[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by david_e

I believe someone mentioned earlier that they were familiar with writers who lost these services when their editor changed. Wouldn't this be something that was stipulated in their contract with the publisher?

Contracts don't spell out what the publishers will do on an editing level. They do talk about their distribution rights, country rights, and format rights. There's pages of payment schedules, and manuscript delivery schedules. The rights can revert back to the author if the publisher hasn't "published' by a certain date after the author reaches her obligations.

I have an entire book on industry contracts and editing is not even mentioned other than a publishing company can drop an author if agreement cannot be reached on editing changes (that the publishing company wants to implement as it is rarely the author demanding changes in copy.) It's usually stated as something like "receiving a manuscript that is acceptable" which the publisher can interpret many ways, but protects them from the author suddenly turning in garble-gook. Unfortunately it can also leave an author high and dry if the publisher wants to drop the author. They can terminate the contract with very little reason given after holding up a manuscript for ages.

There are very few protections for the writer as far as quality. The writer has no say in the cover or the quality of it and the same goes for editing. Those things are not mentioned in the contract, nor is most marketing. Editors/publishers are notorious for making marketing promises--and sometimes a good agent can even get certain ones spelled out in the contract. However, there's little an author can do if the publishing company doesn't live up to those marketing promises (and they often do not unless the book is outperforming.) I know authors who have been told they would be given book tours--but it was all verbal and doesn't necessarily come to pass. Publicists that work for publishers handle many, many writers all at once. You are lucky to get bookmarks and your proper number of author copies. You can also request that the publicist send review copies to any contacts you have. Most of them are happy to help, but yes, some of these requests fall through the cracks.

Best selling authors have more muscle to get some of these things into a written contract. They can push for more money upfront, they can push for larger percentages of the royalties. But the average writer gets a standard contract with a few things that an agent may have fought for--and it's take it or leave it.

There's a lot of reasons authors who have already been published have put out self-published works.

Now all that said there are always good people, good editors and whatnot to work with. There are always those going above and beyond and some authors know when they have it good. But as in any industry things vary greatly and it is only experience that teaches you how the wheel turns on the car and whether you're the bug or the windshield.