From: Susan Kuklin <76641.3035>
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1998 10:49:00 -0400

This most interesting conversation has brought me out of "lurk" mode. Editors should receive much more credit for the creative work that they do. They are the unsung heroines and heros of our books. They are the umbilical cord to a published work. I am one author who is dependent and grateful to my editor and art director.
        Consider this: the writer/editor relationship is rather like a marriage. An editor sees the writer at his/her worst. They hang in there anyway. (My editor, who is probably reading this E-mail, will cringe at the words "hang in.") They push, prod, and demand. They shape, support, and encourage.
        My editor is my most critical-sympathetic reader. The first reader. The scary reader. The partner. We laugh and we cry over the manuscript. We work in tandem. We finish one another's sentences, both on and off the page. We live the book. We know every line, every phrase.
 We make lots of changes. My editor's suggestions always lead to a deeper, more cohesive book.
        A good editor has an uncanny way of knowing when the writer needs a boost. A good editor knows just when to leave us alone.

        I am so glad Leonard wrote this wonderful book. Three cheers for editors!

                                        Susan Kuklin
Received on Tue 11 Aug 1998 09:49:00 AM CDT