What Editors Do: The Art, Craft, and Business of Book Editing (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing)

"These honest and unflinching accounts from publishing insiders are a valuable primer on the field at a time where the value of editors and publishers has been increasingly questioned." ― Publishers Weekly “Illuminating.” ― Los Angeles Review of Books “Ginna has collected essays from 27 of his peers in the book business on everything from the importance of the author-editor relationship to the challenges of editing genre fiction to the ways editors must function as evangelists, creating buzz for their books.” ― Entertainment Weekly “A vital resource for writers and readers seeking a comprehensive exploration into the author-editor relationship, the lifecycle of a book, and how editors for publishing houses big and small have adapted to an industry in constant flux.” -- Starred Review ― Library Journal “Detailed and comprehensive in scope . . . The book explicitly aims to keep in check any romantic notions of an editor’s life, emphasizing that editors take meetings, publicize books, and check contracts at least as often as they make marks on manuscripts or host boozy lunches.” ― Times Literary Supplement “Every editor should read this book. It’s a top-notch resource no matter what niche or stage of career an editor is in.” ― Editors Canada “Exceptionally well written. The prosexa0is authoritative, entertaining, and informative. Each chapter is written by a leader in that topic’s realm.” ― Copyediting “What Editors Do belongs on the shelf of any serious editor.” ― Technical Communication “Absolutely essential reading for anyone who aspires to be an editor, as well as critically important reading for authors and publishers with respect to the critically important role that editors play in the publishing process.” ― Midwest Book Review “Offers an excellent opportunity for would-be authors to see the world through the eyes of publishers/editors.” ― Australian Book Review “ What Editors Do is the most informative and intelligent book on the work of publishing that you can own. In this collection, some of the best people involved in publishing in the 21st century write lucidly and engrossingly about everything that is important to editors and writers. A lively book that will also be great armchair reading for any book lover. As an editor and publisher ofxa0thirty years, I cannot recommend this book more highly.” ― Shaye Areheart, director, Columbia Publishing Course “Editors do a lot—patiently, coolly, analytically, butxa0also boldly, urgently, fervently. Their work, almost always invisible, makes ideas speak and books fly. What Editors Do shows just how varied—and valuable—editors are, especially now when the well-edited book is more necessary than ever.” ― William Germano, author of Getting It Published and From Dissertation to Book “ What Editors Do is essential reading for anyone who wants to edit, be edited, or learn how publishing really works. It’s also thoroughly delightful—the chance to learn from a wide variety of industry greats as they share frank and fascinating stories about how all sorts of books, famous and unknown, came to life. I’ve worked in publishing for more than three decades but still learned volumes from this book.” ― Will Schwalbe, executive vice president, Macmillan, and author of The End of Your Life Book Club Peter Ginna was most recently publisher and editorial director at Bloomsbury Press; before that he held editorial positions at Oxford University Press, Crown Publishers, St. Martin’s Press, and Persea Books. He has taught editing in New York University’s publishing program, and comments on editing, books, and publishing at the blog Doctor Syntax and on Twitter at @DoctorSyntax.