I agree, Melanie. I also have a lot of compassion for them right now. With the industry struggling, it’s getting harder and harder for them to make a living.

Sandy

I’m very disheartened to hear what she said about agents and traditional publishing. I think agents make every penny of their percentage, and I love the ones I work with.

Kathleen, don’t you almost feel sorry for the author who skips the editing process and produces that book with all the typos and grammar errors that make you cringe? They’ve come so far, only to shoot themselves in the foot. As for what’s taught in schools, I think that years from now when the current generation of “seasoned” editors retires, we might see books that don’t quite meet our standards, but are acceptable to younger readers. Language — even how words are pronounced — is evolving.

Sandy

Marcia, I was so surprised by what seemed like an inappropriate chunk of text that I felt I had to address it. I suspect it comes from a bad personal experience but regardless, the agent comment isn’t accurate or fair. As for publishers, they don’t have unlimited capacity, so of course they’re going to invest in books they believe will succeed. That’s how business works. Nothing shameful or despicable about it.

Sandy

Thanks for sharing it, Christine. You’ll be helping more authors improve their book’s quality. I’m seeing people confuse editing and proofreading, too. The skills are related, but different. If I’m the editor, I can’t be the proofreader because I’ve seen the manuscript too many times to catch everything. It’s in good shape when it gets to the proofreader — but that person will definitely catch things I didn’t.

Sandy

You’re welcome, Gary. Be sure to hire an editor when you’re done!

Sandy

Wow. That is so uncalled for. And we can also flip this sentiment to say that some of those who advocate self-publishing are so intent on making money that they ignore factors that would make traditional publishing by far the best option for certain kinds of books.