Tom - Thoughts on What Editors Do 5, 6, 7, and 9

After reading these chapters from What Editors Do, it made me consider the process of developing a book from an entirely different perspective.

It never occurred to me that books containing outside quotes or other outside material need to receive permissions to use the content. I'm unsure why this hadn't occurred to me before, but it makes a lot of sense. I wonder how much money a publishing house is willing to spend to acquire the necessary permissions. The reading states that many times, editors will cut out material that requires these permissions to avoid the process altogether. Are there any examples of books that would not have succeeded if not for their usage of material that required permissions?


It was also fascinating to see the level of personal connection achieved by some editors and authors become during the process. Due to editors' love for literature, they are able to fall in love with authors that they hope can write the next hit. When acquiring a book, an acquisitions editor always has this hope in mind. I began to question the nature of these relationships when examining an extreme case. The reading discussed an editor that gave personal loans and writing accommodations in her own house to an author she truly loved working with. Eventually, the author moved on to a contract at a different publishing house, leaving the editor devastated. Is it not commonplace for editors to have this situation perpetually happen? I feel like it would make more sense for an editor to approach the situation from a business perspective, considering the fact that at any time, an author may leave in the pursuit of money. Maybe this could allow editor's to feel less heartbreak when one of their prized authors moves on. It could also allow them to take a more objective and conservative approach to the books they acquire and to the extracurricular things they decide to for authors.

Loyalty to a house certainly appears to have its benefits, but authors shouldn't just blindly shy away from exploring other opportunities, even if it means breaking the hearts of those working at the current publishing house.

Last comment -- I also never imagined that books go through a legal review before being published. It is very clear to me now why this would be necessary. Do all books go through legal review, or is it more common for a book to bypass this situation completely?