[neilmarr]

What you must remember, Sparrow, is that 'publishing' in the good ol' days was pretty well a simple deal between an author and a printer. When publishing became a money-spinning industry, some form of editorial quality control had to be introduced. After forty-odd years as a professional writer and editor, I can assure you that NOTHING should go to print without serious, pro editorial intervention. Only crass amateurs believe otherwise -- and the result is the deluge of arrogantly self-published nonsense that now confronts someone browsing for a book. Some self-publishers are sound, painstaking operators, but they are in a tiny minority and I think would be the first to agree that it's very difficult for the potential reader to sort the wheat from the chaff in a world where writing and publishing is made too easy. That everyone has a book in them might well be true ... but not necessarily a good book. An editor is necessary to spot the difference and to enable a good writer to get the best out of his work on behalf of the folks at the top of the food chain; the readers. Neil