We use cookies on this site, but we don't capture any personal information. View cookie options.

What happens if you decline cookies?

Like most people, I use Google Analytics to see how my web site is used, but this doesn't capture any personal information about you, and I certainly don't gather data about you in any other way without telling you. There's no hidden market intelligence stuff on the site. But you can decline cookies if you really want to, and I'll suppress Google Analytics.

Please state your preference below.
(Clicking 'Accept cookies' gets rid of that annoying top bar.)

My site also uses essential cookies, which are permitted under UK law. You can override them in your browser settings, but the site probably won't work properly if you do.
For more information, see my Privacy policy page.

Current status:

Accept cookies     Decline cookies      Reset     Close




 

Who actually wrote that book?

Not all writers are gifted when it comes to detail. That’s why book editors exist. My understanding is that conventional publishers employ them (partly, anyway) to put the shine on what might have started out as a rough diamond. With the best will in the world, it’s one reason why some self-published books miss their mark. Lack of an editor sometimes turns out to equal lack of finesse.

But what about those of us self-published authors who do have an eye for detail? How are we supposed to feel if we ever get to see early drafts of some conventionally-published best-sellers? What should we think about the elementary spelling mistakes, the missed or duplicated words, the suspect grammar? What if even the writing itself is not that convincing? What hidden magic persuaded the publisher to invest in the work in the first place?

It raises an interesting question. Just how collaborative can and should a book be? We tend to think that a novel (unlike a film or play, for instance) is essentially the work of an individual. That was certainly my understanding as I grew up. But is this really the case? When the author says in his acknowledgements, “I’d like to thank my wife for reading the manuscript,” is he really saying, “and for rewriting half the plot”? More important, is this how we should think of all novels?

If it is, how far can this kind of collaboration go before it materially alters the very nature of the work? If a book editor radically rewrites an original book, does that mean it was a great book in the first place, and was simply waiting to be “released” from its inadvertent flaws? Or is it now a different work? Should it still be attributed exclusively to the original author, or should the editor really be credited as a co-author?

In ninety-nine per cent of instances, I suspect it’s the author alone who will in fact get all the plaudits. But is that fair? It’s a bit like saying a Premier League footballer is a multi-million pound goal-scorer, just so long as someone else is on hand to tap the ball across the line for him.

Perhaps this has always been the way of things; but what are we to make of it? We read a book believing it represents someone’s unique personal vision, yet arguably it is often really a team effort – considered, keenly targeted to its market, and little different in practice from a film or a play. I’m not saying any of these media are necessarily flawed; only that we confront them with varying assumptions, when perhaps we shouldn’t, since they are all to some extent a collaborative effort.

Most significant, what is the elusive ingredient that persuades a talent-spotter or book editor to give the time of day to a sloppily-drafted book packed with elementary flaws, and to ignore one that is well presented from the outset? Presumably it’s down to the indefinable magic that singles out the great from the merely competent. But why has nobody shared this information with me?!

  
Posted in Discussion | Tagged , , | 4 Comments

4 Responses to Who actually wrote that book?

  1. Stewart says:

    Two thoughts.
    First, some years ago I had reason to read an article written by a well-known and widely-published motoring writer which had been submitted to a magazine I was associated with. To say his raw copy was gibberish would be an exaggeration, but only slightly. In the books what he wrote he must have been supported by some very hard-working and anonymous book editors.
    Secondly, collaborative productions. This is a bit off topic, but have you ever tried counting the names of the people listed at the end of a film? (No, I’m sure you have better things to do.) There are, literally, hundreds of them. Assistant make-up artist. Deputy assistant make-up artist. Deputy under-assistant make-up artist. Head tea maker. And so it goes on.
    Can you imagine the book equivalent? Scanner operator. Ink man (or woman). Press manager. Paper buyer. Tree planter. Packer. Delivery driver.
    Many (most?) authors list thanks to a variety of people – wife, family, mistresses, pet cat and, yes, editor(s). Maybe that’s enough.

    • Peter says:

      More than enough, I’d say! It really is strange to reflect that people who set their stall out as “writers” often don’t have the full set of skills to live up to that name. Yet apparently the world is happy to accept them as such, or doesn’t even bother to question their competence, so long as someone knocks their work into acceptable form.

  2. pietro says:

    Thanks to IndieBookWeek for featuring this blog post prominently on their website (May 2017). See pingback link above to go straight to the version on their site. It’s an intriguing site, full of various writers’ wisdom on the self-publishing wold.

    – Peter

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

© Peter Rowlands 2024

 

 

Peter Rowlands on Facebook Peter Rowlands on Twitter

About me

Contact me

 

 

Sitemap

Reset cookies

 

© Peter Rowlands 2024

 

 

 

 

Peter Rowlands on Facebook Peter Rowlands on Twitter

 

About me

Contact me

 

 

 

Sitemap

Reset cookies