Quote:
Originally Posted by Steven Lyle Jordan
We are rapidly entering a world of decentralized publications/communications, which by its nature cannot afford a large infrastructure or teams of personnel. Because of this, there is little room for a pro copy editor, even if there's a need.
This suggests that some of the most vital duties of copy editors will fall upon the creative individuals, some will fall upon automation (computers), and the rest will fall by the wayside... as it has gone for many other professions that fell victim to decentralization. This doesn't mean that copy editors will somehow become unnecessary in the future... just that the decentralized publishers/communicators will largely be forced by circumstance to provide for themselves, and won't be providing employment for many of them.
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We have been in decentralized mode ever since the early 1980s when the publishing world began its transformation through mergers and acquisitions. Hundreds, if not thousands, of previously independent publishing houses suddenly became cogs in a conglomerate, which is why we now speak of the 6 big publishing houses.
Although that consolidation forced many editorial and production services to move from within the publishing house to freelance, it didn't change the need for professional editorial services. In some ways, it actually increased the need because the BPHs needed to publish a larger number of books to bolster quarterly profits for the parent company. It also led to the creation of thousands of SPHs (small publishing houses), the publishers who published as few as 2 or 3 books a year. These, too, also hired freelancers.
The big change that is occurring now is the ebook phenomenon. Here things grow dicey. Not only does everyone with Internet access now think they are an author whose words are worth publishing and reading but now anyone with Internet access thinks they are an editor -- after all, they found that spelling error in so-and-so's book, which proves their editorial sharp eye (but what about the errors they didn't find?).
The need for professional editors hired by authors is actually growing. The burden has shifted in the ebook age from the publisher to the author, which is what authors have clamored for -- total control and profit. Yet in these early stages of everyone is an author, authors are reluctant both to invest in their own book and to recognize that Aunt Sally is a dabbler not a professional editor who may do more harm than good.
Where this is first being addressed is in professional publications. In the olden days, an author would write an article and submit it to XYZ magazine/journal. XYZ would review the submission, decide it had merit, and send it to its stable of professional editors before publication. Today XYZ won't consider the submission unless it has already been professionally edited and conformed to XYZ's standards and style.
In the early days of that change, authors resisted that shift of burden; today they accept it as standard practice.
Today ebook authors do not accept the need to pay for professional services; that will change as the market matures and consumers become more leery of indie books. Right now we all revel in the availability of inexpensive (and often free) ebooks and are willing to swallow our standards because 99 cents just isn't going to break the bank and we are willing to trade cheap price for questionable quality. (That, FWIW, was also true in the 1700s and early 1800s when mass publications began to take hold.) But that will change as the market matures and authors will realize that they have spent 1 year of their life writing something that is getting panned because of a lack of professional editing and realize that paying the costs for a pro is well worthwhile.
Few authors I know are satisfied will little to mediocre success. All desire to be well read and well compensated for their efforts.