58. Technical Editing
Thursday, May 17th, 2007Technical editors are often thought of as some way beneath technical authors in the food chain. In trade publishing, however, editors, of one sort or another, occupy positions from the very top (the Commissioning Editor or Editorial Director), through the middle ranks (the Production and Managing Editors), to almost the bottom of the heap (the freelance copyeditor).
In this module we will concern ourselves with the broad sweep of the publishing editor’s perspective, but, most of all, with that of the copyeditor/proofreader, with special emphasis on the technical field, where appropriate.
The Commissioning Editor
It’s the Commissioning Editor who sets the ball rolling for the publication of a book, either by taking a manuscript from an agent — or less commonly these days, the slush pile — or by commissioning a known writer to undertake the task. This editor is now under some threat by new ideas in the publishing business.
When S.I. Newhouse took over the American publishing giant Random House, a number of sweeping changes were implemented. Editorial decisions were placed under tight constraint and usually heavily influenced by accountancy criteria. As Andre Schiffrin, an editor at the time, puts it:
“It is only in retrospect that the inevitability of this pattern emerged, though we ought to have been able to identify it at the start. While initially claiming that he would leave editorial decisions alone, Newhouse soon made changes at Random House that moved it in a far more commercial direction. Random’s profitable college [educational] department (as opposed to its weak school line) was sold off early in the game; Newhouse was so eager to get rid of it that he was willing to sell it for half of what it subsequently fetched when it was resold.”
The proceeds of this sale were used to buy another, seemingly very profitable, publisher’s list. The problem was that the accountants — not totally au fait with the book market — had got it wrong. Millions were wasted buying other properties, and selling bits of Random House. Shiffrin continues:
“Despite his early promise of editorial independence, Newhouse soon became personally involved in acquiring and commissioning titles…He arranged for huge advances to be paid to figures who clearly had very little to say in public but whose names were supposed to attract the curious masses.”
We cite the above passages to highlight the current plight of serious authors and editors within the publishing business, and the cavalier way some technical writing has been treated by the big boys of the print world. Thankfully, other specialist companies have stepped in and we are now seeing the emergence of a thriving print and electronic market in technical, especially IT, content and writing.
The Commissioning Editor, then, pursues publishable books in a variety of ways, whether through auctions with other publishers, or by in-house means. It’s the most entrepreneurial role in publishing, and if this is the route you would like to go you must be very well educated, very well connected, have a total grounding in the publishing world, a great enthusiasm for books, and be able to present a case for buying snow to Eskimos. This is not an easy job to get and very few succeed in making it to the top. Those that do often become legends in their own lifetimes — others just think they are.
The commissioning editor also helps shape the book, holding the author’s hand during the process. At this level the editor is more concerned with the structure of the project, rather than the minutiae of the text or the grammar. Here is a description of a typical Commissioning Editor by a former one:
“The Senior Editor is first and foremost a voracious reader. She [and it most often is a she] reads everything from newspapers to novels, and from encyclopaedias and dictionaries to popular magazines. She is gregarious enough to get along with authors, illustrators, designers, and other editors, and to build good relationships with agents (an agent with whom she has a good working relationship is more likely to funnel worthwhile projects and good writers her way); she is aggressive enough to go after an author she admires and to ‘sell’ a project she loves to her colleagues. She is a risk taker, creative enough to follow her instincts rather than slavishly follow trends. She is also an optimist: she believes in her books and authors and is ready to go in to bat for them. She has to be flexible, because her day, if not her life, will involve a constant juggling of responsibilities. She is well organised and detail orientated, knowing how important it is to keep a ‘paper trail’ for each project. She is practical as well as idealistic, never forgetting that publishing is a business and that books are products as well as creations of the imagination. And, like every editor worth his salt, she has a lifelong love affair with — and respect for — words.”
If you match up to that considerable template, good luck, you can’t fail! One more quote; this time from Thomas McCormack, Editorial Director of St. Martin’s Press. Here Thomas lists the qualities required for a good top-level editor: “Intelligence, sensitivity, tact, articulateness, industry, patience, accessibility, promptness, orderliness, thoroughness, a capacity to work alone, a capacity to work with others. Plus sensibility and craft. No humans need apply.”
