I recently read an article about the role of editor and it got me thinking about how everyone has a different conception of what an editor’s role and responsibilities are. I thought it would make a great article for the newsletter, so I emailed a bunch of editors here at F&W and from the NSSWM database to get their opinion. My question was:
Recent events in the literary world have inspired me to write a piece about the editor's role as an intermediary between the writer and reader for the next Novel & Short Story Writer's Market newsletter, and I want to get some input from editors. Could you please briefly (2-3 sentences) tell me what you think an editor's responsibility is to both the writer and the reader?
I heard back from 14 of them, and my analysis and commentary are in the newsletter (comes/came out December 14th, and yes, I can get it to you if you missed it), and here are their responses in full:
"My sole responsibility is to the ideal manuscript a writer aspires to. I will do what I can to help the writer toward that ideal. Why would I do anything else?"
Howard Junker
Editor, ZYZZYVA
"I am of the conviction that the editor is the second writer of any work. Rarely, if ever, does an editor accept a work for publication while allowing it to remain in the state it was received from the author. On the best day, there will be a said-bookism or an adverb somewhere in the work that needs weeding out. The editor's work is to finish any submitted piece, utilizing her vast knowledge of style, content, forms, and literary history."
Skadi meic Beorh
Editor, The Willows
"To me, the editor's responsibility is foremost to the reader. I do my best to take care of our authors and treat them and their work with the respect they deserve, but my ears are always tuned to the readership, listening for their complaints and suggestions. Readers cannot--and wouldn't want to--wade through every story in my slushpile, so I see myself as an aggregator, discovering the tales of most interest to my magazine's demographic, and presenting those in a pleasing format."
Ben Thomas
Lead Editor, The Williows
"I believe an editor's primary responsibility is to the magazine's readership. As a magazine editor, I believe my job is to select stories that will appeal to readers and assure that those stories have been edited to the high standard that our readers have come to expect. That said, as an editor, I have a duty to treat the writers in a fair and businesslike way and assure that we communicate clearly through the editorial process."
David Lee Summers
Editor, Tales of the Talisman Magazine
"In my opinion, an editor's chief responsibilities are to being passionate and honest. Everything else is subjective. Let's face it, an editor chooses what gets in, but every writer who's ever gotten a rejection slip thinks that editors can't do their jobs properly.
"There's no real criteria for defining quality, so one can't really argue that the editor's job is to safeguard the world of published works against that which isn't of high quality; 'bad' editors would swear that they're doing this as staunchly as 'good' editors. (Assign whatever value you like to 'bad' and 'good'.)
"The best we can do, then, is our best. We have to greedily seek those works that make us proud to say we've published them, and respectfully decline everything else."
Rev. Brian Worley
Editor, Susurrus
"I think an editor should be very selective to provide only the finest manuscripts to the readers. He/she should be encouraging and inspiring to new writers by helping writers to establish long-term goals."
Andy Zhang
Editor, Aberdeen Bay
"The main job of an editor is to make sure the reader is entertained. The editor has to find writing good enough to fascinate the reader (hopefully fascinating enough to inspire the reader to subscribe!). To the writer the editor has to be generous, tough, fair, and open-- hard to accomplish on the best of days but always the goal."
Gavin Grant
Editor, Small Beer Press
"I think it is our responsibility to try to choose stories that are uniquely conceived, expertly crafted, and in some way broaden or deepen our understanding of what it is to be human. If we do that, we can't help but respect the author's creative work and our goal is obviously to give the reader something meaningful and affecting."
Linda Swanson-Davies
Editor, Glimmertrain Stories
"An editor owes a writer genuine appreciation for their work and also their willingness to risk rejection of that work. If an editor is genuinely appreciative, then naturally they will provide a writer with criticism that is thoughtful and constructive rather than rushed, offhand or even hurtful. Constructive criticism is an editor’s responsibility.
"An editor owes a reader a similar sort of respect which, I think, becomes expressed in the assumption that a reader wants to be entertained but also truly moved. It seems to me that when an editor makes this assumption they will then inevitably choose short stories for their journal that are complex and emotionally true rather than merely clever. I think that is their responsibility towards a reader."
Natalia Nebel
Chicago Quarterly Review
"As an editor, my responsibility is to the reader. I have to make sure the information is accessible, accurate and understandable by my core audience. I try not to destroy a writer’s voice, but meaning is more important than tone."
Megan Lane Patrick
Senior Editor, HOW magazine and books
"In essence, an editor is a professional reader. From that perspective, we coach the writer into making the experience work for the reader, whatever the type of book. Editing a cookbook can be a lot more straightforward ('No, really—the reader needs to know what temperature to set the oven.') than fiction ('You’re telling me you kept changing the spelling of the main character’s name on purpose?'), but the question remains the same: Does this work for the reader?"
Vanessa Lyman
Editor, Northlight Books
"I believe the prescriptive-nonfiction editor’s job is to maintain the voice and vision of the author, while also ensuring the finished book is clear, informative, and engaging and has actionable value for the reader."
Lauren Mosko
Editor, Writer's Digest Books
"I believe an editor’s responsibilities to the reader and the writer are different, but both work to achieve the same goal: a worthy book. The editor’s responsibility to a writer is to keep the vision for their book clear, and help the writer execute that vision without changing the intent of the work. The editor’s responsibility to the reader is to ask all the questions of the writer that the reader might ask as they are reading.
"In addition, in this day and age, an editor has a responsibility to their publisher, to create a saleable product."
Amy Schell
Editor, Writer's Digest Books & HOW books
"As an editor of fine art books, I work with many left-brain artists who sometimes have trouble transcribing their creative processes into words. My job is to break apart the written subject matter then ask lots of questions to fill in any holes. The reader should never have to translate the artist's stream of consciousness to understand the message, though it's important to edit with sensitivity to the artist's personality, voice and style."
Sarah Laichas
Associate Editor, North Light Books
We’ve heard from the editors, now I want to know what the writers think; same question as above, but from the writer’s perspective. Respond in the comments here or email me at nsswm AT fwpubs DOT com. Please include the type of writing you do (fantasy short stories, literary novels, nonfiction, etc.). I will look at the writer’s perspective in the January newsletter, so if you’re not signed up for the newsletter, go here.