This really has very little to do with editorial mechanics, publishing trends, or book queries. What this has to do with is way more important than any of that junk. This is about how other publishing professionals introduce editors to outsiders.
Whoa-ho, does it make me angry when someone brings a guest around to our department and says, “OK, Mr. Johnson, in here we have Jevon Bolden, one of our editors. She makes sure words are spelled correctly and commas are in place…” Instantly, a dark shadow is cast over my genuine friendliness and I am forced to endure the rest of the introduction with a frozen smile. I don't even hear anything else being said.
I do what?!
No, sir or madam, I am much more than a spell-checker and comma-keeper! You don’t even know what I do for you here!
Do you want to know the truth of what I do? Do you? I don’t think you really do. You can’t handle the truth!
Fine. Let me put it to you this way:
We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by people with pens. Whose gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinburg (I mean, sir/madam)? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. And you come in here talking about me keeping commas and spelling words right… Well, I guess you have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. And my existence, while menial and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. We use words like libel, permissions, licensing, sourcing, consistency, readability, company and author reputation. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punch line. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very legal and face-saving protection that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way…
*snaps out of raging trance* Oh my gosh, I have no idea where that came from. I guess I had so much resentment built up that it came out in the voice of Jack Nicholas’s character in A Few Good Men. Sorry, little imaginary person I just went off on. I hope I didn’t scare you.
Anyhoo, that’s me being silly…
While editing is certainly not that deep, it really is horribly undervalued. So many times our peers get so concerned with the bottom line and meeting sales goals that they forget that the meat and context of the book matters very much to READERS and to the reputations of the company and authors.
I would love to see what would occur in one book season if editors everywhere took a hiatus. There would be lawsuits, lots more returns, consumers would lose confidence in book publishers, many authors would lose credibility, and people would be putting “freshly ground black people” in their recipes instead freshly ground black pepper. The world would be a scary place.
So here’s the deal: next time you (noneditorial publishing peer) introduce an editor to an outsider, say this: “Mr. Johnson, I’d like to introduce you to Jevon Bolden, one of the editors here. She keeps us looking sharp and helps our authors put their best face forward in the market.” Or if you still don’t have a clue, say, “Mr. Johnson, I’d like you to meet Jevon Bolden, one of the editors here. Jevon, why don’t you tell Mr. Johnson what you do for us?”
Cool? Cool.
OK, I think I’ve said it all. I may have lost some friends, but, man, do I feel better!