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From: Norma Jean <nsawicki>
Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 22:18:54 -0500
When I entered publishing in the late sixties, it was commonplace for editors to hire experts to check a work of nonfiction for accuracy. In many houses, the budget to do that has long disappeared. One then depended wholly on skilled in-house copyeditors to fact check but in many houses, the copyediting department is now small, and a good chunk of the work is done by freelance copyeditors. Many writers now take it on themselves to have their work read by an expert.
When our budget for critiques by experts disappeared, I made the decision to stay away from a subject if no one in the department was knowledgeable about that subject. In a biography, for instance, a writer can exclude material that should be included and unless an editor is familiar with the subject, one may not know what has been excluded. I worked with a gifted writer/biographer who hated to include anything negative about the subject. Had I not been familiar with the subject, I would not have been able to ask why did you decide not to include this or that...or, you must include this or that because it influenced, etc., etc. The gaps do not always show especially if the writer is gifted.
A few years ago, I asked a group of talented, young children's book editors if they were qualified to acquire and and edit a work of nonfiction about the Vietnam War for kids. Not a single hand was raised; that war was either not included in their high school and college educations, or was taught superficially. Not their fault. With the changes in high school and college curriculums, I suspect many editors would not feel comfortable editing a variety of subjects not only in the sciences but in history.
I suspect...and suspect is the word...that much of the terrific nonfiction being published is acquired and edited by a small handful of editors who love it, feel comfortable with it, and are good at it. Have not looked at books with that in mind; guessing....Norma Jean
Received on Thu 07 Jul 2005 10:18:54 PM CDT
Date: Thu, 07 Jul 2005 22:18:54 -0500
When I entered publishing in the late sixties, it was commonplace for editors to hire experts to check a work of nonfiction for accuracy. In many houses, the budget to do that has long disappeared. One then depended wholly on skilled in-house copyeditors to fact check but in many houses, the copyediting department is now small, and a good chunk of the work is done by freelance copyeditors. Many writers now take it on themselves to have their work read by an expert.
When our budget for critiques by experts disappeared, I made the decision to stay away from a subject if no one in the department was knowledgeable about that subject. In a biography, for instance, a writer can exclude material that should be included and unless an editor is familiar with the subject, one may not know what has been excluded. I worked with a gifted writer/biographer who hated to include anything negative about the subject. Had I not been familiar with the subject, I would not have been able to ask why did you decide not to include this or that...or, you must include this or that because it influenced, etc., etc. The gaps do not always show especially if the writer is gifted.
A few years ago, I asked a group of talented, young children's book editors if they were qualified to acquire and and edit a work of nonfiction about the Vietnam War for kids. Not a single hand was raised; that war was either not included in their high school and college educations, or was taught superficially. Not their fault. With the changes in high school and college curriculums, I suspect many editors would not feel comfortable editing a variety of subjects not only in the sciences but in history.
I suspect...and suspect is the word...that much of the terrific nonfiction being published is acquired and edited by a small handful of editors who love it, feel comfortable with it, and are good at it. Have not looked at books with that in mind; guessing....Norma Jean
Received on Thu 07 Jul 2005 10:18:54 PM CDT
