From the Digital
Book World. According to a new report based on a survey of
nearly 5,000 authors of all kind, What Authors Want:
Understanding Authors in the Era of Self-Publishing, nearly
two-thirds of hybrid authors said one of their reasons was that
self-publishing helped them exert more creative control on the final
product. Some 40% said one of their reasons was because of the ease of
the self-publishing process, and nearly 40% said it was because they
could make more money self-publishing.This caught me by surprise at first, then on second reading I spotted the term 'hybrid authors' -- authors who have previously published the traditional way, but now self-publish -- then it made sense. Many authors feel that publishers mutilate their story. Yes, many publishers, particularly the big ones, are too market driven to retain any form of integrity. They publish what sells. Period. (We have all read books and sometimes wondered about the purpose of some scenes with gratuitous sex, rape, incest, bondage, pederasty, homosexuality and violence in an otherwise good book. Many books have nothing but that, which is another industry altogether called pornography.) It is important to note though that this is the feeling of hybrid authors only (that is, those who have moved to self-publishing), not all authors.
Many smaller publishers, especially the independents, however, love their work too much and are very careful about preserving the authors' voice and intent, although they also have to keep their ledgers black. Integrity is all that counts, as does every book. There was an interesting story in the Guardian online on September 27, 2009, that asked, "Raymond Carver was one of America's greatest writers. But was his razor-sharp style created by his editor?" His editor was Gordon Lish. The story is long, complicated and dramatic as it sounds, but the important question is this: would Carver have been read at all if not for Lish's editing? Would have Carver been Carver? (A customer, who has read both, said he thought the edited version was much better. Maybe, the original didn't read like 'Carver'!) The extent of editing that was done to one of Carver's stories can be seen here in the New Yorker.
To be sure many world famous authors have benefited from astute editing for as long as publishing has been around. But, many have suffered too.
Now, how many feel that KS Maniam's 2003 novel, Between Lives should have been vigorously edited, although you are too polite to say it?
