The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers - Softcover

Lerner, Betsy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1573228575 ISBN 13: 9781573228572

Publisher: Riverhead Trade, 2001

Synopsis

A prize-winning poet, author's agent, and editor offers writers the wisdom and insights she has gained from her experiences, providing inspiration, inside views, and a colorful, anecdotal look at the world of publishing. Reissue.

About this title

Review:

One feels for Betsy Lerner's writers. Oh, sure, Lerner must be a fabulous agent. But too bad for them: In gaining her as an agent, they lost her as an editor. How rare and wonderful it must have been to have such an advocate, advisor, and, yes, admirer so firmly ensconced in publisher territory (at various times, Houghton Mifflin, Ballantine, Simon & Schuster, and Doubleday). In The Forest for the Trees, Lerner reflects on writing and publishing from an editor's point of view. There are so many books by writers and agents promising to disclose what editors really want; here, finally, is one straight from the source. Like all experienced editors, Lerner has seen writers at their best, and at their worst. "Like shrinks," she says, editors "have a privileged and exclusive view into a writer's psyche, from the ecstasy of acquisition to the agony of the remainder table."

To writers, particularly unpublished ones, editors can seem imposing figures determined to thwart their success. They won't take calls, they don't offer feedback--sometimes they don't respond to queries at all. Guess what: Editors don't lug home hundreds of pounds of manuscripts to read each year because they aren't looking for good writing. "An editor gets off," says Lerner, "on the thrill of discovering a new writer." Editors crave "succinct, well-written cover letters," inspiration that comes from within (as opposed to from the bestseller list), and "catchy, clearly targeted title[s]." They detest unsolicited phone calls, "query letters that sound as if they were penned by Crazy Eddie," and writers who offer to "write it however I want it" (it's "like saying I'll be straight or gay; you tell me, I have no preference"). Lerner is aware of how excruciating it is for a writer to wait for feedback on his or her work. But she also lets writers in on a little secret of her own. "I'm always anxious about the author's response," she confides. "Will he or she take to my editing?" --Jane Steinberg

About the Author:

Betsy Lerner has worked as an editor at Houghton Mifflin, Ballantine, Simon & Schuster, and was most recently executive editor at Doubleday. She began her editing career working for literary journals, including the Minetta Review and The Paris Review, and co-founded the magazine Big Wednesday. She has been awarded the Tony Godwin Fellowship and was selected as a Jerusalem Book Fair fellow. A published poet, she is currently a literary agent at the Gernert Company. She is married to John Donatich, publisher of Basic Books.

About this edition

• Publisher: Riverhead Trade
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 1573228575
• ISBN 13: 9781573228572
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304