“All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened, and after you are finished reading one, you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you; the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was.” – Ernest Hemingway
The Editorial Contract
A writer’s ‘style’ feels like something that should be clear cut and inextricable. We know whether a sentence is Hunter S Thompson or Agatha Christie, without ever having come across it before. But, it’s easy to forget that there are external forces at work on an author’s output. This week, I wanted to take a moment to zoom in on one of the most interesting partnerships in all of literary history – in my opinion.
Every book that you will ever read has been edited; most many times, by many people. Even literary geniuses aren’t exempt. Click here for a fascinating look at George Orwell’s 1984, and how it changed in the edit (‘a million radios striking thirteen’ simply doesn’t hit the same!). The goal of an editor is usually to tighten and strengthen writing, while leaving as few of their fingerprints on the manuscript as possible. But, what happens when someone views their role differently?
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