"I’m one of a new sort of unaffiliated editor available to the children’s book
industry, with allegiance only to the best practices involved in
creating and offering the best books for children."
Throughout the earth’s
history tectonic plates have either fused onto other plates to form larger
plates, rifted into smaller plates, or been crushed by or subducted under other
plates — or indeed have done all three. As we ride the rifting, drifting and
shifting tectonic (or ought we to call them tech-tonic?) plates
of the publishing landscape, there’s been some notable transformations taking
place among many editors in the children’s book industry. As more editors are
leaving long-time positions with companies, due to budgetary lay-offs, burn-out
or life changes of various kinds, we’ve witnessed a rise in the number of
highly skilled freelance editors available to the writing population.
As one of these editors,
freelance after 25 years with various companies, what impresses me is not just
that there are so many of us out there, but how extremely busy we are and how varied our work has become.
We’re in high demand right now for a myriad of reasons that go far beyond book
doctoring and editorial guidance.
I’m being hired by
authors at the beginning of their careers who know they need to polish their
work before it can be represented or sold; by authors (both agented and
unagented) in the middle of their careers who are struggling to stay relevant
and marketable and want a new career strategy; by agents seeking an impartial
perspective on the changing marketplace; by publishers in need of concentrated
editorial support for an intense project because they don’t have editors
available; by editors craving advice about best practices and some form of
mentorship because publishing houses don’t put stock in the value of mentoring
as they once did; by authors weighing publishing options — from self to indie
to “legacy” — in need of help to make smart decisions for their work and their
goals; by start-up e-book and/or app publishers who want expert input about the
content and the market; by a library exploring how they might become a
publisher for local writers; by a major book review source interested in
hearing about the digital marketplace.
My skills as a former
publisher are informing my freelance work just as much as my editorial skills
right now — and to be of service to this array of clients, I’ve found it
necessary (and interesting!) to stay informed and abreast of the myriad of
options authors and illustrators have (traditional, digital and otherwise). The
result is that I no longer bill myself as just an editor, but rather an
editorial and publishing consultant.
I suppose I ought not to
be surprised by any of this — overworked editors are being reprimanded by their
companies for “wasting too much time editing books” (an exact quote, I
promise!); agents are grappling with manuscripts that editors won’t acquire
unless they’re nearly print-ready and they don’t have time to research all of
the possible indie, small venues and platforms that could offer the best
publishing experiences for their clients. So many companies affiliated with
children’s publishing are scrambling to incorporate bits of the new with the
old; many individuals at these companies, though, are unable to focus and just
don’t have time to adapt new skills or process all the input, to pay attention
to what’s going on in the digital arena, to explore new options, to experiment
— they’re turning to anyone who has some breadth of knowledge of the business
as well as some handle on what the shifting of the plates might mean for the
future, and they’re looking outside of any one company or organization, into
the rich fields of the freelancer.
The word freelance comes from the knights whose lances were
free for hire, and originally meant a free companion or person free of
occupational or political party obligation or allegiance. I’m one of a new sort
of unaffiliated editor available to the children’s
book industry, with allegiance only to the best practices involved in creating
and offering the best books for children. As I edit, I do so wholly and
completely, without distraction by corporate initiatives, meetings, P&Ls
and mandates, thereby providing an author or illustrator a more in-depth and
pure assessment of their work, craft and process. At the same time, I also
provide a market view not colored by any one company, but that encompasses a
far broader perspective. Such services, I find, are not only providing authors,
illustrators, agents and other industry clients support and guidance, but
information and perspective, all of which seem to be in somewhat spare supply
in the current upheavals of the business.
What’s not changed, and
this seems to me to be at the heart of what’s driving the freelance editor’s
and/or consultant’s business right now, is the importance of story.
Our industry’s story is undergoing some major revision right now and it’s not
going to be finalized any time soon, if ever. Our own life stories change every
day, leading us down paths we may not have expected. Where books — delivered by
any means, on any platform — fit into all of this, particularly for young
readers, is to provide us with whatever we need to feel moved, entertained, not
so alone, empathetic, hopeful, engaged and better equipped to face the journey.
The Latin verb root of
the word “editor” is edere — to
bring forth, to bring about. It strikes me that it’s perhaps this new crop of
editors of which I’m so proud to be a part — the editorial and publishing
consultants whose allegiance is only to story, who are poised to truly fulfill
the mandates of bringing forth, bringing about; while helping to bring forth
the story editorially, simultaneously bringing forth clarification, information
and guidance on a broader scale; while assisting in bringing about the story,
also assisting in the bringing about of change.
This editorial by Emma
D. Dryden was first published 07/20/12 in PublishingPerspectives, an online journal
of international book publishing news and opinion. With correspondents around
the world, Publishing Perspectives provides personal stories and analysis from
those on the cutting edge of digital, global, and self-publishing.
(c) emma d dryden, drydenbks llc
