Post by account_disabled on Dec 27, 2023 22:46:03 GMT -6
I liked that definition. In fact, I believe that it is the best definition of the term editor: acting as an intermediary between what the writer writes and what the reader will read. But what does it mean, exactly? From how Max Perkins acted you can understand very well. One of the first titles of Fitzgerald's famous novel The Great Gatsby was Trimalchio in West Egg. Who would ever buy a book with that title? I certainly don't, because it doesn't tell me anything. But, above all, what does it mean? Trimalchio was a character in Petronius' Satyricon , a very rich freedman.
It is obvious that Fitzgerald wanted to allude to his protagonist as a similar character, but one who lived in West Egg and not in Rome. In the title The Great Special Data Gatsby , however, there is all the essence of the story. Even a sense of drama is contained in that simple “big.” The title points directly to the protagonist, without mincing words, without allusions, without hidden meanings. This is what is meant, in my opinion, by intermediary : a professional who knows how to understand the author's writing and its possible messages, who knows how to enhance it, above all, who allows the author to express himself at his best, to communicate with his future readers.
The editor is just a more prepared beta reader than others Many authors like beta readers , in fact we all have at least one: one or more trusted people to read our stories. Readers who send us comments and criticisms, which we can choose to follow or not. I realized how many flaws my stories had when other people read them, finding things invisible to me. Similarly, when I proofread some clients' manuscripts , I was told “I would never have seen those errors.” The editor is obviously a different profession from that of the proofreader, but nevertheless he discovers flaws in the story, weak points that escape the author, identifies cuts to be made or suggests extensions where necessary.
It is obvious that Fitzgerald wanted to allude to his protagonist as a similar character, but one who lived in West Egg and not in Rome. In the title The Great Special Data Gatsby , however, there is all the essence of the story. Even a sense of drama is contained in that simple “big.” The title points directly to the protagonist, without mincing words, without allusions, without hidden meanings. This is what is meant, in my opinion, by intermediary : a professional who knows how to understand the author's writing and its possible messages, who knows how to enhance it, above all, who allows the author to express himself at his best, to communicate with his future readers.
The editor is just a more prepared beta reader than others Many authors like beta readers , in fact we all have at least one: one or more trusted people to read our stories. Readers who send us comments and criticisms, which we can choose to follow or not. I realized how many flaws my stories had when other people read them, finding things invisible to me. Similarly, when I proofread some clients' manuscripts , I was told “I would never have seen those errors.” The editor is obviously a different profession from that of the proofreader, but nevertheless he discovers flaws in the story, weak points that escape the author, identifies cuts to be made or suggests extensions where necessary.