Comments on: Talking about a small, good thing http://victoriamixon.com/2009/12/01/talking-about-a-small-good-thing/ Tue, 15 May 2012 19:24:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: Victoria http://victoriamixon.com/2009/12/01/talking-about-a-small-good-thing/comment-page-1/#comment-2078 Victoria Thu, 03 Dec 2009 17:22:06 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=3627#comment-2078 Yes, Marie, it does throw a whole new light on the publishing industry, doesn't it? That such a thing could have happened to someone as widely-read and respected as Carver? That Gordon Lish---who has a huge reputation---could have been that freaking ignorant about the whole craft of editing? It's a piranha pool out here, folks. You really need to be prepared. And, for the record, a professional editor edits as little as humanly possible while aiming for the highest possible quality. It is not only perfectly possible, I do it all the time. If a piece needs the kind of deep and devastating cuts that King says Lish did to Carver's work---well, they might as well just send it back. According to King, the cuts weren't necessary for quality, only to adapt Carver's work to Lish's voice. And I'm going to go out on a limb here and say I trust King's judgment. That review's a pleasure to read simply because it's so well-written. King's <em>good</em>. Victoria Yes, Marie, it does throw a whole new light on the publishing industry, doesn’t it? That such a thing could have happened to someone as widely-read and respected as Carver? That Gordon Lish—who has a huge reputation—could have been that freaking ignorant about the whole craft of editing?

It’s a piranha pool out here, folks. You really need to be prepared.

And, for the record, a professional editor edits as little as humanly possible while aiming for the highest possible quality. It is not only perfectly possible, I do it all the time. If a piece needs the kind of deep and devastating cuts that King says Lish did to Carver’s work—well, they might as well just send it back. According to King, the cuts weren’t necessary for quality, only to adapt Carver’s work to Lish’s voice. And I’m going to go out on a limb here and say I trust King’s judgment.

That review’s a pleasure to read simply because it’s so well-written. King’s good.

Victoria

]]> By: Marie Devers http://victoriamixon.com/2009/12/01/talking-about-a-small-good-thing/comment-page-1/#comment-2019 Marie Devers Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:29:34 +0000 http://victoriamixon.com/?p=3627#comment-2019 Punny blog title. Thanks for linking to that article. It made my lunch infinitely more enjoyable. It also made me wonder how much I would compromise my work to please an editor who held my success in his or her back pocket. Punny blog title. Thanks for linking to that article. It made my lunch infinitely more enjoyable. It also made me wonder how much I would compromise my work to please an editor who held my success in his or her back pocket.

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