Editing Question/Hopping

Becky had a question about yesterday's post on editing: It seems that everyone has the title of editor and yet the jobs you describe seem quite specialized at Zondervan. Does your macro editor do copy editing for someone else? Is your copyeditor going to conferences and acquiring other authors? In otherwords, how specialized are the people you work with?

The editor's jobs are quite specialized. I think this is true for most houses. However, it's common for the acquiring editor (the one who goes to conferences and looks for manuscripts, as you mention) to also be the macro editor. This person knows fiction. He/she knows what makes a good story and what the house needs to rounds out its fiction line. This person will typically take the book through the macro editing process--and perhaps the track edits, if the house includes that step. Sometimes the house works with a freelance editor who steps in to do the macro edit. Often the acquiring editor doesn't have time to macro edit every novel, so he/she may do some of them, and a freelance editor will be hired to do the rest.

As for copy editors, these are a specialized breed. They're taught to look for the details. Many would have no idea how to do a macro edit. By the same token, a macro editor would not necessarily be a good copyeditor. A copyeditor is supposed to stay within his purview and not stray into macroediting, because that stage has already been done and agreed upon by the time he receives the manuscript.

Now for today--I've hopped again. Please join me on the Charis Connection for my post. Please leave your comments there.