Thursday, May 3, 2007

And In the Crater They Found... Dora the Explorer 8x8s

Here's a quickie:
"I enjoy your blog. Have you ever written a children's book or any other sort of book yourself?"

I remember sitting next to a pleasant lady at a conference who asked me this question. She seemed honestly surprised to hear that editors are writers. "How could we critique writing if we didn't do it ourselves?" I asked her.

Writing is a part of editors' jobs, and sometimes that does mean writing a whole book for the publisher you work for. So, yes, I have. You won't see editors' names on most of those books, of course.

The next time you see a book with no author name on it, consider that you may be looking at the work of an editor. But not if you're shopping at Target. Those books are written by aliens.

6 comments:

Nik Perring said...

What a fantastic blog! Intelligent, informed and honest. And entertaining. Thank you.

Brenda said...

Great blog. You're like a children's lit version of Miss Snark! (but nicer)

ChatRabbit said...

Hmmm...so you're all ghost writers, eh? Spooky!
Thanks for writing a great blog-it's been fun to go thru your posts!

CJ Omololu said...

If you're the one who wrote the Rugrats trade books, I'm sorry for the curse that I put on you. It wasn't personal.

Anonymous said...

Hurrah! A children's book editor speaks out. Thanks for BLOGging.

see my post in the comments section of your first entry -- explaining why squirrels are showing up in ms. submissions.

p.s. yes, the editor of my last two books also writes for her publisher. (and we have the same illustrator) I thought we'd be signing together at ALA in June, but her publisher won't be sending her. me? I pay my own way.

librarian, writer, and mom

Anonymous said...

I say many thanks to Mr. admin website I read this, because in this website I know a lot of information information that I did not know before his

Obat Sakit Tenggorokan
Terapi Penghilang Penyakit Asma
Makanan Yang Harus Dihindari Penderita Maag
Obat Penghilang Insomnia Alami
Cara Mengobati Tumor Di Bibir Secara Alami