Dbo: Thoughts on the Paris Review

I enjoyed reading the Paris Review packet more than I thought I would. The writers' perspectives on Gottlieb juxtaposed with his own thoughts on editing were well organized and flowed easily. As a writer myself, I found myself wanting an editor like Gottlieb - only I would rather he not call me "dear boy". To me, the most exciting thing about having an editor like Gottlieb is his straightforwardness and his desire to enjoy the work. For the most part, he edited books he enjoyed so that he could enjoy them more fully, and he put significant effort into each project. His perspective seemed to differ from Scott Norton's in chapter 8 of What Editors Do. Norton seemed to focus more on acquiring books for their monetary potential (p. 88 "Think 'quantitatively', Roessner says. She asks herself, Do I think I can expand a book's sales potential enough to warrant the investment of time that development would require?") rather than their literary merit. Norton also specifies market knowledge as one key asset good editors bring to their role. Despite these different perspectives, both Norton and Gottlieb make the same claim that editing is not a learned trade; it's a gift not everyone is awarded.