It is a true fact that if you publish something, you should expect criticism. This is not a defense of the act of criticism any more than “if you go out late at night you should expect to encounter muggers” is a defense of the act of mugging. And yes, “editor” is an evil job, and I frankly don’t understand why it doesn’t have the same reputation as “lawyer” or “bureaucrat”. Writers need advice; they do not need mandatory cowriters (ie, editors).

cptsdcarlosdevil:

“Hello, Bob,” Alice said. “How are you this fine evening?”

“I am an authorial mouthpiece in a didactic work of fiction intended as a reducto ad absurdam of an anon’s position!” Bob said.

“What a coincidence,” Alice said, “so am I!”

“I want to point out,” Bob said, “that while in the past getting an editor was required to be published, in the current day this is not true. No one is stopping you from putting your book on Kindle, and if you’re lucky it will be successful like The Martian or Fifty Shades of Grey.”

“That’s true,” Alice said. “But Kindle books usually sell fewer copies.”

“While this is partially because large publishing companies have more ability to promote books and get books into brick-and-mortar bookstores,” Bob said, “that’s partially because of the absence of editors, who do play an important role.”

“I wonder if anon has read any of Anne Rice’s works after she fired her editor,” Alice said. “They’re not generally considered, uh, good.”

“I wonder if anon is opposed to movies,” Bob said, “given that they’re usually collaborations between a screenwriter, a director, an editor, the actors, and so on. It’s hard to imagine a movie that only has one driving creativity behind it, and even so it wouldn’t be very good.”