Editors

A few years ago at a Radcliffe Institute exhibit, I came across photos of a draft of what would become Angela Davis' autobiography. A foundational Black literary text, bare-boned and vulnerable, is not something you often get to see. The manuscript bloomed with the strokes of a blue pen, notes from the editor on what needed to be changed.  Read more

Daniel Nayeri, publisher of Odd Dot, an imprint of Macmillan Children's Publishing Group, wrote an entire book on his daily train commute. He wrote another while waiting at a bus stop.

Today's post is by regular contributor Peter Selgin, the award-winning author of Your First Page. He offers first-page critiques to show just how much useful critical commentary and helpful feedback can be extracted from a single page-the first page-of a work-in-progress.

In the mid 1990s, the headquarters of Bantam Doubleday Dell publishers resembled a space-ship docked on a dark star. As a new editorial assistant, drowning in manuscripts, I'd come in weekends to catch up on submissions. The low intergalactic air conditioner hum made it a great place to read.  Read more

Indie authors all agree: hiring an editor to work on your manuscript is one of the best and most necessary investments an author can make. Editing takes both time and money and can encompass anything from a substantiative (i.e.  Read more