Quote of the Day (Kate McKean, on the Changing Roles and Situations of Book Editors)

“Editors now play marketer, therapist, social media manager, and money minder.  They have to bring in the talent…, create a profit-and-loss statement that miraculously makes the finances work out, negotiate a deal that wins the day but saves some money, guide the writer through the revision process, guide the book through production and sales, cheerlead for it ceaselessly, and, oh yeah, edit it. Even as publishers release more titles, the number of employees at any given house is unlikely to have gone up in recent years. Everyone is doing more with less. What does that mean for editors? They aren’t editing at their desk but rather in off-hours, at nights and on weekends. Say ‘editors don’t edit anymore’ and you’d better be prepared to duck.”—Literary agent and author Kate McKean, “Publishing Myths—‘Editors Don’t Edit Anymore—Do They?”, Poets and Writers, March-April 2024

Well, it might be better for those people (especially inexperienced, prospective authors) who claim “editors don’t edit anymore" to say that there is more of a division of roles for editors.

I can’t speak for trade publishing, but at university presses, the types of editors that Ms. McKean has in mind are more like acquisition editors who secure and protect titles. They may make helpful and significant general comments about the content of a manuscript, but more rigorous critiques are likely to be performed by outside reviewers—academics with special knowledge of a subject.

Other types of editors go through the manuscript line by line. If these are not in-house production editors, then they are hired independently.

As a first-time author, I have no complaints about the editors who eventually signed my book and saw it through production. (Nor, Ms. McKean will be pleased to know, with our agent, a knowledgeable and tireless cheerleader for our book.)

I just wish there were more editors out there who had seen the value of the original proposal by me and my co-author.

I would also agree with Ms. McKean on this point—editors have their work cut out for them these days—but for different reasons: a public with a falling attention span—and less time to read anything, let alone books; and fewer book review outlets with less space.

In this changing environment, authors who hope for decent sales of their books can’t expect to sit on the sidelines and let the publisher do all the promotional work. They have to pitch in, too, by making appearances, talking it up among friends, spreading the word on social media, writing op-ed pieces, going on podcasts, lecturing at local libraries, and the like.