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Award winners in the spotlight
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From: Robin Smith <smithr>
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 13:41:44 -0600
Dear all,
Though I have never been on an award committee, I agree with Ginny that everything matters. For something to be considered excellent, it must be nearly perfect. The cover should match the story. The copy editing must be impeccable. There should be no historical inaccuracies. Characters and stories should resonate and be memorable.
Publishers and editors are part of the process and they should take the same pride in the story that the author took. For a story to be excellent-even calling itself the "best" book of the year-all the pieces must fit and fit very well.
I review books in galley form and the cover and copyediting are often unknown quantities. I feel angry when I look at a final edition in the store and spelling or grammar errors remain. I incorrectly assumed that someone would take care of the copyediting. Sometimes I am jarred by the cover choice, usually because the publisher has chosen a photo instead of an illustration.
I am intrigued by the difference between what the NBA committee chooses as opposed to the Newbery committee. I wonder if the difference in the awards and the readers are that librarians are thinking more about the potential child-reader and the critics and writers are reading the book from the writers' perspective.
Robin Smith
Received on Tue 09 Jan 2001 01:41:44 PM CST
Date: Tue, 9 Jan 2001 13:41:44 -0600
Dear all,
Though I have never been on an award committee, I agree with Ginny that everything matters. For something to be considered excellent, it must be nearly perfect. The cover should match the story. The copy editing must be impeccable. There should be no historical inaccuracies. Characters and stories should resonate and be memorable.
Publishers and editors are part of the process and they should take the same pride in the story that the author took. For a story to be excellent-even calling itself the "best" book of the year-all the pieces must fit and fit very well.
I review books in galley form and the cover and copyediting are often unknown quantities. I feel angry when I look at a final edition in the store and spelling or grammar errors remain. I incorrectly assumed that someone would take care of the copyediting. Sometimes I am jarred by the cover choice, usually because the publisher has chosen a photo instead of an illustration.
I am intrigued by the difference between what the NBA committee chooses as opposed to the Newbery committee. I wonder if the difference in the awards and the readers are that librarians are thinking more about the potential child-reader and the critics and writers are reading the book from the writers' perspective.
Robin Smith
Received on Tue 09 Jan 2001 01:41:44 PM CST
