Really? Did I really write that first post without mentioning how good fiction editors are first and foremost enthusiastic readers?

Indeed I did, but only because I can’t imagine anyone seriously considering a career as a book editor who’s not an avid reader and hasn’t logged more than a few all-nighters with a book they’ve been unable to put down. So let’s assume that as a given.

After exhibiting and presenting at last month’s Tucson Festival of Books, I’m reminded just how lucky I feel about being able to do what we do here at The Editorial Department. With an estimated 100,000 people in attendance over the weekend-long event came a steady stream of people of all ages stopping by our booth, many of whom wanted to know, among other things, how to become a book editor in the first place and what to expect from that career path, should they choose it.

There’s nothing I like more than getting out of the office, away from the computer, and out into the trenches where writers gather to talk writing. One such opportunity came earlier this week when I had the opportunity to do a seminar for the Santa Cruz County chapter of the Society of Southwestern Authors, one of the biggest and most active writing groups in Arizona.

The topic was self-editing but with the time for the session limited to only an hour and a half, there simply wasn’t time to do our full self-editing workshop. We typically need at least four hours to fully explore the most important principles and guidelines from TED’s own Self-Editing for Fiction Writers and so the challenge here was to quickly introduce those principles and find an angle that worked for the time we had available and still deliver something substantive. The idea I came up with was to explore a small but important aspect of the benefit of self-editing: how paying attention to mechanical fundamentals can not only improve an author's style but also help writers deepen their characters, improve their dialogue, and make their scenes more immediate and memorable.

I was paging through some vintage copies of National Lampoon yesterday (one of my favorite magazines ever, may it R.I.P) and found an entry from their short lived FROM THE SLUSH PILE series, where they remind readers why writers need editors with excerpts from actual submission to publishers from back in the day.

The bookcase was made of solid walnuts and polished to a high shine.

Mr. Phillips cleared his throat to make his presents felt.
The dishes done, Ruth sat down with a book of cross words.

This particular group of coal minors was the lowest of the low.

Her neatly coiffed hair, her clothes, her well modulated voice denied the wiry person she really was.

I've left the ancient Blue Ridge mountains surrounding my home in Asheville, North Carolina, for the young ones surrounding Tucson, Arizona, to spend Thanksgiving with Ross and visit with the home office staff. Boy, are they smart and cool and fun to hang out with!

We've been making sexy plans for our thirtieth anniversary celebrations in 2010 and cooking up other big projects too. The one I'm most excited about is DIALOGUE FOR FICTION WRITERS, which Ross at last has time to co-author with me.

There's something about airports that get me in the mood for stories with protagonists who aren't afraid to open up a can of serious whoopass from time to time. I'm not sure what it is, perhaps the myriad aggravations of air travel these days, but for whatever reason I tend to go for a more physical brand of thriller before getting on an airplane.  And when the mood for such a book strikes lately, I find myself more and more likely to reach for a Jack Reacher novel.

We didn't want to love Twitter at the Editorial Department.  It seems like such a gimmick and once Ashton Kutcher became the public face of the service, we thought it wouldn't be for us.  150 posts (and counting) later, we're hooked.  There are so many interesting people on there, it's hard to scoff and turn your nose up anymore.  After all, if it's good enough for Margaret Atwood, it should be good enough for us, right?  One of our favorite things on Twitter is LitChat, a thrice weekly hour long discussion of writing or writing related themes.  The conversation is well-moderated, welcoming and informative, which is about all you can ask for these days.  We're proud to announce that our own Renni Browne will be guest-hosting the LitChat for Friday, November 20th, possibly with a few prizes to give away. Go to the LitChat homepage to learn more about how best to experience the chat, get your questions ready, and get into the Twitter fray with Renni and probably some of our staff.  See you there (virtually, but the sentiment is the same).

It's been over a month since I read the book , and just last night night I passed on the offer for half of my wife's quesadilla even though I was still pretty hungry. So this book has definitely made an impact!

I wrapped up my original post on this by considering the power of what Dr. Kessler doesn't say and doesn't offer in this really remarkable book.  He doesn't offer diet advice. He doesn't tell readers what to eat. Nor does he imply that restaurants or food producers should stop serving up food that's so bad for the people who eat it.   But his message is stronger without this, and the takeaway value of the book--something my colleague Peter Gelfan explores in some detail here--is still very high.

I can't imagine anyone with half a brain not being compelled by the  premise of the book, nor the facts that support it:

• that much of the food available to  the American consumer  is far too sweet, salty, and fatty to really be good for us
• that many if not most Americans have concerns about their weight and difficulty resisting the allure of sweet, salty, fatty foods

 

with  Jesse Steele

It's somewhat difficult to write an introduction for someone with the accomplishments of Renni Browne without resorting to cliche.  "She wrote the book on editing":  she certainly did, but that barely scratches the surface of her accomplishments over nearly fifty years of editing.  To call Renni an expert in this era of instant internet expertise seems trite, so you'll have to read her bio yourself and find out for yourself why we're so proud to be part of The Editorial Department, which she founded in 1980.

JS: This is a huge question, but how has the experience of founding and running this company been for you?RDB: I'd have to say exciting and fulfilling. I've never been bored, not for one minute. Every book is different, every author is different, every page is different. When I left mainstream publishing there was such a need for what we do. Books needed editing just as much as ever, but that wasn't happening at anything like the extent when I entered publishing in the 60's. It was so exciting to see the TED idea slowly catch on.