The Editor's Role
The Editor's Role
Before we look at the many hats that editors wear and the different types of editing that editors are responsible for, let's first consider the word "edit."
According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, to "edit" means to "prepare (written material) for publication by correcting, condensing, or otherwise modifying it," but that definition can, of course, be expanded to virtually any type of communication. After all, film must be edited. Television requires editing. Even photography makes use of the practice of editing, although it is called "development" or "processing."
Here's a list of the various types of editors and editing that occurs in the publishing world. Remember that these descriptions are generic and that some of the responsibilities listed change depending on the kind of publishing house at which one is employed. Some publishers have their editors perform the tasks that other employees perform at other houses. It all depends upon context.
Editor: This term is generic, and most of the other kinds of editors listed here would, if asked in a casual conversation, probably identify themselves simply as "editors." All types of editors are expected to keep abreast of changing industry standards. They are typically expected to liaise with other editors or freelancers and determine what content is appropriate for their specific publication. Rather than expand this definition any further, let's look at some of the more specific roles that editors play. This will help us better understand the idiosyncrasies of the job.
Editor-in-chief: Great Caesar's ghost! Think Perry White from the Superman comics. Editors-in-chief are the ultimate "deciders," to borrow a term from George W. Bush. Editors-in-chief are responsible for the same things that all other kinds of editors are responsible for (fact-checking, editing content, checking for plagiarism, handling problems resulting from reporting, etc.), but again, they are the final stop at a publication. They are often referred to as "executive editors."
Editor-at-large: An editor-at-large is someone who contributes content to a journal, magazine, newspaper, or other type of publication. "At large" simply means that the individual does not have any specific responsibilities. Editors-at-large do not have as much independence as fulltime editors and still are subject to oversight, but they can develop their own content without approval.
Assignment editor: At a newspaper, an assignment editor is one who gathers news tips (often from members of the public that call or email the newspaper, but also from the news wire) and assigns stories to reporters.
Managing editor: These editors play the role of vice-president to the editor-in-chief. Managing editors have very similar duties but not as much authority.
Contributing editor: Think Christopher Hitchens of Vanity Fair, or Matt Taibbi of Rolling Stone. The title "editor" is more honorary than anything else, as these individuals typically contribute content but do very little editing. The inclusion of the word editor probably relates to the fact that they determine the content for themselves, rather than having it dictated by someone else. Contributing editors are often successful journalists or authors who already have a well-established body of work. They are typically freelancers, although they often work under contract—especially if they are already well-known or widely read journalists or authors.
Research editor: These individuals are responsible for ensuring accuracy. They are also referred to as fact-checkers.
Production editor/editing: Production editors are in charge of the entire production process, from initial manuscript to final printed book. They may assign specific copyeditors and art designers to particular projects, or they may just supervise those already assigned to the task. They are typically in charge of scheduling and may or may not have administrative authority (this depends upon the size of the publishing house). They may be in charge of assuring a copyright is obtained. Depending on whether the publishing house actually does the physical printing, they may also be in charge of choosing a printer.
Project editor/editing: This role is similar to that of production editor, but project editors may also aid in the development of the manuscript.
Permissions editor/editing: While we may see permissions editors more often in the world of nonfiction publishing, they play a role in the world of fiction, as well. Permissions editors ensure that permission to use all material quoted or borrowed and all previously published research that is protected by copyright is granted.
Whew! That's a lot of editing, and depending upon the publishing house, there may be even more roles than these. If you go to work for a science journal, there may be a "scientific editor" role. If you work for an entertainment magazine, there might be a "celebrity editor" role. In fact, one can be an editor of just about anything. And the responsibilities of such a role aren't too hard to guess based on the name.
A scientific editor would oversee the peer review process. He or she might be asked to attend conferences and keep abreast of current scientific topics that might be appropriate for the journal to print. A celebrity editor would oversee articles about current celebrity gossip. He or she would select articles submitted by staff for inclusion in the next publication.
Now that we've introduced some of the various types of editors, let's look at just three more specific types of editors employed at nearly every major publishing house. We will explore these in a little more depth than the others.
This is typically the first editor that an author will work with. An acquisitions editor is responsible for researching market trends and finding authors and material suitable for publication at the press where he or she works. They build bridges between authors (or authors' agents) and the publishing world. It is the acquisitions editor's responsibility to convince the rest of the publishing house that a particular manuscript is worth publishing. An acquisitions editor typically ends up bringing one to two dozen books to publication per year, depending upon the size of the publisher.
This role has more of a business focus than many other editing roles (even though, as we stated earlier, all of them must consider things from a business point of view). For example, they may be in charge of relating the marketing goals of the book to the editorial staff. Since they are in charge of acquiring manuscripts and material in the first place, they often determine the direction in which the publishing house is going (intentionally or otherwise).
The hard reality of the publishing industry (and really any industry in the world) is that the primary concern for most of those involved is money. Wait, that's not right. The primary concern for most of those involved is profit. There, that's better. For something to be "successful," it must generate a profit. Ideally this concern would primarily fall to the marketers and business people working in publishing houses. But this isn't the case. Acquisitions editors must consider how likely it is that the book in question will be popular enough for the publishing house to turn a profit.
An acquisitions editor must often choose between creativity and profitability. Unfortunately, this decision is often affected by how well known the author submitting the manuscript is. If the author has a proven record of publishing successful books, and that author wants to move in a more experimental direction, it is much easier for a publishing house to take a risk. After all, many people will buy the book simply because it was written by someone they like, even if that book turns out to be less popular or less highly regarded than previous books.
But if an author unknown to the public wants to publish the next Ulysses, well, that's probably only going to happen after a lot of convincing, and it may not happen at all. In fact, many authors who are now popular have stories of attempting to submit manuscripts (that were later eagerly accepted) only to be turned down by absolutely every single publishing house to which they submitted.
The Acquisitions Process
Now let's break down the four different steps that an acquisitions editor takes in order to get a book to print. The last step depends upon the publisher and could just as easily go to the next type of editor we'll talk about, the developmental editor.
Find/Accept Manuscripts: Some publishing houses accept unsolicited manuscripts. In these kinds of houses, the acquisitions editor typically has quite a bit of work to do, as it is necessary to read almost every manuscript that comes through the door. Other publishing houses work closely with agents or authors with whom they have a previously established relationship. In still other cases, acquisitions editors may make phone calls or write emails requesting manuscripts from others in the industry.
Evaluate Manuscripts: As editors are either reading through unsolicited manuscripts or reading over new manuscripts from an agent or author they already have an established relationship with, they must determine whether the manuscript "fits" their publishing house. If a publishing house deals mainly with science fiction, it probably won't be too keen on publishing something in another genre. And if the manuscript simply isn't of the quality that the house desires, it will obviously have to be culled. If the editor chooses to accept the manuscript, then they must be prepared to defend that choice in the face of questioning from other editors and decision makers. They must convince the marketing department that it is a book that they can easily sell.
Purchase Rights: Now a deal must be made. To a certain degree, royalties and advances are preset. If they are not pre-set, there is generally a range most acquisitions editors must stay within. It's their job to negotiate with the author or agent and finalize a deal.
Edit Manuscripts: This one is tricky. Sometimes, an acquisitions editor will also work as a developmental editor, a role we'll discuss in a moment. In these cases, they will be in charge of getting the manuscript to the point that it can be handed over to the copyeditors. If you are a little lost on this one, don't worry. It will all become clear in a moment.
Once all these steps are completed (or at least the first three), it's time to make the manuscript shine. It's time to develop the text.
This is the second editor that an author will typically work with. A developmental editor helps develop a particular work. A developmental editor can enter the scene at almost any stage of writing. They may come in at the proposal stage before any of the content has been written and help the author determine the best direction in which to take the book. They may come in after the book is completed and help hone the content.
For our purposes, let's say that we're talking about a manuscript for a book. While we are going to look at something very specific, this general outline works for almost any type of text, short or long. We'd like to think that there is "less" to do when writing a short article for a journal than when writing a book, and in terms of the volume of work, this is certainly true. But there are no fewer steps in getting an article published than in getting a book published.
Let's take a look at the responsibilities of a developmental editor in further detail and examine exactly what a developmental editor would need to do with a particular manuscript.
Primary Concerns of the Developmental Editor
A developmental editor is in charge of refining three basic things: theme, style, and pace. Each of these three things is connected to many other potential issues, and it's up to the developmental editor to determine what needs to be cut, added, or revised. In order to fully exploit the three aforementioned aspects of the manuscript, a good developmental editor will examine the following things.
Concept and content
Thesis and outline
Pace and transitions, character development, and believability
Style and tone
Concept and Content
Is there an overarching concept to the book? Is the concept general enough to provide several different possible theses*? A developmental editor will deal specifically with the thesis at a later time; however, at the very beginning of his or her consideration of the manuscript, the thesis will play at least a small role.
In order to determine market potential, a developmental editor must first consider the target audience. Obviously, the author needs as wide of an audience as possible because the more readers an author has, the more profit the work can generate. While the author doesn't make this his or her sole consideration (most of the time), there isn't an author out there who would deny that it's nice to have a lot of people read their books (even if they genuinely don't care about the money). People don't write books so that they go unread. They write books to share their ideas about the world.
But the developmental editor must find a balance. If an author writes a book about the effects of arthritis on the elderly, the developmental editor should not expect to be able to market the book to fourteen-year-olds. If an author writes a book of horror stories, the developmental editor should not expect to be able to market the book to readers of romance novels (unless he or she has found a group of people with a rather odd sense of romance . . . ). If an author writes a book about the ins and outs of a nuclear power plant, the developmental editor shouldn't expect to be able to market the book to gardeners (even if the title has the word plant in it).
*Note: We will use the word thesis to refer to the main argument of a book, but we would like you, dear student, to think of both nonfiction and fiction when we do so. When you think of the thesis of a work of fiction, think of the main plot point. For example, the overall theme or concept of a Stephen King novel is fear, or horror, or suspense (depending upon the title), but the thesis of the book might be how one particular individual or group of individuals deals with fear, or failure, or loss, or something to that effect. Think of these terms loosely.
For developmental editing of nonfiction, think of the Dummies series of books. If the publishers were to title the book Microsoft Word for Amateurs, they might lose a certain segment of the population that doesn't like to think of themselves as amateurs. Using the word "dummies" was a brilliant marketing strategy because it capitalized on the gentle, self-deprecating nature that many people have. Calling yourself a "dummy" is gentle humor, and humor is a great way to get people to buy something they might not need.
For fiction, think of Charles Dickens. It's kind of an old reference, and to be perfectly honest, marketing back then wasn't as important as it is now. But what is unique about Dickens is that he garnered an audience on the extreme ends of the economic spectrum. Since his novels were serialized, the poorest souls in London could pool their money together each time a new chapter was released and read it together. The characters in his novels were often poor (and of course ended up being rich), but he took great pains to acknowledge that, contrary to popular belief, poor people weren't poor because there was something wrong with them as human beings. They were poor simply because they happened to be born to poor families. His novels appealed to many in the upper echelons of society because there were often rich characters that sought to raise up those less fortunate and provide some sort of social safety net. The result was that Dickens became one of the most widely read authors of the Victorian period and is still considered to be one of the greatest writers in English history.
Of course, the developmental editor must also consider whether the content is appropriate for the publisher. If the publisher generally prints science-fiction novels and the author has written a romance, the publisher will have to consider carefully how close that manuscript comes to their readership.
Thesis and Outline
Is the thesis "unique?" Probably not. But does it provide a new and refreshing take on an old thesis? Is it refreshing enough to garner a wide range of readers, both new to the topic and well read? As any college writing instructor will tell you, getting people to focus on one specific idea can often be a challenge. Even if the person is an excellent writer, sometimes they just don't want to give up the great ideas that make them such engaging authors. So what approaches can one use to narrow a thesis?
The first step is to make a list of possible candidates. After the editor has considered all possible theses, he or she can begin eliminating theses that simply paraphrase theses of previously written books. The last thing a publishing house wants to publish is a book that's already been written, even if it isn't very widely known.
Then the editor can take the new, shorter list of possible theses and determine which items on the list could be considered supporting points of other items on the list. For example, if one possible thesis is "changing the oil in your car is important," and another possible thesis is "changing the oil in your car helps guard against unnecessary wear and tear on your engine," the latter can be considered a supporting point of the former and eliminated as a possible thesis.
At this point, the editor should have selected a working thesis. The theses that appeared to be supporting points of the main thesis can be used to help tailor an outline of the work. Even if an author turns in a complete manuscript, it is important that it be easy to outline this manuscript. If it's a difficult task, then the manuscript either is not complete or needs re-organizing. Ideally, the supporting theses should correspond to chapters of the book.
If the overarching "thesis" of a particular Stephen King novel (let's go with It, one of his longer works) is the dark side of human nature hidden behind a façade of family and small-town values and how people confront those issues both as children and as adults, then individual chapters of the book should give examples of major characters being exposed to that darkness. Indeed, King's book does this. There are interludes that are made up of fictional newspaper accounts of disappearances and murders. There are chapters in which members of the town in which the narrative takes place turn a blind eye to the evils that others do. And there are chapters in which the main characters battle the evil of the town in the form of a nebulous evil called "It."
At the end of it all, there must be a general sense of "completeness" to the book. While there are subjects and themes upon which volumes could be written, for practical purposes there must be an "ending," however temporary. There must be some sort of conclusion even if that conclusion simply encourages the reader to come up with a solution that seems best to him or her.
Pace and Transitions, Character Development, and Believability
Do the chapters keep the reader interested? Are there passages or entire chapters that seem to be tangential to the overall narrative of the book? Depending upon whether an editor is working with fiction or nonfiction, more or less may need to be cut. Nonfiction is "easier" to edit in this sense because, if there is a well-established thesis and the author has one concrete idea in mind, there is a logical pattern that can be established.
Fiction is, of course, different. To return to Stephen King, think of the novel The Stand. The first release of the novel in 1978 was heavily cut, and in 1990 the novel was re-released with some 300 pages of narrative added. Undoubtedly, when the novel was originally released, some editor somewhere, or perhaps even King himself, felt that much of the narrative was tangential and unnecessary to advance the plot of the story. But that doesn't mean that those passages that were cut don't add to the richness of the world that King created. Some publishers might be unwilling to take the risk of publishing a book with 300 pages of "unnecessary" narrative. In this case, it almost seems as if the publisher waited until King's reputation was a little more established as a popular author before taking the risk of publishing a book with 1100+ pages.
Are the chapters well balanced? Is there cohesion between chapters? Does one chapter flow smoothly into the next? Does connective tissue need to be added? When moving from chapter to chapter, the transition must be invisible. In this way, novels and books have much in common with the art of film and television. When watching a movie, the viewer must not question how he or she arrived in a particular location. It must seem inevitable that the narrative led them there. Sometimes this can be accomplished simply by asking a question, rhetorical or otherwise, at the end of a chapter or by making a leading statement. "How was he going to get out of this mess?" or "To better understand the music industry's transition from analog to digital recording equipment, we must first examine the benefits and pitfalls of both."
In terms of character development, the editor must ask questions like, "Would this character say this?" "Would this character say this like this?" "Would this character exist in the world that this author has created?" While everyone is aware that fiction is not real and that fictional characters do not really exist, we've all also heard the term "willing suspension of disbelief." When we go see a movie about an alien invasion, or about ghosts, or about zombies, we suspend our disbelief in such things. Most people know that we have no real proof that aliens exist, or that ghosts haunt the places they inhabited in life, or that humans can be reanimated after death. But the film can't be too unrealistic. There has to be a certain amount of plausibility to the story.
Style and Tone
Say that a manuscript comes across your desk. You've been looking at market trends and have noticed that a lot of people in your particular market are reading about the history of Haiti. This new manuscript deals with the environmental damage done by the Haitian government. You and your fellow editors agree that it's the perfect book to publish. However, when it comes out, reviewers excoriate the author for her arrogance. They say that, while she acknowledges that the rest of the world has largely abandoned the Haitian people, her tone is condescending. Her content is solid, but her writing style and language choice has made the book a failure.
What is the tone of the book? Is it audience appropriate and subject appropriate? Is there material that is offensive to some and therefore may limit the book's marketability? If it is a fantasy novel or a thriller, does it follow the conventions of the genre? If it is a nonfiction book targeted towards an extremely specific audience, does it use the jargon with which that audience would be familiar? If it is a nonfiction book targeted at a wide audience, does the author avoid jargon with which the audience would be unfamiliar or does the author explain jargon that is necessary to the exposition?
When working with fiction, style can be a little bit trickier. After all, there are literally thousands of authors who have made their name by developing a particular style of writing unlike any other. This goes back to the battle between creativity and marketability. Should the publishing house take a risk on an author, relatively unknown, who has chosen to exploit the postmodern narrative style to the fullest extent possible? Should the author consider publishing something a little less ambitious before doing something so experimental?
Now that the developmental work is done and the book's basic structure and content is solidified, it's time to get to the details. The devil is, according to an English idiom, in the details, and so we must examine them thoroughly to fully exorcise anything that will detract from the book's readability. Let's move on to copyediting.
This is typically the last editor (or set of editors, depending upon how many are working on a manuscript) that an author will work with. These people do the "dirty work," so to speak. This is the part where an editor gets into a sentence-by-sentence analysis of the text to clean it up and make it all work together. These individuals work most intensely with content, grammar, punctuation, style, and consistency of usage.
Copyediting versus Proofreading
It is very important that you (and really everyone who is in the business of writing) understand the difference between copyediting and proofreading, as these terms are often confused. As we stated earlier, proofreading literally means "reading proofs" (galley proofs). The proofs are the final templates upon which a printed book will be based. The easiest way to differentiate between copyediting and proofreading is this: the copyeditor works with the manuscript while the proofreader works with the proofs. The proofreader makes sure that there are no errors in transcription, but they do not make any content changes. If the proofreader notices anything wrong with content or structure, he or she refers these problems back to the editor or author for these changes to be made.
Proofreaders typically work from a style sheet that has been provided by the copyeditor. The work can be very tedious, as proofreaders are expected to be as perfect as possible. We've all read books where we've noticed a missing comma, or an oddly spelled word (maybe not spelled incorrectly, but spelled inconsistently), or even a missing word. These are the types of errors that proofreaders are supposed to catch.
Of all the job skills necessary to be an editor, of all the things you will need to be qualified to do and have experience doing, of all the odd vocabulary you will need to have under your belt, probably the single most important qualification that an editor must have is that he or she must be able to see the big in the small and the small in the big. What does this mean?
Seeing the big in the small means being able to tell how small, seemingly unimportant aspects of a work can affect the overall big picture. If there are small inconsistencies in a text (such as a word spelled the British way in chapter 2 and in the American way in chapter 9), a keen editor should be able to see these inconsistencies and dispatch them accordingly.
Seeing the small in the big means noticing how something that is overarching, such as style or tone, can sometimes wash away the positive things that a manuscript has going for it. For example, if a text makes brilliant use of facts and figures and provides much-needed information to its readers but the overall text is terribly dry or unintentionally offensive, a lot of the smaller, high-quality points will be overridden by the bigger, more negative aspects of the text.
There are many other qualities that an editor must have. It should be said that, depending upon the job you are applying for (developmental editor, copyeditor, or acquisitions editor), many of these descriptions could be very different from one another. We've tried to provide you with the most generic set of qualifications you will need to have.
A degree in English – Any editor, no matter what field he or she ends up working in (even if they end up editing manuals on how to maintain a nuclear reactor), needs to have expert knowledge of the English language. This doesn't mean that the nuclear reactor guy must also have read Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Thomas Pynchon (one can get a degree in English and specialize in linguistics, or publishing, or technical writing), but they must have a much-better-than-average knowledge of English grammar and the English language. Obviously, the best way to ensure that is to get a degree (either primary or secondary) in English from an accredited college or university. Of course, the nuclear reactor guy should probably also have a primary degree in nuclear physics. We don't want him messing that one up!
Knowledge of the publishing industry and process – It is extremely difficult to get a full-time job in the publishing industry. Much of this has to do with the fact that there is such a large freelance industry. We'll talk more about the freelance industry later, but for now, let it be sufficient to say that working full-time in the publishing industry requires years of experience. Many "entry-level" jobs require that individuals have at least two to three years working in the publishing industry or working as some type of editor or copywriter.
Ability to negotiate – This works on two levels. An editor must have the ability to negotiate contracts and rights to work—the business side of the industry—but he or she must also have the ability to negotiate with authors and colleagues about manuscripts. At times, editors must be able to convince an author that X or Y change is necessary to get a manuscript to print. At other times, editors must be able to convince colleagues that X or Y change must not be implemented or that a particular manuscript is worth publishing even if it is initially in rough shape. This goes beyond being a "good salesperson." Both of these types of negotiations require the use of logic, compassion, and fairness, but they also require extreme objectivity.
One must also have the ability to coordinate with other editors in the process of editing. While we later mention that you need to have "team player" skills, it is worth emphasizing that you must be able to successfully coordinate people with schedules as chaotic as your own, and you must be able to do this with finesse. Now let's press on to a few more primary skills that every editor must have.
Here are the other primary skills you'll need in the editing world.
Zeal – Let's face it right here and now, it's not always fun to be an editor. It's not always fun to do anything. There will be days, weeks, and even months when you don't want to go to work. There will be times when you have had enough of the cruddy manuscripts that have been trickling in and you think about becoming a night watchman so that you can get to all that reading you've been meaning to do. But you've got to be tough. You've got to be willing to work through the mire in order to reach the light.
A discerning eye – When we talked about the whole "big in the small and small in the big" thing, we were of course referring to this skill. But just like the "team player" skills, it is worth emphasizing that an editor must have the most perfect eye for detail possible in a human being. Editors must be able to do what computers cannot (and in these technological times, this is actually saying quite a lot).
Confidence – While this is obviously necessary for any job, editing and proofreading someone else's work requires confidence in volumes. Not only do you have to be confident in your own work, but you have to be confident in the people whose manuscripts provide you with a living. Not all the changes you make will be accepted, and there isn't a rule requiring them to be. For the manuscripts that your publishing house agrees to print, you must be confident in the author's ability to make good decisions as well. After all, you wouldn't have accepted the manuscript if you didn't think the author was competent.
Then there is the litany of standard, run-of-the-mill qualities that almost any job requires. Editing is no different in this regard. The only difference is how you make use of these skills. If you've been in the job market for very long, this list might almost seem comical. We've left out descriptors such as "excellent" or "superb." You can assume that no employer wants someone with "mediocre" time management skills.
Communication skills, both verbal and written
The ability to work individually or in a team environment
The ability to balance multiple projects and properly prioritize work
Knowledge of all sorts of word processing programs, publishing programs, editing and proofreading programs, operating systems, Internet browsers, online databases, library searches . . . do we need to go on?
Time management skills (related to your ability to prioritize)
With regard to computers and computer skills, you basically need to know as much as possible. It may be true that, at least for now, you don't need knowledge of HTML, but children these days are growing up saturated in these languages and basically know them from birth. If you want to compete with people entering the job market over the next few decades, it's best you start learning now. It will only make you more desirable to potential employers.
Confidentiality is key. There need not be much said here; the basic rule is that editors do not share information that could undermine the ability of the author to publish his or her manuscript. As with most of the other ethical considerations, the Golden Rule applies. If you wouldn't want someone running their mouth about the piece of art you've been working on for untold hours, days, months, or years, you certainly shouldn't do it to someone else.
If an editor or publishing house violates the confidentiality of an author, they also run the risk of potentially violating copyright laws (depending on the way in which they broke confidentiality).
Copyright laws are voluminous and, just like any other law in the world, subject to much interpretation. What is not subject to interpretation, however, is the basic idea that a work is protected by copyright as soon as it is put into a format that people can consume, either directly or through the use of some machine (a computer, a DVD player, a VCR, etc.). The work doesn't need to be "finished." It doesn't even have to be approved for copyright by the government. If someone has written it down, and there is solid proof of when that thing was written down, then it is protected.
This is not to say that if two people, each on opposite sides of the planet, both come up with the same idea at roughly the same time and write it down, that the person that writes the idea down first can sue the other if they attempt to publish that material. Even taking an argument that far is subject to interpretation by a court. But it is to say that if someone steals something that has not yet "officially" been copy protected, they can still face criminal charges for intellectual theft.
Plagiarism can be considered a very specific type of copyright infringement, but in many ways it is almost more dubious. Copyright infringement involves copying something that belongs to someone else for profit without compensating the copyright owner. Plagiarism involves stealing something from someone else and presenting it as your own idea.
If a person copies a DVD that they have rented from the local rental store, and then that person sells the copies they make, no one would actually believe that the seller actually wrote the screenplay, hired the actors, filmed the movie, edited the movie, and then distributed the movie.
However, if a person copies long passages from a novel and incorporates these passages into their own work without properly attributing those passages, they have plagiarized someone else's work.
Types of Plagiarism
While determining whether plagiarism occurred is relatively simple, determining how it happened is another story. There are two different ways in which plagiarism occurs:
Ignorant plagiarism: This kind of plagiarism occurs when someone does not know how to properly attribute borrowed material. In some cases, an individual will omit quotation marks but will include a reference to the source in the bibliography. In other cases, individuals will paraphrase material without proper citation believing that this is the correct way to avoid directly plagiarizing others' work. Still others believe that long quotations don't need quotation marks or citations if the source is listed in the bibliography. Whatever the case, plagiarism is plagiarism no matter what. In academic circles, this type of plagiarism may not result in as stiff a penalty as intentional plagiarism.
Intentional plagiarism: This is blatant intellectual theft. It means that the author has lifted material whole cloth from another author in an attempt to pass that work off as his or her own. There is absolutely no excuse for this kind of plagiarism, ever.
The term libel means publishing something with the express intent of damaging a person's reputation. Libel may often be difficult to prove in court (if only because it is extremely difficult to determine a person's intentions), but that doesn't mean that it's something an editor doesn't need to worry about.
The best way to protect against libel is to ensure that all facts are checked and double-checked, especially those pertaining to a person. If the author is revealing something about someone that may cause an uproar, you want to make sure that this thing is true. Obviously, it's not wrong to report someone's wrongdoing. But if it turns out that the person has been cleared of charges or that something was a misunderstanding, you don't want to be the one that continues to spread false information.
Initially, we wanted to have two categories here, the second titled "Treating the Author's Voice with Respect." Then we realized that respecting the author is part and parcel of neutrally evaluating the text. Neutrally evaluating texts means ensuring that opinion about a text does not conflict with an objective judgment about the text.
For example, if an editor absolutely does not like to read fantasy literature, but his or her publishing house publishes fiction of all kinds, there will be times when that editor must read something that is outside of his or her personal preferences. This means that when the manuscript hits the desk, the person doesn't think about how much they dislike that kind of literature, but whether it is objectively good according to a set of criteria.
The first thing that needs to be determined is whether the manuscript fits in with the publication. As we've said before, if a science-fiction novel is submitted to a publisher of romance novels or nonfiction how-to manuals, chances are it's not a very good fit with the publisher.
After determining whether the manuscript is appropriate for the publisher, there is another set of considerations.
Does the text provide something new? If it is fiction, is it a new story, or is it simply a tired story told in the same way it's always been told? If it is nonfiction, is it new information, or is it a reprint of yesterday's news?
Does the text provide new insight? If it is fiction and is a retelling of sorts (a rags-to-riches story, a love story, etc.), is it told in a new and interesting way? If it is nonfiction and is about something that has been covered extensively in other literature, does it provide a new way of looking at the issue?
Is it a style-breaking or genre-breaking manuscript? Does the author make use of a style that is likely to be compelling to readers? This works for both fiction and nonfiction.
Is the text well researched? Whether the manuscript is fiction or nonfiction, the author needs to have researched whatever it is he or she has chosen to write about. A fictional story about a military operation on a Pacific Island needs to be as well researched as a book about the American Civil War. No author wants their infantry to be wearing the wrong color.
One of the greatest cares publications must take is to avoid publication bias. Publication bias is the tendency of publishers of research to more frequently publish studies with positive results than negative results. This occurs on two levels.
On the first level, think of it as the "if it bleeds, it leads" syndrome for nonfiction publication. Why would someone want to read a study that was inconclusive or that disproved the theories of the researchers? And on the same note, why would a publisher print an article that contradicts other literature already in print?
On the second level, authors are often reluctant to submit articles for publication that have inconclusive or negative outcomes. Humans have a tendency to think that only positive results are beneficial to research, but often this is not the case. No doubt there are also many researchers who plan on conducting studies again in the future, so they hold onto their current, inconclusive research until such time as other studies are done.
Publication bias is problematic because it reduces the amount of information available on a given subject and may in fact reduce the quality of available literature. Sometimes it's just as important to know what doesn't work as it is to know what does work.
There are actually quite a few types of censorship, but we're going to focus on only two:
Social censorship – This type of censorship occurs according to "community standards." For example, there are certain words that are not allowed to be spoken on television. There are certain images that cannot be displayed on television (or within view of the public eye). This is because, by and large, it is unacceptable to use these words or display these images in a public setting, much less in a medium such as television. However, community standards change over time. In the 1950s, television networks generally avoided showing one bed in the bedroom of a married couple because there was a chance that it would remind viewers of sex. Obviously, this has changed.
All other censorship – This is basically political, religious, and corporate censorship. These types of censorship occur whenever a ruling power actively tries to prevent individuals from seeing material that might call into question that ruling power's authority. For example, Hitler wasn't keen on allowing people to speak negatively about either him or the Third Reich, the Catholic Church for centuries executed people who disagreed with or contradicted their teachings, and major tobacco companies silenced researchers who concluded that cigarettes effectively kill their consumers.
Good or Bad?
The types of censorship in the "all other" category are incredibly problematic and extremely dangerous to society. While almost no one would argue that classified government information should always be shared with the public, government censorship of the press is considered the first step to fascism. Religious censorship and corporate censorship lead to the same types of problems and tend to stagnate free thinking and society. A quick look around the world at countries with examples of extreme oppression will sufficiently demonstrate that we want to avoid these types of censorship at all costs.
Social censorship is fairly common to all of us. While some social commentators have pointed out the problems inherent in social censorship (Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, and a whole lot of other comedians), most everyone agrees that there is a time and place for certain subjects and types of language, just as there is a certain time and place for talking about work, school, religion, and even your kids' dirty diapers.
Luckily for us, most printed information isn't considered public in the same way as television and film, so in many ways, printed literature gets a "free pass." If a particular publication could be considered by some to contain questionable material, the author can generally rest assured that, because consumers actively seek out and choose specific pieces of literature to read knowing full well the contents of that literature, the chances of it being censored are pretty slim. It still happens, but the public reaction generally isn't as strong to literature as it is to other, more visible media.
An Example
However, there are some cases in which censorship can rear its head. Published in 1991, the novel American Psycho, by Bret Easton Ellis, caused a small controversy. In the novel, the protagonist, Patrick Bateman, describes in excruciating detail each of the murders he commits. Were they run-of-the-mill "I shot a man in the head" murders, no one would have complained. But the murders were anything but run-of-the-mill. They included rape, torture, necrophilia, and cannibalism. All in all, American Psycho is probably one of the most violent novels ever published.
Publishers at first balked and didn't publish the novel, but eventually Vintage Books picked up the manuscript. In the 1990s, the novel was adapted into a film starring Christian Bale.
What would have happened if you were the editor? What questions would you have needed to ask in order to agree to publish such a violent novel? There is one simple question you can ask when considering a text such as this: does this work have any redeeming social or artistic value? In the case of American Psycho, the entire point of the novel was that the author believed upper-class society washed away one's sense of morality. To someone like the protagonist who answers to no one, committing an atrocious murder is no different than taking a shower each morning. American Psycho is about class, about social upheaval, and about the ways in which humans interact. A case for social and artistic value can definitely be made.
We should quickly add that we are not saying something like pornography (or anything else that might be considered "socially unacceptable") should never be printed. It is not our policy to judge things that may be moral issues for some. However, if an author submits a manuscript for a novel that reads like a Penthouse Forum letter, it is perfectly within the editor's rights to suggest that the author submit the manuscript to a publication more in line with his or her tastes.
In this lesson, we've covered the types of editors in the publishing industry, and we've gone over the skills necessary to be successful as an editor. We've also gone over some of the concerns you're likely to encounter when working as an editor. Remember that, no matter what editing role you are playing, you must be able to think in many different directions at once.
Last Updated: 09/29/2022