NPO – The New Publishing Order The Old Order [maybe back in the 60s some time – the era of Diana Athill and long, long lunches] Rank 1: The In-House Editor at a major Publishing House - She’s worked with the likes of Amis and Rushdie. Armed with a pashmina, interesting ear-rings and a red pen, she is the headmistress of editors. Beneath her charmed foot, ye shall bow down and edit as bidden or be kicked to the dogs. And you’ll take it because no-one has taken a firm hand with you before. Rank 2: The Agent - The grand persuader. Also, usually armed with a pashmina but also a white wine spritzer, she will make you giddy with her praise. Her sparing editorial commentary will consist of ‘If you could just squish this in there and that out there’. ‘Ooh, and just kill off that darling’, she’ll purr. And, hey presto, you’re in. Rank 3: The Teacher - You painfully practice your craft until you are ready to present to a teacher. This teacher will either be found in an MA program or at your local library. For a prolonged period, you will have a witness and policeman to your progression, prompting you along here and there.
Your teacher’s background – commonly, they painfully practiced their craft until they were ready to present to a teacher. Their teacher will have been found on an MA program. For a prolonged period, they will have had a witness and policeman to their progression, prompting them along here and there. After a year or two, they will have qualified and been published in a literary magazine, at which point they qualified to teach you. In time, some have even published a book; down to a mixture of talent and being on the circuit prominently enough.
The New Order – The Countdown Rank 7: Your Peers - Usually encountered on a writers’ retreat, a local writers’ group or a full-blown college course. A mix of poets, inexperienced writers and capacious talents, they are less interested in your progression than they are in asserting their own voices. They are, after all, writers in search of a voice. Consider this the weight watchers of writing, with everyone openly hoping they’re doing better than you. On the flip side, going up against such egos week in, week out, may actually cause you to find your voice in the process of asserting it. Rank 6: Writing Group Leader (local writers' group) - Busy writing their own book, this weekly gathering is a pastime for them. However, they are slowly building up a picture of your body of writing, and can flag certain things, highlight groupings and patterns and offer insight into personal development. Visualise the Little Britain of Weight Watcher leaders. Rank 5: The MA Tutor - Their forte is Style. Disciples of the short story form, they will assist you in constructing the perfect sentence, arousing your love of language and have you marvelling at your own exquisite powers. They will generally be found fluttering around the edges of the literary circuit, secretly willing publishing types to ‘pick me, pick me’. Rank 4: Editorial Consultant - A new breed. The editorial consultant is usually a writer employed by an editorial agency to present a report to aspiring writers. This is an interminable space where writers either forsake their Art (frustrated by how long it is taking), languish, or progress to submission. Rank 3: Agent - Otherwise known as the slushpile survivor, they placed down their spritzer long ago and are now necking it straight from the bottle. Despairing, it is rare for the words on the page not to blur through their tears at the gaps in a writer's abilities. Occasionally, they are spared by an invitation to talk with writers at some literary event, where the ‘pick me, pick me’ MA tutor works their magic long enough to secure their place at the top of the slushpile. Rank 2: Publishing House Editor - The interesting ear-rings have been replaced by studs and the red pen by spellcheck on Word. Time is of the essence here and they haven't got time to mess around. You've either got it or you haven't. There's no pandering to artistic talent here unless you're already making the imprint mega money and sales are well into bestseller lists. A love of fine reading is reserved for reading the competition. Rank 1: Marketing Dept - Now this is where the true power lies. They stand in lieu of your customer. They are not readers. They are customers. Your editor is no longer your editor, but you're pitcher. They are pitching to the Marketing Director who can knock your product out into the stratosphere or determine it's only getting as far as first base. And moving in and out of all this is the freelancer. This is usually an Editor, formerly an in-house editor at a major publishing company who longs for the 1-to-1 relationship between Writer & Editor, a true marriage of minds.What they lack in status, they make up for in expertise. If you can locate one of these, they are worth their weight in gold to you and your writing. Signing Off, Nicola (Editorial Manager)
If you require the services of a professional editor, Nicola Perry can be found at The Story Studios. She primarily works with intermediate writers.
Oh! Very useful tips! Thank you so much!