<
https://theconversation.com/editors-have-long-been-publishings-hidden-handmaidens-what-might-we-gain-if-we-acknowledged-their-role-186649>
"Editors are almost always unseen and unheard – until something goes wrong.
That might be a relatively minor mistake, such as a typo – as in a cookbook
that mistakenly listed “people” instead of “pepper” in a recipe. Or it could be
more substantial questions about the integrity of a book’s contents.
In 2018, Clinton Walker’s
Deadly Woman Blues: Black Women & Australian Music
was withdrawn from the market by its publisher, NewSouth, after it drew
criticism from artists featured in the book. Aaron Corn and Marcia Langton
asked in
The Conversation, “How were its many obvious flaws permitted to go
to press?”.
What is it exactly that we expect from editors? And are they starting to come
out from behind the curtain?
Having worked in publishing for 15 years, a major change I’ve witnessed
recently is the centring of ethical questions in discussions of editorial
labour – from sensitivity reads intended to vet books for material that may
cause offence, to editors protesting the publication of a contentious author’s
work.
Editing is no longer a private task that one person performs on the writing of
another. Then again, it never really was – Medievalists have long recognised
the collaborations that underpin the publishing process, it’s only since the
Romantic period, starting around the end of the 18th century, that we have
glorified the lone author.
Reasons for keeping the editor’s work invisible have changed over time. The
idea of the single author as solely responsible can be read as a result of the
introduction of copyright law and a convenience for publishers. In what Dan
Sinykin calls “the conglomerate era” (referring to the rise of the behemoth
multinational publishers since the second world war), an invisible editor has
become part of a general need to mask the workings of a publishing company that
conflict with romantic notions of books and their creation.
But what are the consequences of having an invisible editorial workforce? And
is it time for change?"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
