Quote:
Originally Posted by DrZoidberg
An author, no matter how good he is, needs a good editor. All the best editors work for the big publishers. That's just fact. There's quite a long period between the editor getting attached to a book project and the book getting released. These guys are expensive.
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Not all of the better editors work for the big publishers; in fact, most of my colleagues who I would consider topnotch editors are freelancers. They may do a project here and there for a big publisher, but more often work directly with authors nad small publishers.
Some of the reasons why editors prefer to work through a publisher are as follows:
- guaranteed payment; editors who work directly with authors get stiffed by the authors with some degree of frequency
- there is nothing more frustrating to an editor than to have to work with an author who thinks he/she is the next Tom Clancy or Stephen King but whose manuscript really belongs at the very bottom of a mile-high slush pile -- and these authors are nearly universally difficult to work with; getting a manuscript from a publisher is no guarantee that it is a good manuscript but it does mean that it has been vetted by several independent eyes and there is some hope
- publishers insulate editors from authors who know best about everything -- whether it is nuclear fusion or how big a dose of baby aspirin will kill a character; working with a publisher means the editor can do his/her job and leave it to the publisher to deal with the author
- publishers intercede to ensure that authors do not have unrealistic expectations; inexperienced authors who hire editrs directly assume that the editors know all the ins and outs of the publishing process and how to turn their manuscript into the next Harry Potter -- and they tend to bombard the editor with extraneous requests and balk when asked to pay for the time
There are more reasons but you get the picture. Let me say this, however: There are lots of indie authors with whom it is a pleasure for an editor to work, probably the majority, maybe even the vast majority. But it doesn't take getting burned more than once to sour editors on direct working relationships.