, and through strategic and comprehensive editing, he assists the author in realizing the

full potential of the almost entire manuscript.

If he has already been working with the author to bring the manuscript to this stage, the

editor continues to help the author build on the written portion and develop the unwritten

remainder. The editor is concerned with consistency of development, and the continuing

refinement of their vision of the final manuscript.

The author and editor have already dealt with any major revisions that needed to be made

so the manuscript does not need much work. Instead, the editor helps the author maintain the

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direction and momentum that he has established, and write the manuscript to completion. It is

usually more important for the author to finish the writing and then analyze the entire manuscript

with the perspective that can only come with completion, than to lose momentum by making

small revisions.

However, there may be times when, even though the major portion of the manuscript has

been written and the book is basically what it should be, it is very useful for the author to have

the editor do strategic or comprehensive editing. In the process of editing and revision, the

author and editor significantly increase their understanding of what the author has achieved and

what the book’s potential may be, and therefore see major ways of improving the manuscript and

writing the remainder of the book that they might not have seen if the author had simply kept

writing.

There may be other times when through his deepening comprehension of the increasingly

complete book, the editor perceives a major flaw in the book’s overall development that he had

not seen before, or an exciting and significant new direction for the rest of the book to go in. If

this occurs, the editor immediately discusses his thinking with the author so that if necessary,

vital revisions are made or new developments written before the author has completed the

manuscript.

If the editor begins work on the new book when it is an almost complete manuscript, he

pursues full comprehension through repeated readings and extended discussions with the author.

He may find that the author has written very effectively on his own, that the manuscript needs

little work, and that the author’s ideas for finishing the book are excellent. The editor then may

suggest that the author complete the book and show it to him again, or he may offer his editorial

thoughts but suggest that the author consider but not act on them until he has finished the

manuscript so that he does not lose creative momentum.

The editor may also realize that the author made significant creative errors early in the

book’s development and as a consequence the entire, almost complete manuscript has to be

restructured and comprehensively revised. The editor then works with the author in making

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these major changes, rather than letting the author complete the manuscript and by doing so, be

even further from the best book he should be writing, and continues to work closely with the

author when it is time to develop the remainder of the book, to keep the development appropriate

and reduce the possibility of additional creative errors and wrong directions.

Sometimes, even if the new, almost complete manuscript does not require extensive

revision, the editor may engage in strategic or comprehensive editing because he deepens his

comprehension of the book and expands his vision of how the book should be completed,

through the profound immersion in the manuscript that such editing requires.

Because so much of the book has been written, the possibilities for direct editing become

increasingly great but the editor continues to be judicious about what he chooses to do himself

and what he asks the author to do. The editor probably does not yet engage in line by line

editing because that is best done when the manuscript is complete and has perhaps been revised

at least once, and therefore the actual writing is close to its final form and ready for its

concluding refinement.

However, the editor may see important changes that should be made before the

manuscript is completed and that he can make as effectively as the author, perhaps by splitting a

very long chapter into two or three short ones, or making the introduction the first chapter and

then asking the author for a new introduction. He then makes those changes and shows them to

the author for his approval.

Achieving the Best Book

Once the manuscript has been brought to completion or if the editor begins to edit only

when the manuscript is complete, developmental editing of the unwritten portion is neither

possible nor necessary. What the editor does now is work within the entire, written book and

expand its potential for improvement as much as possible. It is during this final stage of editing

and revision that the best book must be achieved.

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Depending on how it is most effective for the author to proceed, the editor works on the

book in two stages or one. He may do a strategic edit of the entire book and work with the

author on the necessary structural and thematic revision of the manuscript, and then edit

comprehensively the revised manuscript, or engage in comprehensive editing of the whole

manuscript, including in that editing all of his thematic and structural concerns as well as all of

the thoughts he has about every part, element and aspect of the book.

If the editing occurs in two stages, the editor waits until the first round of revision is

complete before he begins to work directly on the manuscript because he needs to know the

revised form of the material before he can edit or revise the writing or perhaps rearrange some of

the text.

If the editing is done in one stage, the editor combines his editorial thinking with all of

the changes in the manuscript he feels he can appropriately make himself. Since the editor is

engaging in direct and comprehensive editing simultaneously, he makes certain that any changes

he makes himself are appropriate for the book in its current form and more importantly in its

anticipated revised form. He brings harmony and balance to the changes he makes and the

revisions he suggests so that together they significantly and appropriately improve the book.

After the single or double stages of editing, the editor in going through the revisions may

see new possibilities for development and revision, or he may realize how his earlier suggestions

may not have been entirely appropriate or been misinterpreted by the author, and how the

author’s acting on those suggestions has done damage to the book or taken it in the wrong

direction.

The editor may also see how the author revised and developed as well as he could but did

not do the work as effectively as he should have, and realize that any potential further

improvement will have to be made by the editor, if it is going to be done at all.

In all of these cases, the editor edits the book again in the most appropriate way, whether

that is direct, strategic or comprehensive editing, separately or in combination.

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However the editor proceeds, he does not consider the manuscript or the editing final

until he and the author agree that the best book has been achieved. The editor is prepared to go

through as many rounds of editing and revision as the book needs and the author is willing to do.

There must be balance though.

The editor should not be driven by the goal of best book or the willingness of the author

to keep working, to edit endlessly because the process of editing and revision must end if the

book is to be published and is to reach the readers who alone can complete the purpose of the

writing and editing. The achievement of best book then is pursued with time and effort that are

not infinite but in proportion to the book’s popular and critical importance and with a definite

conclusion.

Building Toward the Next Book

Through all of the editing of the current book, the editor is thinking about the next book

as well. Using the intense comprehension of the author’s strengths and weaknesses, previous

books, and creative integrity and goals, that is required to edit effectively, the editor envisions

what might be appropriate for the author to do next and suggests concepts to the author, or

considers the ideas for the next book that the author has mentioned.

This early consideration and advance preparation make the editor more productive and

helpful to the author when he is ready to discuss and begin work on the next book. The

developmental discussion may not start until the author has finished the current book and

perhaps taken a long break from writing, or it may occur simultaneously with some or all of the

writing of the current manuscript.

Depending on the nature and extent of the collaborative effort on the current book and

the author’s perception of his need for assistance with the new book, the author may prefer to

mention his idea for the book, get the response of the editor and then independently write half or

all of the book, or conceive and write the book alone, or request that the editor be as fully

involved in developing the concept and editing the new book as he was with the current book.

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However the creative and editorial work on the next book begins and continues, the

editor applies all of the knowledge and understanding of what is best for the author that he

derived from their work on the current book.

PART FOUR

ASPECTS, VARIATIONS AND REFLECTIONS

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CHAPTER ELEVEN

ASPECTS

Further Views of Editing, Writing and the Relationship

Editorial Attributes

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Through his working lifetime, there are certain moral, intellectual, physical and

psychological qualities the editor has and develops that help him best achieve his particular and

lifetime goals.

Most importantly, he has moral stamina, a belief in the ideal and a passion about and

commitment to his work so profound and continuous that they enable him to give maximally to

every book and author through the whole of his working lifetime with all of the books and

authors, even though the editing of each book and the maintenance of the relationship with each

author is often demanding and exhausting, with a cumulative effect on the editor that makes it

difficult for him to give at the same high level, book after book, year after year.

In conjunction with that moral stamina, the editor has a deep responsiveness to the

creative and emotional needs of the authors, and through his awareness of and sensitivity to

those needs, he is driven and motivated to do all he can to satisfy them.

The editor combines physical, emotional and mental endurance and resilience, so that no

matter how great the editorial and relationship demands may be, the editor is able to meet them

and then recover from his giving and be prepared to give all over again as fully as before.

The editor, combining resilience with flexibility, is able to adjust to and recover from

problems quickly, and is as effective through a series of problems with the same author as he is

in moving from one author and book to the next and the next, fully and rapidly satisfying their

individual needs and concerns and resolving the creative difficulties, no matter how different

those concerns, needs and difficulties may be in nature and intensity from those of the author and

book he was just working with.

The editor is committed and strong but appropriately restrained. Through extended

excessive effort, passion, strength and energy may become exhausted, perhaps permanently. The

editor therefore paces himself, steadily giving everything possible but at a level that he can

sustain for the rest of his working lifetime, which he wants to extend as long as possible.

Because the needs of the range of authors the editor works with over his lifetime are so

numerous, various, potentially overwhelming, and with any particular group of authors,

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simultaneous, the editor requires psychological and intellectual stability and balance. He is a

steady presence for the authors and gives them the confidence and reassurance that develops

from knowing that they can come to him at any time with their creative and emotional desires,

difficulties or needs and he will be there to assist and support them.

Part of this stability is consistency. The editor is guided by the same basic values and

goals through all of his work, and the authors know what to expect from the editor as they

continue to work together, and act, respond and make appropriate decisions on the basis of those

expectations.

The editor has enduring patience and persistence because creative, editorial and

relationship problems may sometimes last for years and the achievement of many goals requires

intense and sustained pursuit, sometimes for the lifetime of the editor’s work with the authors.

The editor remains patient about and committed to solving the problems, no matter how long the

solutions may be delayed, because if he stops making the effort, the difficulties continue to

damage the books and authors. He is equally persistent about achieving the goals because it is

only through the editor’s unceasing effort that the authors and books are able to get the most

benefit from his involvement.

The Goals and Forms of Growth

One of the most important lifetime goals of the author and the editor is growth. Through

their work on the book and all of their books together, they should strive to develop their creative

and editorial talents, moral character and passion, and those aspects of their personalities that are

part of the relationship.

Their ultimate goal is to realize through the course of their working lifetime the

maximum potential of their talent, character and personality, which makes possible the

establishment and maintenance of the finest relationship, the greatest commitment and

motivation, the achievement of each particular best book and their finest bodies of creative and

editorial work. Their growth also enhances their work with other editors and authors.

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The forms of creative and editorial, psychological and moral understanding are particular,

when the knowledge and insight are basically applicable to work on the book or any book the

author and editor work on together; and general, when author and editor can apply that insight

and knowledge in their work with any editor or author, as well as with each other. The growth in

particular and general understanding can and should occur each time the editor works with the

author on a book.

Some particular knowledge applies only to work on the book because it is developed in

response to the book’s specific problems and challenges, and the author’s creative and emotional

needs as he writes and completes the book. The next book will have different difficulties and the

author other needs, and the author and editor should learn new ways of resolving those problems,

meeting those needs, and maintaining and increasing their passion and commitment in this new

situation.

Other particular knowledge is important as the author and editor continue to work

together on book after book because it applies to how they can best combine their writing and

editing and improve their relationship, and the editor can help the author sustain maximum

motivation. They may have refined a wonderfully productive way of developing the book from

concept to final manuscript that they can use with each new book they work together on, or

discovered that the author writes most effectively when he completes the manuscript before any

editing is done. They may also have learned that independently of the amount and timing of the

editing, the author works best when he is in steady contact with the editor, able to talk about

whatever is concerning or exciting him.

When the knowledge is general, the editor and author may through intense and extensive

work on the book have developed a deeper understanding of fundamental creative and editorial

principles and processes, or of how best to maintain a highly productive, strongly committed and

harmonious relationship, that can benefit their work on any future book with each other or with

others.

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The pace of growth may be gradual and cumulative. The author and editor may not

significantly advance their particular or general understanding with every book, but as they

continue to work together, their knowledge and insight slowly increase, with perhaps the editor

realizing, while editing one book, something important about how the author writes, and then in

the next book developing an innovative and effective editorial technique or gaining a deepening

insight into how the author responds most enthusiastically to challenges, or the author’s

broadening his understanding over the course of several books of how he can most benefit from

the editor’s assistance.

Growth’s pace is less important than its steady occurrence. The editor helps the author

develop himself as much and as quickly as is appropriate for him and keeps his support in the

context of the author’s creative integrity. He neither pushes the author too hard, risking anger

and damage, nor lets the author through laziness, indifference, or lack of energy, barely or

inadequately realize his potential and that of the book and all of their books together.

All growth is reinforcing. The more the editor and author develop and learn, the more

they have to build on, the more inspired they are to do even more, and the closer they come to

realizing their ever higher goals.

Continuing Growth

As they work together on the book, and the editor assists the author in following through

on developments and revisions, both of them learn from the success or failure of the changes

how appropriate they were to the author and book, and whether the author should attempt

something similar in the future.

The editor challenges the author and helps him challenge himself with various large and

small creative goals for the particular book so that in this additional way the author learns more

about what he can and cannot do well and adjusts the writing accordingly.

The author and editor should expand their knowledge of their particular creative and

editorial processes, and the rhythm and form of their writing and editing as they work

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independently and together, to steadily improve their effectiveness and efficiency and enhance

their pleasure in the work.

The editor is aware of the possibility of transfer of understanding and technique between

writing and editing. He considers which of the author’s creative methods and approaches might

be useful in his editing, and how some of his editorial techniques might be applied by the author

as he develops and writes the book. The author and editor should determine the productiveness

of the methods the other uses by selectively applying them in their work and retaining what is

effective for them.

The editor increases his understanding of the nature of his own talent and editorial

weaknesses and strengths, refines his editorial approaches and develops new and more

challenging and rewarding methods of editing. He learns from the author’s response to and

comments about his editing, and by asking the author to make specific suggestions about how

the editor can edit more productively and effectively.

During the writing and editing, author and editor try to best anticipate and satisfy the

needs and desires of the critical and popular audiences but after the book has been published and

the response of the audiences is analyzed, the author and editor should learn everything possible

from that response and the extent to which the book did or did not satisfy the audiences, and then

apply their new knowledge to their work on the next book and future books.

Even when the editor and author are working at the limits of their talents on the particular

book, there is still room for growth because by adjusting the creative and editorial goals or

setting new ones, they find fresh challenges that may force them to stretch their talents or

discover new directions in which to take the book, and those challenges and directions may

enable them to use their talents in other, highly productive ways. The editor may also help the

author conceive a very exciting and challenging next book, which may help them redefine their

limits.

As the relationship continues through work on each book, the editor steadily increases his

comprehension of the author’s moral character and personality.

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He understands more about the nature and depth of the author’s passion and commitment,

and therefore how he can more productively support and motivate the author when the writing is

going well and when it is so difficult that it is almost impossible for the author to keep writing.

The editor learns how to more effectively sustain and encourage the author through the short and

long periods between books so that the author has the necessary enthusiasm and intense

commitment to begin the next book without excessive delay and make the greatest effort to write

the best book he can.

The editor works with the author to increase the author’s understanding of his own

commitment and passion so that the author can develop more effective ways of motivating

himself and building his passionate dedication to his writing. The editor in turn improves his

self-understanding, to achieve greater moral growth also and become even more valuable in his

relationship with and support of the author.

The editor keeps expanding his knowledge of and insights into the author’s emotional

strengths, needs and desires, insecurities and areas of vast confidence. The more he knows about

the whole of the author’s personality and his emotional complexities, the more appropriate and

harmonious he can make the relationship.

Lifetime Growth

The editor develops himself as fully and constantly as possible. Part of his development

is his making full use of all of the experience and knowledge that he has acquired in his lifetime.

He seeks ways to contribute everything that he has learned to his work on the book and future

books, and his relationship with the author, whether it is basic information about the subject,

ideas about narrative and the development of character, or a deepening insight into fear, doubt

and anxiety.

The editor also perceives and suggests to the author all of the ways in which the author’s

experience and knowledge may potentially contribute to every aspect of his writing.

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The editor steadily expands his knowledge and broadens his experience outside of his

editorial work because his personal development benefits him directly, the cross-fertilization of

knowledge is likely to produce unexpected and rich insights and intuitions, and there is the

potential for that growth in experience and knowledge to carry over into his work with authors

and books. The editor’s curiosity is perpetual and universal and his receptivity to new learning

in all forms is maintained at the highest level.

The editor maximizes the opportunity for learning that occurs through his work with

every book and author through his lifetime. Whether fiction, biography, science or poetry, each

book expands the editor’s understanding and knowledge, in ways that are very specific to the

subject of the book or more generally about people, history, politics or psychology. Through the

substantial comprehension of and immersion in the books that is required by editing, the editor

learns considerably more than if he were only reading. The editor also has the advantage of

being able to discuss the books with the authors as they are being written, and in the process gain

significantly from their expert knowledge and particular insights.

The more the editor learns through editing the books and independent study of a variety

of subjects, and the more he broadens his general knowledge in all possible ways, the more

versatile he is in the range of books he edits.

The author and editor can also develop their talent and understanding through writing and

editing that is not directly related to their creative and editorial goals but is done for the pleasure

and joy of the activity. The editor may encourage the author to start some very different novel,

serious instead of humorous, or even to engage in another form of writing entirely, perhaps

history or drama or short stories, and by doing so refresh himself creatively with a wholly new

set of challenges, or the editor may write a passionate and extended discussion of the book’s

characters or themes simply because he has enjoyed them so much.

By their exploration of these other forms of editing and writing, the editor and author

increase the opportunities for discovering ideas and abilities that they might otherwise never

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have found and utilized, and for drawing in surprising and catalytic ways on their accumulated

knowledge and experience.

Learning from other Editors and Authors

As the author and editor strive to improve their writing, editing and relationship, they

should benefit from the knowledge, understanding and experience of other authors and editors.

When the author has worked with other editors on previous books, the editor learns

everything possible, through discussions with the author and perhaps the editors themselves,

about the other editing and what was effective and appropriate so that he can refine his methods

and add all of the other editorial techniques that have the potential to improve his editing. The

editor understands all of the ways in which their approaches were inappropriate, damaging or

unproductive, and avoids using them, or perhaps uses them after making the necessary

adjustments.

The editor learns why the author’s relationships with the other editors were productive

and harmonious or contentious and ineffective and applies his new knowledge to improving his

own relationship with the author.

As he is working with the author, the editor is constantly looking for opportunities to

improve his editing or their relationship by drawing on everything he has learned from his work

with all of his current and previous authors. As a result, the editor may suggest creative ideas,

solutions and approaches that have been successfully used by other authors and that may be

appropriate to the author and the book.

The editor looks for these opportunities in his work with every author, and in this way he

increases each author’s potential for growth based on the understanding, insights, and experience

of all of the other authors. The editor additionally encourages the authors to make contact with

each other and supports them when they do so on their own initiative because they mutually and

substantially benefit from directly exchanging knowledge and thoughts.

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While each author’s growth through the editor’s transfer of knowledge is important, the

editor is careful to respect the intellectual ownership of the ideas and writing of the other

authors. To maintain the authors’ trust, the editor does not give to another author concepts,

approaches or subjects that the author who created them wants to keep for his own exclusive use.

Part of the editor’s growth is in learning how to work with increasing effectiveness,

harmony and productivity with many authors simultaneously, giving to each as much as he

needs, learning from each as much as possible, and transferring to each of them all appropriate

and nonconfidential knowledge, and steadily building the interconnections between them so that

through direct interaction they help each other learn and grow.

Attaining Editorial Mastery

As the editor’s growth continues, he gradually approaches the level of mastery until he

finally achieves that state of knowledge, experience and achievement that qualifies him as a

master editor.

At this level he has edited perhaps hundreds of books and worked with almost as many

authors, and is confident that he can work effectively, within the general range of his body of

work, on any new book and with any author, and that even if he encounters editorial or

relationship problems he has never dealt with before, he will be able to solve them productively

and efficiently, by himself or with the author.

While building to mastery, the editor has acquired a tremendous amount of knowledge

that he retains and draws on consciously and subconsciously, and as he edits the new book and

works with the author, concepts, directions, and solutions often appear intuitively, easily and

richly.

Even at the level of mastery, with a sustained, very high degree of effectiveness and

versatility, there is the potential for editorial growth. As the editor deals with the fresh

challenges of a new book, suggests highly difficult but rewarding creative goals to the author, or

works with a devastatingly insecure new author, he grows by finding ways of assisting the author

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with those new challenges and difficult goals, and supporting the insecure new author, at the

same very high level of contribution.

It is not possible for the editor to become steadily better, more productive, effective and

insightful for the whole of his working lifetime, make a progressively greater contribution to

each new book, and achieve a finer relationship with each new author. However, after attaining

mastery, the editor can increase the cumulative significance of his work by making the greatest

possible contribution, editorially and through the relationships, to as many books of critical and

popular value as he can. Each contribution may vary in substance and importance, but each also

expands the total achievement of the editor’s body of work.

Co-editors

Working with a co-editor has special rewards and challenges. The editor, who almost

always works alone, has the rare opportunity to discuss in depth the book and the range of

editorial possibilities and approaches with the co-editor, have the co-editor respond to his editing

before it goes to the author, possibly combine his editing with the co-editor’s, and observe,

analyze and learn from the co-editor’s techniques and methods.

The editor also benefits from discussions about the author and the relationship, and how

the editor and co-editor can improve their relationships with the author when they are working

with him individually and jointly.

Through combining their comprehension of book and author, the editors help each other

adjust and increase their understanding and their separate and combined editorial goals so that

their goals and understanding are more appropriate for and helpful to the author. Their combined

editorial thoughts expand the book’s potential by giving the author many ways of thinking about

developing, writing and revising the book.

Also, by being mutually involved in supporting the author, the editors increase the

author’s confidence, motivation and productivity.

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In the editing and the relationship, the editors give the author the maximum benefit from

their often different editorial and psychological strengths, with each editor making the greatest

contribution in the areas in which he is most talented and effective. The editor may be best at

comprehensive analysis, while the co-editor is superb at developmental editing and motivation.

The involvement of the co-editor does not make the editor lazy, in that he relies on the

co-editor to do most of the work; timid, because he fears the co-editor’s harsh judgment of his

work; or confrontational, because he resents having to share book, author and editorial

contribution with the co-editor. Instead the editor is inspired to achieve and contribute even

more, taking the co-editor’s involvement as an opportunity to give the author and book a

combined contribution that has a value beyond their individual efforts.

Before presenting the editing to the author, the editors coordinate their editing with each

other, and work out any confusions or major conflicts in what they are asking the author to do or

approve. They are not making the same suggestions or changes or even seeing or pursuing the

creative and editorial goals in exactly the same way. Rather, the editing is complementary and

may perhaps be moderately conflicting, with the author considering everything in the context of

his own understanding of the book and his goals, and choosing appropriately between any

conflicting editorial suggestions and changes.

The editor makes his relationship with the co-editor, and helps make the co-editor’s

relationship with the author, as harmonious, motivating and productive as possible because only

in this way are they both able to make a maximum contribution to the book and author.

The talent, experience, success and power of the editors often varies considerably but

they work hard to establish a balance in their relationship that may reflect the differences in their

positions but still allows them jointly and individually to provide the most support and

assistance.

Through the relationship and the editing, the editors make sure that in every possible

way, the author is gaining significantly from the assistance and support of two editors because

this is the most important reason for co-editing. If the author is not steadily benefiting, however

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heroic the combined editorial effort may be, the co-editing should end and the author should

work with a single editor.

If one or both editors have problems with the way the other is editing the book,

responding to their editing, or handling the relationship with the author, they work out those

problems themselves and only with each other. The author should never have to deal with

difficulties between the editors.

Through co-editing, the editor and author have the direct opportunity to learn and gain

from the co-editor’s experience with all of his authors and their books, and use that knowledge to

improve their writing and editing and their working relationship. The co-editor also learns from

them.

Assuming the Function of the Author

There are times when, for a variety of reasons including extended illness, permanent

creative incapacity, and death, the author is not able to write and complete the book or act on and

approve the editing. If however the book is to be completed and the editorial contribution is to

become part of the book, someone has to assume the author’s function and responsibilities,

though always acting on the author’s behalf and with the approval of the author’s representative,

whether family, agent or friend.

Depending on how much writing and revising still has to be done, the editor may be able

to do the remaining work, or it may be necessary for a replacement author to become involved.

In either case, the author’s representative has approval of the ongoing work and the final

manuscript.

The work on the book done by someone assuming the function of the author, whether

editor, replacement author, or both working together, never has the same integrity as the writing

the author did himself or the editing he acted on or approved, but the editor and replacement

author maximally approximate that integrity by working completely within the context of the

author’s creative integrity and goals and doing everything possible to make their work a direct

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extension of what the author wrote and outlined, building on his achievement and realizing his

vision.

When he works with a replacement author, the editor fully shares his comprehension of

the book’s potential and the author’s creative goals and integrity, and when he works entirely

alone, he applies that comprehension to everything he does.

If only a part or even a major portion of the manuscript has been written and edited, the

editor probably does not attempt to finish the book himself but works with the replacement

author who is responsible for revising the written portion, and completing the manuscript which

the editor then edits, with the replacement author making the final revisions.

However, if the manuscript is complete or almost complete, the editor may decide that he

can productively assume the creative function and responsibility, and finish, edit and revise the

manuscript by himself. The editor may also decide to share the creative function by working

with the replacement author who, as appropriate, does some or most of the necessary writing and

revising, with the editor doing the rest of it. The editor also edits those portions of the

manuscript written by the replacement author.

The replacement author usually has the right to decide how much of the editing to act on,

partly because he is the one who has to develop, write and revised the manuscript in accordance

with that editing. However, the creative right to approve the editorial changes may be shared,

with editor and replacement author discussing the changes and deciding mutually what the final

changes will be, or retained by only one of them, depending on who understands better the

author’s creative integrity and goals, or who has been granted that right of approval by the

author’s representative.

Almost always, the best critical and popular response, immediate and long-term, is to the

book that entirely or almost entirely maintains the author’s creative integrity, because it was

written and revised only by the author or because the editor and replacement author acted so

deeply and appropriately within the context of that integrity.

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Sometimes, however, the replacement author, because of superior talent, inspired vision,

or an extraordinary ability to build on the written portion of the book, substantially adds his own

creative integrity to that of the author’s and not merely merges with it, and by doing so

completes a book that gets a greater and more enduring response from the readers than if the

author had written the whole book himself.

It is possible but much less likely that the editor through his writing and editing will

achieve a final book that is better than what the author would have achieved on his own.

The Involvement and Contribution of Publisher and Agent

The author, editor, publisher, and agent, are united by the common goal of achieving the

best book, and while the author and editor are usually working by themselves, there are times

when the publisher and the agent may become directly involved, separately or in coordination

with each other.

The agent and publisher bring their own talent, experience and vision to the writing and

editing and the relationship, and through their comprehension of the author, book and editor and

how author and editor are working together, they can help expand and refine in important ways

the various creative and editorial goals, make suggestions about how the book can be developed

or revised or how author and editor could challenge themselves, and assist in improving or

restoring the relationship.

The editor is aware of the potential of publisher and agent to make a contribution to the

relationship or the book, and he requests their involvement when he thinks it would be

beneficial. If they choose on their own initiative or at the author’s request to become involved,

he is fully supportive.

It may be the agent who has the inspired idea for the author’s next book and describes its

fundamental structure and elements to author and editor, or the publisher who is first to perceive

that the author and editor are taking the book in a significantly wrong direction, and helps them

reestablish the book’s proper direction before too much wasted work has been done.

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If the editor is having some difficulty in his relationship with the author, he may ask the

agent to speak to the author about it because the agent’s objectivity and his own relationship with

the author may make it easier for the author to reconsider his position or change his behavior.

The author may feel that the editor is being arrogant and too aggressive about imposing

his thinking on the book, and if the editor does not voluntarily adjust his approach at the author’s

request, the author asks the agent or the publisher to make the editor modify his editing or

actions appropriately.

The Network of Relationships

The editor makes his relationship with the author the center of a network of relationships

that maximizes the number of people who can effectively assist and support the author and make

a contribution to the book during the writing, or who can later help during the publishing

process.

The editor brings to the network everyone he knows and works with, and asks the author

to involve everyone he knows who might be appropriate. The editor then enriches and

coordinates that network by making or initiating as many appropriate interconnections as

possible. He may introduce the author to one of his other authors who may introduce the author

to still another author, or pass along to the author a particularly exciting approach another editor

has suggested.

In that enriching and coordinating, the editor connects the author with everyone he does

not already know, makes contact with everyone the author knows, connects as many people with

each other as he can, and asks them to make their own interconnections.

The editor may request responses to the book as it is being written from his publishing

colleagues in sales or publicity, discuss some of his and the author’s ideas with one of his fellow

editors or perhaps an editor he knows at another publishing company, or write descriptive letters

about the book to certain book reviewers he has developed a relationship with over the years.

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The editor may also ask the author to suggest or contact people who might provide

endorsements for the book or make expert suggestions for revisions, further develop his tentative

relationship with the publisher, or have a meeting with the entire sales force or the sales

representative who is responsible for the author’s home territory.

The editor steadily strengthens and improves his network relationships and assists the

author and everyone else in building and maintaining their relationships with each other, because

the more effectively, harmoniously and productively everyone works with each other, the greater

is the ultimate benefit to the author and the book.

The editor realizes the network’s emotional potential by sharing with everyone his

tremendous excitement about the book and author, and by helping other people share with the

author and each other their own great enthusiasm for the book’s potential and the author’s

achievement.

CHAPTER TWELVE

VARIATIONS

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Working With a Range of Authors

The Ideal Author

While any particular author probably is not ideal in every way, the editor often finds that

the author has at least some creative and personal qualities that approach the ideal, and inspire

and motivate the editor.

The author may be so passionate about writing and so committed to achieving the best

book, that the editor finds his own passion and excitement about the writing and editing and his

commitment to their joint goals steadily increasing. The author may also work even harder at

keeping the relationship at the highest level than the editor does, and make the relationship so

easy, productive and harmonious, that the editor can relax and enjoy the harmony, and

concentrate all of his efforts on maximizing his editorial contribution.

The author may demonstrate an astonishing receptivity, a willingness to consider editing

so profound that the editor strives even more mightily to give the author all of the editorial

thought of which he is capable. The receptivity may be so inspiring that the editor enlarges his

thinking beyond the book to encompass the entire potential of the author’s creativity, and makes

suggestions and contributes ideas about all of the forms of writing in which the author may

productively engage.

The author may also be so appreciative of the editor’s contribution and involvement, in

private through what he says to the editor directly, and in public through his comments to the

publisher and agent and in the dedication and acknowledgements of the published book, that the

editor feels marvelously rewarded and further motivated.

The Best Editor for the Author

The almost infinite combinations of authors and books make it nearly impossible for the

editor to be the best editor for every one of his authors.

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The editor knows that his particular talent and experience limit his ability to contribute to

the work of some authors, perhaps because of the superiority of their creative talent or their

working in a subject area or creative form that requires an editorial expertise or insight the editor

does not fully have. However, the editor may complement other authors so well that together

they are able to work at the utmost limits of their creative and editorial abilities.

The particular best book then is determined not only by the author’s talent but the

editor’s. If the author had worked with another editor on the same book, he might have achieved

an even greater book, but he might also have found that the other editor was only able or willing

to contribute a smaller range and lesser quality of editing and therefore the best book with that

other editor would have been significantly diminished.

Even with the utmost diplomacy and commitment, the editor’s personality and moral

character cannot harmonize superbly with every author. With some authors, the editor blends so

smoothly that everything they do is effortless, but with other authors, even if there is

considerable respect, the relationship may be hard work because the personalities and characters

are so opposite, and the editor may not be able to provide as much full and productive support as

the author needs and could only get from another editor who is more complementary.

In his work with each author, the editor comprehends the qualities of the particular best

editor for that author, and then adds, develops and strengthens those qualities in himself so that

he becomes, to the extent possible, that author’s best editor.

Superior and Less Talented Authors

The editor’s talent is in general balance with that of most of his authors. However, there

are some authors of significantly greater or lesser talent and the nature of the editor’s

contribution changes accordingly. He may moderate his thinking because he does not want to

overwhelm the less talented author and exceed his ability to develop and write the book, or he

may realize that the author’s talent is far superior to his and that despite his maximum effort

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there are many ways in which he cannot help the author because he cannot match the author’s

vision.

Often the editor’s assistance is considerably more important to the less talented author

than it is to the superior author who can do so much without the editor. However, if the superior

author is in the early stages of his active development and is still struggling to understand the

nature and range of his talent, he may have much greater need for the editor’s help in

comprehending and realizing some or most of his potential, than will the less talented author

who has written many books, and is already working at or near the limits of his talent.

In working with the less talented author, the editor does not challenge him excessively in

the editing, or let him set his creative goals too high, because the resulting frustration and

disappointment may damage the less talented author’s confidence, growth and productivity. The

editor though is equally careful not to underestimate the less talented author’s ability and

capacity for growth, and by doing so insufficiently challenge the less talented author or

encourage his creative ambitions.

The editor does not feel a false superiority because his creative vision for the book may

be much larger than what the less talented author is capable of writing or conceiving, or feel

frustrated or irritated because the less talented author cannot do everything the editor sees as

possible. No matter how limited that author’s talent may be, it is still only he who can write the

book and that gives him an importance the editor can never have.

Because the editor’s comprehension of the superior author’s talent and creative vision of

the book can only be partial, and he therefore cannot work within the full context of the book’s

potential, it is difficult for the editor to know how appropriate and productive are his editorial

changes and suggestions for development, writing and revision, but he goes forward anyway so

that the superior author gets at least some benefit from the editing. The editor works without

certainty but at the limits of his ability, responds to as much as he understands and imagines, and

gives his thinking to the superior author who alone can place the editing in the full context of the

book.

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When the superior author is writing at a level that is beyond the editor’s understanding,

the editor relies on his trust and confidence in the superior author and his ability to make the

right creative decisions because the editor can neither help him with those decisions nor fully

evaluate their result.

The editor may often feel discouraged and disappointed in working with the superior

author because he knows that the superior author would benefit from even more editing than the

editor is capable of giving and that a more talented editor could provide greater assistance. Also,

because of his incomplete comprehension, the editor may feel insecure about the quality and

appropriateness of the editing. However, the editor overcomes these negative emotions, strong

though they may be, so that they will not diminish his involvement and contribution which are

already not as much as he wants.

Veteran and New Authors

The range and quality of creative achievement is often independent of the amount of

experience the author has. A brilliant author is probably be working at a much higher level on

his first book than is a modestly talented author on his tenth.

However, the editor considers the author’s talent and experience in combination because

the extent of his experience and the substance of his body of work can be as significant in how

the editor works with him as the nature and degree of his talent.

The new author who is trying to develop and write his first or second book, may be very

insecure about his abilities and doubtful about his creative methods. The editor may then

constantly emphasize his confidence in the new author, and work with him to increase the

effectiveness and productivity of his approach to the book, and discover creative methods and

directions that the new author may find particularly catalytic.

The veteran author probably has ways of working, thinking and writing that he has found

effective in the past, and has the confidence that comes from having written and published a

number of books. The editor works within the veteran author’s methods and suggests

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refinements but also considers carefully the possible ways in which the veteran author’s

techniques are or have become weak, inappropriate or counterproductive, and then discusses

with the veteran author what the appropriate adjustments might be and which approaches he may

want to stop using entirely.

The editor may also find it productive to build and maintain the veteran author’s already

established confidence through regular praise, appreciation and reassurance.

The editor’s comprehension of the veteran author is often much richer than his

understanding of the new author because the editor reads and analyzes the veteran author’s

substantial body of work and thereby achieves a deeper and more precise knowledge of the

veteran author’s creative strengths and weaknesses. The editor builds on that knowledge in

working with the veteran author to define the creative goals.

The editor is more limited in his comprehension of the new author whose body of work

may be limited or nonexistent. The editor learns as much as he can about the new author’s

abilities, weaknesses and strengths from the previous books if there are any, and then expands

that modest knowledge as he works with the new author on the current book. If there are no

previous books, the editor learns everything possible about the new author’s talent and creative

potential from his work on the current, first book.

Highly Successful and Failed Authors

In working with authors who have achieved and will sustain solid critical and popular

success, the editor does not need to make major adjustments in the editing or the relationship

because of the success. However, when the author has experienced great success or considerable

failure, the editor is particularly sensitive and responsive to the emotional, intellectual and

creative impact of that success or failure.

The highly successful author may feel or actually have less need for the editor’s

involvement because he knows or assumes that he can continue to succeed at a very high level

even if the editor makes no contribution at all. The editor then, to make possible any

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contribution, works even harder to establish and maintain the finest relationship, comprehend the

highly successful author’s creative integrity and goals, and envision ways of developing and

revising the book that may possibly make the author even more successful.

Also, for the highly successful author, the consequences of acting on or approving any of

the editing have major significance because the book is so valuable to author and publisher that

any change in it makes a difference, and the highly successful author considers carefully all the

implications of the editing before deciding what to approve or act on, constantly aware of the

risk of damage to his current success, and diminishment of his future success.

Given this understandable caution, the editor constantly builds the highly successful

author’s receptivity, and his trust and confidence in the editor’s judgment and profound and

appropriate comprehension so that the highly successful author is strongly motivated to at least

fully consider the editing and not dismiss or ignore it.

If the highly successful author’s receptivity does grow and his confidence in the editor

increases, the editor becomes even more careful about his editorial thought and its potential for

improving the book, because the highly successful author may indeed act on or approve much or

all of the editing even with so much of the book and his success potentially at risk.

Although the highly successful author may not need much help from the editor in

maximizing his creative strengths, the editor may be able to assist him in minimizing or

eliminating his creative weaknesses. Those weaknesses have certainly not prevented the highly

successful author from achieving significantly but their elimination or reduction may help the

highly successful author attain even greater success.

The editor keeps the highly successful author’s achievements in perspective. He is

neither so intimidated by them that he fears making any editorial suggestions nor so admiring

that he does no editing. Instead, the editor emphasizes that he has complete respect for what the

highly successful author has achieved, but diplomatically explains that he has enough confidence

in his own ability to feel that the highly successful author may find the editing useful, and then

offers as much editing as may be productive and necessary.

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The highly successful author often feels the pressure of expectations and has doubts

about his ability to continue to achieve at a high level, and the quality of what he is currently

writing. He may also feel limited by the demands and rewards of his success which may require

him to do again what he has done well before, rather than setting very ambitious creative goals

and trying to write a book with a high risk of failure and the possibility of being so different

from what he has previously written that the critical and popular audiences will not be satisfied.

The editor helps the pressured and insecure, highly successful author ease his frustration

and resolve his doubts by discussing how best to deal with the expectations of the readers and

perhaps the publisher, reassuring him about the substantial nature of his talent and his ability to

achieve the particular creative goals, and assisting him in working within the constraints of

success by conceiving and writing a book that will satisfy both the highly successful author’s

creative ambitions and the needs and desires of the readers who have made him so successful.

If the highly successful author becomes even more successful as the editor works with

him on several books, or if he grows into that enormous success as he and the editor continue to

work together, the editor adjusts the relationship and his editing to reflect and accommodate that

growing success.

The editor’s confidence in the increasingly successful author’s writing and creative

decisions grows as the increasingly successful author’s own confidence grows, and the editor

therefore becomes more restrained and selective in his questions and suggestions, and gives

more emphasis to support and appreciation.

If the increasingly successful author prefers to work more and more independently, the

editor reduces his involvement accordingly, but if the increasingly successful author perceives

the editorial contribution as being part of his growing success and welcomes the editor’s

continuing involvement, the editor maintains and perhaps increases his assistance and support.

If the author is already highly successful when the editor begins to work with him, the

editor has the patience to wait, perhaps over the course of their work on several books, for the

already highly successful author’s trust and confidence in him to build to the point where the

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editor’s contribution and involvement is potentially significant, and does not become frustrated

by what may be very slowly increasing receptivity.

When working on a new book with an author who has failed with his previous book or

books, the editor searches for and analyzes carefully all of the possible causes of failure. If the

author’s previous book failed before he and the editor began to work together, the editor

understands as well as he can what the failed author and the previous editor did that they should

not have or did not do that they should.

If the editor worked with the failed author on the book that did not succeed, he considers

how the failed author may have lost his creative vision during the conception, development,

writing and revision of the book, or not maximized his creative strengths, or become too

enthusiastic about a book idea for which there was almost no critical or popular audience. He

also considers deeply the extent to which his editing may have been responsible for or

contributed to the failure, perhaps by his encouraging the failed author to be too ambitious or to

write a book which in form and subject was not appropriate to his talent or experience.

As the editor’s comprehension grows and he continues working with the failed author on

the new book, he and the failed author discuss and combine their insights about and

understanding of the possible creative and editorial causes of failure, and then make in their

writing and editing, the adjustments that eliminate those causes or minimize their consequences,

and the improvements that increase substantially the possibility of success with the new book.

The editor and failed author steadily consider, as they go forward with the adjusted and

improved editing and writing, the appropriateness and effectiveness of their approaches and

direction so that they do not begin to do again what caused damage before or may cause damage

in a new way.

The editor understands the creative and psychological consequences of failure, which

often make working with the failed author extremely demanding. The failed author may

significantly reduce his challenges and goals to minimize risk, or become so negative about all

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aspects and elements of the previous, unsuccessful book that he does not build on it in any way

but begins to write a completely different book even if it is entirely inappropriate for him. He

may also have such a huge loss of confidence in his talent, that he keeps starting the book over

and over or cannot even begin writing. The failed author may also be extraordinarily sensitive to

any comments or suggestions by the editor that imply a diminished faith and patience, and may

too frequently act in anger and frustration.

As he increasingly comprehends the particular effects of failure, the editor helps the

failed author rebuild his confidence and ambition, so that he gradually and productively

challenges himself again, reconsiders his perhaps too harsh estimation of his unsuccessful book,

uses in the new book those directions and approaches that actually were effective, even if all of

them were not, and renews in himself sufficient enthusiasm, motivation and creative momentum

to start and continue writing until a substantial portion of the manuscript has been written.

The editor’s confidence in and steady patience with the failed author are of critical

importance because without the editor, the failed author may struggle even more with the

consequences of failure, and become more bitter and frustrated and even less capable of writing

as he should. However, with the editor’s continuous and enthusiastic faith and support, the

failed author gradually becomes more productive, less sensitive, angry and insecure, and easier

for the editor to work with.

Independent and Dependent Authors

The editor sometimes works with very independent and dependent authors, and his

approach to the editing and relationship is influenced by the extent, nature and appropriateness

of the authors’ creative and psychological independence from or dependence on the editor.

The independence or dependence is appropriate when the author is motivated, productive

and effective in his writing, and inappropriate when the creative process is damaged or

diminished. As the writing continues, the dependence or independence may increase or decrease

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and become more or less appropriate, and the editor helps the author find and maintain the right

balance.

If the independent author is writing very well on his own, with full understanding of his

creative goals and the nature of his talent, and with little need for editorial thinking, the editor

lets the independent author work alone, becoming involved only when the manuscript is

complete or at the independent author’s request, or if the editor realizes that the developing book

is deviating considerably from the independent author’s strengths and goals.

When the independent author has the confidence and motivation to keep writing without

constantly turning to the editor for praise and reassurance, the editor concentrates on increasing

the general pleasure and harmony of the relationship, while remaining sensitive to any change in

the independent author’s emotional needs.

While an author’s dependence on the editor should not become permanent and the editor

steadily helps the dependent author move from periodic or regular dependence to increasing

independence, there may be times when the dependence is appropriate and useful. The

dependent author may be working his way through a particularly difficult part of the book and

finding it almost impossible to resolve on his own all of the creative problems. He may feel that

without the editor’s guidance, ideas and suggestions, he cannot go on with the writing. The

editor then assists the dependent author comprehensively until the dependent author reaches a

part of the book where he solves most of the problems by himself.

The dependent author may also be often overcome with immense self-doubt or exhausted

by depression or lack of motivation, and temporarily rely on the editor to support him so strongly

and enthusiastically that he is able to continue or resume writing.

Sometimes, the author’s creative independence is damaging and inappropriate. The

independent author may find that writing the conclusion for the book is so challenging that he

cannot make any progress at all but from pride and stubbornness he is refusing any assistance

from the editor, even though he has not written any new material in months. The editor

concentrates first on the relationship, to expand the independent author’s receptivity, and then

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slowly makes suggestions until the independent author becomes comfortable with the editorial

involvement and the writing begins again.

The independent author may take the same proud and stubborn approach to working out

his fears, doubts and insecurities, refusing the editor’s enthusiasm, encouragement and praise,

even though he is becoming even more troubled and insecure and increasingly less able to write.

The editor cannot force the independent author to admit his insecurities or involve the

editor in dealing with them but through his sensitivity and compassion, and straightforward

acknowledgment of what the independent author is suffering, the editor may gradually build the

independent author’s trust in and willingness to share his emotional burdens with him.

From laziness or lack of confidence, the author may come to depend too much on the

editor’s ideas and suggestions for developing and writing the book, and on the possibly extensive

editorial changes. Rather than writing and revising as much as he can on his own, the dependent

author waits for the editor’s contribution at each stage of the book’s writing. This dependence

weakens the author, because it keeps him from growing creatively, and the book, because the

editor’s thinking is probably not as appropriate and valuable as the dependent author’s is.

The editor simultaneously diminishes his editorial contribution to the book, and builds

the dependent author’s confidence in his work and commitment to achieving the creative goals

so that he does an increasing amount of the development, writing and revising.

The author may also depend excessively on the editor for support and encouragement and

not want to motivate himself or make the necessary effort to sustain his work at the highest

levels. The editor works with the dependent author to increase his self-motivation so that he is

psychologically capable of writing at any time, whether the editor is there to encourage him or

not, and steadily reduces his support of the dependent author, even with the risk of a temporary

lack of progress in the writing, until he achieves the appropriate level, still motivating and

encouraging the dependent author but only in basic and vital ways.

There are dangers for the editor in the author’s inappropriate dependence. The editor

may begin to feel too important because the dependent author needs him so much, and then

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tempted to continue the dependence because he does not want to feel less important. Whatever

he may feel or however tempted, the editor never puts his needs and desires ahead of the

dependent author’s but concentrates on what most helps the dependent author.

The dependent author may come to resent deeply his need for the editor’s support and

assistance, and become very unhappy and angry about not or apparently not being able to do the

development, writing and revision on his own, creatively or psychologically. The dependent

author may then take out his anger and unhappiness on the editor. To avoid this, the editor is

constantly sensitive to the dependent author’s feelings, and as appropriate increases or decreases

his efforts to help the dependent author become more independent. The editor may also discuss

the dependent author’s resentment with him, and suggest that they find more productive and

harmonious ways of working together.

Psychologically Challenging Authors

Many of the authors the editor works with are challenging in their own ways but do not

make extreme demands on the editor. There are some authors though who for various reasons

require the editor to act with extraordinary delicacy and commitment. They may be profoundly

insecure, hypersensitive, very defensive, and possibly damaged by their previous experiences

with editors.

It is part of the editor’s comprehension of the challenging author to realize, through his

own effort and if possible through discussion with the challenging author, why he is very

difficult to work with, and how his problems impede their work together.

The problems may have developed because of the challenging author’s particular

personality, character and general experience and were carried over to the writing or they may

have arisen directly from the struggle to write. Hypersensitivity, and the great insecurity which

usually accompanies it, often occur because, during the writing and even after the book is

complete, the certainty of creative achievement and the confidence that derives from that

certainty is so elusive.

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The problems take many forms, from the vast insecurity which makes the challenging

author take almost any editorial comment, even the mildest suggestion for revision, as a sharp

criticism of the book, or feel extreme jealousy about the editor’s involvement with his other

authors, to the rage that derives from the challenging author’s failed books or his continuing but

false perception that his work is not appreciated by readers or fully supported by the editor.

The challenging author may also be particularly argumentative, ready to defend himself

against any perceived attacks on him or the book or simply taking pleasure in constant

contradiction, or extremely frustrated because the writing is going badly or his critical and

popular success is occurring very slowly, and therefore angry, intense and hostile in his

interaction with the editor. The challenging author may also have had a difficult and painful

relationship with his previous editor that makes him suspicious and guarded in his work with the

editor.

The psychological pressures on the editor who is working with the challenging author are

enormous, and the editor maintains balance and detachment, aware of the pressure but not

crushed or distorted by it. The editor is also careful not to become too sensitive to the problems

or the challenging author’s behavior, taking the challenging author’s pain-generated actions as an

assault on him or paralleling the challenging author’s damaging behavior by acting the same way

himself, because then he becomes part of the problem and makes the situation worse. He

remains professional, and calm, diplomatic, patient and focused, maintaining the emotional

stability, commitment and unwavering belief that makes it easier for the challenging author to

build or rebuild his trust in the editor, and his confidence and serenity.

The challenging author should feel with full certainty that he has the editor’s complete

confidence and support, unless his behavior becomes so extreme that it breaches professional

courtesy and forces the editor to withdraw partially or fully from his work with the author.

Though working with the challenging author is tremendously exhausting and

discouraging, the editor sustains his effort and commitment at the highest level because of the

importance to the challenging author of his involvement. If the editor cannot maintain his

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intense effort, the challenging author continues to suffer the creative and psychological damage

his problems are causing for him, and it may be that even if he tries to work with another editor,

he will not be able to repair the damage or will find it increasing as he and the other editor fail in

their relationship too.

Usually, through their shared work and experience, the editor and the author become

closer emotionally and care more about each other’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. This

increase in closeness and sensitivity may compound the challenging author’s problems because it

magnifies the impact of what the editor says and does. The editor then is even more sensitive

and careful, and aware of the significance and consequences of all of his actions and comments,

however minor they may appear to be.

The range of emotional responsiveness varies significantly, with some challenging

authors rapidly finding ease, tranquility and assurance and others remaining troubled for years,

even with the editor’s most intense efforts. The editor is not discouraged and does not reduce his

effort if the challenging author does not respond at all, continues his angry and defensive

behavior and gives no indication that he is moving toward greater psychological balance, or does

respond and grow but slowly, grudgingly and with complaints. Instead, the editor increases his

effort if possible and re-emphasizes to himself and the challenging author his belief in the

challenging author’s ultimate growth and stability.

When the editor begins to work with an author who has been damaged by his experience

with his previous editor or editors, he comprehends the nature and cause of the damage that is

peculiar to that earlier editorial experience, and whatever insecurities, sensitivities, fears and

anger that may be part of the damaged author’s character and personality.

When the problems derive from the personality and character, the editor concentrates on

the damaged author, but when they are specific to the negative editorial experience, the editor

includes the work and actions of the other editor in his comprehension. If possible and not a

breach of confidence, he discusses the problems with the other editor and learns as much as he

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can about what went wrong, but usually he relies on the damaged author’s recounting and

interpretation of the problems and their causes.

However he achieves understanding, the editor specifically asks the damaged author to

suggest all the particular ways he would like the editor to work differently than his previous

editor did.

In responding to the anger, pain and other problems left over from the previous

relationship, the editor is careful to differentiate those problems from any difficulties he may

himself have with the damaged author so that in his responses, he acts appropriately, and does

not compound the damage by becoming confused about whether the damaged author’s anger and

frustration are caused by the editor’s actions or began with the previous editor.

Co-authors

When working with multiple authors on a book, the editor makes particular adjustments

in his approach to the editing and the relationships.

His comprehension of the talent, experience, character and personality of each co-author

is combined into a larger comprehension of how this combination of co-authors may work

together most harmoniously and productively on the book. The editor helps them merge their

creative and psychological strengths in the most synergistic ways, and develop approaches to the

writing and their relationships with each other that minimize or eliminate their collective and

individual weaknesses.

The editor helps keep the group in maximum communication with him and each other,

and makes certain that the co-authors know what the others are doing, that as the creative and

editorial goals change, all of the co-authors know what the new goals are and agree with them,

and that any problems in the writing or in the relationships the co-authors have with each other

are worked out as quickly and diplomatically as possible, if necessary with the editor’s

involvement.

In deciding how to assist the co-authors in the writing, the editor is guided by his

multiple comprehension. Any editorial suggestions he makes to individual co-authors are

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appropriate to their particular creative integrity, helping them maximize their own creative

potential, and simultaneously appropriate to the combined creative integrity of the group of co-

authors so that the contribution of each co-author improves and is smoothly integrated into the

larger work.

When the editor is comprehending and editing that larger, merged work, it may be

difficult for him to know which co-author did what, who is responsible for those parts and

elements that did or did not work, and therefore how to edit appropriately.

The editor asks the co-authors to identify their work, if it is possible to differentiate it

from the rest, and then edits each contribution separately, or edits on the basis of his combined

comprehension of their talents and goals, and presents the same full editing to all of them, letting

them respond to the editing in the various individual ways that are most appropriate and

productive for them, and divide among themselves, as appropriate, the responsibility for acting

on or approving the editorial suggestions and changes.

In determining the approach and appropriateness of his editing, the editor clarifies

whether it is the entire group or one or more of the co-authors who has the right of final creative

decision. If the group is equally sharing the right of decision, the editor bases his work on their

combined goals and creative integrity, but if it is only part of the group that is deciding, the

editor incorporates the creative integrity and goals of the deciding co-authors in his editing of the

other co-authors, to increase the possibility that the deciding co-authors will approve the

development and revision done by the other co-authors in response to the editing.

As the editor works with the co-authors, he considers their respective importance, and

while giving each co-author as much time, effort and attention as possible, he adjusts and

balances his involvement and contribution in accordance with that importance. The editor is

neither so excessively involved with the most important co-author that the others justly feel

slighted and neglected, nor so even in his involvement that the co-author who is making only a

modest contribution receives as much attention as the co-authors who are doing the majority of

the work.

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As the editor continues to work with the co-authors and understands better how they

write individually and collaboratively, he helps each of them grow creatively, in their increasing

understanding of their own creative process and talent, and in developing, writing and revising

the book. The editor also helps the co-authors grow as collaborators so that their work together

becomes increasingly effective and productive.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

REFLECTIONS

Some Thoughts on Certain Editorial Matters

The Enduring Nature of Editing

At its most fundamental level, editing is the support and assistance of creativity, and as

long as there are authors writing books there is a need for editors to help them. This need is

independent of the technological ways in which the author writes and the publisher publishes.

No matter what instruments he uses or how the book reaches its audience, the author must write

and the editor can help him, and it is at that level of mind to mind and person to person that the

editor will always be able to make a contribution.

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The Range and Value of the Editorial Contribution

The nature and range of the editor’s contribution is extremely variable. It may be entirely

editorial, when the author needs significant help with the writing but is highly confident and self-

motivated and therefore does not require the editor’s support, or completely psychological,

because the author is creatively independent and brilliant but tormented with doubts and

insecurities that make it difficult for him to write at all without the editor’s intense and constant

praise and enthusiasm.

The contribution may also be editorially and psychologically comprehensive because the

author’s creative and emotional needs are so great, or minimal because the author is so talented

and committed that there is little the editor has to do.

The editor knows basically what and how he contributed but it is the author who best

assesses and determines the value of the editor’s major, modest or minimal contribution because

only he fully comprehends the impact of the editing and the relationship on him and his writing.

As direct knowledge of the relationship and editing decreases, it becomes more difficult

to measure the nature and value of the editorial contribution. The publisher and agent can make

an approximate estimate because they can talk to editor and author, are aware of how

harmoniously the author and editor work together, and have seen the editorial notes, or

participated in or heard about the editorial discussions, but it is usually impossible for the reader,

who has little or no knowledge of the editor’s involvement, to distinguish and evaluate the

editor’s contribution.

On the ideal level, the value of the editorial contribution is determined solely by the

extent to which it helps the author achieve the best book, and the editor’s vast effort in support of

a competent first novel is much more valuable than his moderate editing of a book that becomes

a classic.

However, when the contribution is judged in the context of the book’s critical and

popular importance, the significance of the editor’s involvement increases with the book’s

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importance, and the actual extent of the contribution may be less vital. Considered in this way,

the editor’s modest work on that classic book which will be reaching and satisfying readers for

generations has far greater influence and impact than his passionate support of the author writing

a competent novel and his sustained and comprehensive editing of that novel which has a very

short reading lifetime and modest reader response.

Another measure of the value of the editor’s contribution is the extent to which the book

becomes a critical and popular success because of the editor’s assistance and support of the

author. Perhaps the editor’s vision of the book’s potential is so profound, stimulating and

appropriate that the author is able to write a book far richer and more satisfying than the book he

had originally conceived, or the editor is able to represent the critical and popular audiences so

effectively that the author understands much more clearly how he should develop and write the

book that will achieve the best reading response.

The Rewards and Pleasures of Editing

The rewards of editing, which are external and internal, differ in nature and importance.

The external rewards come from outside the editor and derive from the appreciation and

response of others, including author, publisher, agent and readers.

The editor may feel the enormous excitement and delight that comes from having a book

he worked very hard on become a popular and critical success. He may also be gratified by the

author’s privately expressed appreciation, the public appreciation of a dedication or

acknowledgment in the book, or the author’s praise in an interview, and be materially or

otherwise rewarded by the publisher for his contribution to improving the book and making it

successful. Also, as the books he edits achieve greater critical and popular success, the public

knowledge of his work and reputation may increase.

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These external rewards are joyous and significant but they are dependent on the response

and giving of others, and while the editor finds them motivating when they occur, external

rewards are not frequent or reliable enough to be his fundamental source of motivation. Only the

internal rewards, which come from within the editor and are therefore independent of anyone but

him, are sufficient, steady and constant.

Throughout his working lifetime, the editor is driven and internally rewarded by his

passionate pursuit of the ideal. Making his greatest effort with every book and author, he feels

the vast joy of knowing he is as close to the ideal as is possible for him, and that joy enlarges his

passion, which is its own reward.

If the author is completely unappreciative, or rejects all of the editor’s suggestions and

changes, or if the editor works intensely on a book that turns out to be a complete critical and

popular failure, the editor feels no regret or lack of reward. He did everything he could, and the

internal rewards are substantial and sufficient.

The editor’s freedom from external motivation benefits the author and publisher.

Because they understand that the editor is principally driven from within, they can choose when,

how often, and in what manner, to recognize and reward, if at all, the editor’s labors and

achievements.

Internal rewards and editorial pleasures are numerous. The editor may find the book he

is editing so superbly written or vital in its information that he is excited simply about being

involved with it. He may also be very creative with a particular author, providing major

structural or thematic concepts, or writing at considerable length about aspects of the book and

in the writing feeling some of the flow and joy that the author feels when he is himself writing

the book.

The editor may be very pleased by how the book has improved in major and minor ways

as a result of his editing because the author acted on it so productively, and understood exactly

why the editor made the textual and structural changes he did and approved them all.

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Also, the editor may take great pride in the evolution of the author creatively and

psychologically, having helped him grow in his commitment, writing and understanding of his

talent and creative process. He may share in the author’s happiness when the writing is going

well, or get immense pleasure and the joy of close friendship from his steady and harmonious

working relationship with the author, or from all of the activities they share which are not related

to the book.

The editor also gets tremendous satisfaction from his own growth because he is learning

from every author he works with and every book he edits, and from being so close to the creative

process which he finds endlessly fascinating.

The Pain and Sadness of Suspension

One of the haunting aspects of the editor’s work is that there is never certainty about the

continuation of his editing and relationship with the author.

The editor works as closely and intensely with the author as possible, with the lifetime

goal of their best body of work together but also with the constant underlying awareness that

despite the productivity, harmony and joy of their joint efforts and their growing personal

closeness, for many reasons the relationship and their work may become suspended, temporarily

or permanently, and the purpose of the book or books which is their strongest bond will no

longer exist.

Even with the editor prepared for the emotional devastation that suspension causes, he

unavoidably feels pain, sadness and a deep sense of loss when his relationship and work with the

author end, perhaps because the author became severely ill and disabled or died prematurely, or

his enormous success has led to his moving to another publisher. Also, the editor may not able

to acquire the author’s next book, or the editor himself moves to another publisher or transfers

the author to another editor.

What is lost varies significantly, from a unique and extraordinarily rewarding relationship

to a difficult one with an author the editor is relieved not to work with any more, but even with

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the most impossible and challenging author, the editor learns and contributes so there is always

mutual loss.

Often, without the purpose of the book, the author and editor do not have enough reason,

given the other demands and relationships in their lives, to maintain the relationship, and it

ceases. The editor therefore cannot necessarily take comfort in knowing that even if they are no

longer working on the book, he and the author will certainly stay involved in other ways. They

may not.

If the relationship does continue on a personal basis, the editor and author derive

significant pleasure from their friendship but the creative and editorial loss remains. They are

not able to enjoy and benefit from the special joy and growth that comes only from working

together on the book.

If, however, through the editor’s or author’s efforts or perhaps their mutual striving, the

relationship is reactivated and they have again a book to work on, they set aside their sadness

and loss, rediscover all the old pleasures and satisfactions and find new ones.

The Danger and Damage of Compulsion

It is part of the nature and function of the editor to give, and to respond to need, and

because the creative and emotional needs of his authors are so enormous and unending, the

editor may easily become consumed with constantly giving all of himself to all of his authors.

He is burdened with knowing that if he leaves their needs unmet, in major or minor ways, they

may not be able to achieve what they should.

If the editor were only disappointing or failing himself, he would be less intensely

compulsive, but he feels a tremendous responsibility to his authors and does everything possible

to avoid letting them down.

At least for a while, his authors benefit from the editor’s comprehensive effort. However,

the editor may exhaust himself physically, emotionally, and mentally, drive himself into serious

illness, and be so consumed and edit and work so excessively that he physically and emotionally

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ruins himself and destroys his passion and desire. The result is that he is unable to edit, briefly

or for the rest of his life, and the authors lose greatly.

The editor then is appropriately restrained in his giving, not only to protect his mental,

physical and emotional health, but also to make more likely his being able to assist and support

his authors at a level that he can realistically maintain for many years. It is difficult for the editor

to give less and know that he is proportionately depriving his authors but vital that he hold back.

Regrettably, there may be times when the editor is selfish in his compulsiveness,

concentrating so much on giving to his authors and books that he neglects the needs of the other

people in his life. The editor cannot be or remain selfish, and the balance he maintains includes

major involvement in his personal life, which takes precedence over his work.

Editing and Writing

There are certain functional ways in which the editor differs from the author. Because of

the difficulty and irregular rhythm of creativity, the author usually does not write constantly. His

writing may progress rapidly, slowly or not at all. In contrast, the editor only needs creative

material to respond to, whether it is the author’s verbally described concept for the book, an

outline, or a partial or complete manuscript. The editor is therefore capable of editing at any

time and any stage of the book’s development, and because he is almost always working with

various authors simultaneously, the need and opportunity for editing are constant.

The editor cannot attain the author’s depth of comprehension and intensity of immersion

in the book, but he maintains and balances his memory and understanding of all the books he is

simultaneously involved with, to make the fullest contribution as he moves from one book to the

next, no matter how many different stages of development the books are in or how distinctive

each book is in subject and form. The editor may be helping one author develop a concept for a

literary first novel into a polished outline, then immediately discussing with another author the

final revisions of the complete manuscript of a major work of nonfiction, and then preparing

strategic and developmental notes for the first half of a collection of short stories.

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While the author usually does not work with multiple editors or struggle with the

frequent adjustments that would require, the editor remembers and realizes how to interact

harmoniously and productively with a particular author, and then instantly adjusts as he begins to

work with the next author, whether briefly or substantially.

Because the editor is working on numerous books at once, while each author is writing

and completing his own book, the editor over his working lifetime usually has contributed to

many more books than any particular author may have written, and while there is tremendous

joy and satisfaction in such a cumulative and broad achievement, the combined editorial

contribution does not have the depth, substance and value of the author’s body of work.

The author and the editor both try to get the best response from their audiences but while

the author is striving to define, reach and satisfy the largest critical and popular audiences, the

editor only has to concentrate on reaching and communicating with the author, his one-person

audience. The editor has the advantage of knowing very well who his audience is, while the

author tries to identify his audiences in often very intuitive ways.

Becoming an Editor

There are many reasons for being an editor but the most important ones include a

passionate and enduring belief in the value and importance of the book and the author, and of the

contribution that can be made to them, a deep fascination with the creative process, and a

profound joy in being involved with the writing of books.

Someone usually decides to become an editor because he has that belief and fascination

and can imagine the joy, has spent most of his life reading broadly, deeply and compulsively, and

wants to move beyond reading to actively helping with the writing.

Although he will not know with certainty until he actually begins to work with an author,

the aspiring editor feels he has the talent for comprehensive analysis of a book, communicating

his understanding to the author, and assisting the author in expanding his vision of the book’s

potential and then realizing that potential.

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He perceives the book and author as being more important than he is, and has the

willingness to accept a supporting position and do everything he can to advance them and not

himself. Also, he feels that he has the psychological ability to work harmoniously and

effectively with various authors and help them establish the most productive environment for

writing.

The aspiring editor has the intense passion and commitment that motivate him to endure

what is a very long, demanding and arduous apprenticeship in editing, when the material rewards

are very few and the emotional and intellectual rewards may be slow to develop.

However, even the most passionate aspiring editor is effective only if he has innate

editorial talent and has developed that talent through a lifetime of reading. As he prepares to edit

his first book, the aspiring editor builds on everything he has learned over many years of

reading, understanding, analyzing, writing and thinking deeply about perhaps thousands of

books, and then merges that knowledge with the new experience he is acquiring as, for the first

time, he communicates and works directly with an author and actually changes or helps the

author change the book.

Because of all the years of reading preparation and the resultant development of the

aspiring editor’s analytical ability, the degree of editorial talent can frequently be judged by the

quality of even his earliest editing. If he is already editing well, he is clearly talented and has

potential, but if he is struggling with the first books and producing editing that is inappropriate,

shallow and poorly thought out, it is probable that he lacks the necessary talent no matter how

much he may have prepared, or continue to try to do.

Although the aspiring editor draws on the experience and knowledge gained from all of

the relationships he has had in his life, he can only learn how to establish, build and maintain

harmonious and productive relationships with authors by actually working with them so his

psychological abilities and relationship skills may not be fully established and immediately

apparent when he begins to support his first authors but are revealed as he works with more and

more authors.

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During the grueling early years of basic learning, the developing editor gradually

comprehends the nature of his talent, his ability to establish strong relationships with authors,

and the strength of his commitment, and he defines himself by the extent and quality of his

effort.

The ability to edit and work well with authors is more common than the enduring and

intense passion that drives veteran editors to make the maximum contribution to all of their

books and authors, year after year, and sadly, many developing editors realize that while they

have the editorial talent and diplomatic skills, they lack the commitment to sustain their effort at

the necessary level, and decide not to continue. The loss of these developing editors is

particularly regrettable because there are more authors in need of good editors than there are

editors to help them.

The talented and passionate developing editor steadily strengthens his commitment and

continues his editorial growth through his work with his books and authors, and by observing

other editors and perhaps working with them on their books and helping them with their authors.

He reads and studies everything that has been written about editing and writing, discusses with

his authors and other editors why and how they write and edit as they do, and asks them for

suggestions on how he can improve his own editing and building of relationships.

As his experience, knowledge and understanding expand and he completes and moves

beyond his apprenticeship period, the developing editor gradually becomes a versatile and

experienced editor able to make a greater contribution to a broader range of books and authors,

and perhaps with the potential talent and passion to become someday a master editor.

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RECOMMENDED READING

(AUTHOR’S NOTE: Sadly, too many of these classic books are out of print, but all or almost all of them can be acquired through Amazon.com, and its thousands of rare-book dealer associates.

Later, I’ll be acquiring the online publishing rights to as many of these books, and numerous others, as I can, and publishing them in on-demand, electronic/online form, on the McCarthy Creative Services website: www.McCarthyCreative.com.)

DEAR SCOTT/DEAR MAX: The Fitzgerald-Perkins Correspondence,Edited by John Kohl and Jackson R. Brier, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1971

EDITING FACT AND FICTION: A Concise Guide to Book Editingby Leslie T. Sharpe and Irene Günter, Cambridge University Press, 1994

EDITOR TO AUTHOR: The Letters of Maxwell E. Perkins,Edited by John Hall Wedlock, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1950

EDITORS ON EDITING: What Writers Need to Know About What Editors Do,Third Edition, Edited by Gerald Gross, Grove Press, 1993

THE EDUCATION OF AN EDITOR by Burroughs Mitchell,Doubleday, 1980

THE ELEMENTS OF EDITING: A Modern Guide for Editors and Journalistsby Arthur Plotnik, Macmillan, 1982

THE FICTION EDITOR by Thomas McCormack, St. Martin’s Press, 1988

INDECENT PLEASURES: The Life and Colorful Times of William Tarby William Tar, Macmillan, 1975

“LOVE AND ADMIRATION AND RESPECT” The O’Neill-Cummins Correspondence, Edited by Dorothy Cummins, Duke University Press, 1986

MAX PERKINS: Editor of Genius by A. Scott Berg,Thomas Condon Books/E. P. Dutton, 1978

STEINBECK AND CIVIC: The Story of a Friendshipby Thomas Finch, Paul S. Eriksson, 1979

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UNSHAKEN FRIEND: A Profile of Maxwell Perkinsby Malcolm Cowley, Roberts Rinehart, Inc., 1985

WHAT IS AN EDITOR? Saxes Cummins at Work by Dorothy Cummins,The University of Chicago Press, 1978

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Professor Paul D. McCarthy is the founder, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of McCarthy

Creative Services, headquartered in New York City, www.McCarthyCreative.com, and founded

in 1999.

MCS is a global company with ten international divisions, working worldwide with

creativity in all forms and media. Writers and others from more than one hundred twenty (120)

countries have visited the MCS website.

Professor McCarthy is a New York Times hardcover bestselling author, nonfiction and

fiction, and has been a professional writer for almost years.

As MCS Editor-in-Chief, and previously, for 25 years, as acquiring Senior Editor at

Simon & Schuster’s and HarperCollins’s Trade Hardcover Divisions, Professor McCarthy has

worked editorially with nine #1 New York Times & international bestselling authors, including

Nelson DeMille, Clive Cussler’s, John Douglas, Richard Marino, John Weisman, Dr. David

Reuben, Patrick McCabe, Robert Welch, and Neil Peart.

He is the first-ever full Professor in Writing, Editing & Publishing at the University of

Ulster in Ireland, which has four major campuses, and over 30,000 students.

As CEO of MCS and professor at the University of Ulster, he created the University’s

pioneering, globally unprecedented, developmental and progressive, degree-length series of

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courses for English majors: THE WRITING, EDITING & PUBLISHING PROGRAMME. The

program has been so successful that it’s being expanded to many other departments in Arts &

Sciences, and to the Master’s degree-level.

Professor McCarthy provides creative services, including editing, writing, publishing &

creative consulting, and more. As a literary & film agent, represents only five very

distinguished, award-winning, and bestselling authors & screenwriters.

Professor McCarthy has almost four decades of professional editing, publishing,

agenting, program creation, education, consulting movie/entertainment, and international public

speaking experience.

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