Is Line Editing a Lost Art?
I found this article a pleasure to read and, though I almost certainly will never be a novelist, for instance, I also found it useful. The intimate and detailed descriptions of what line editing is, how it works, and the relationship between the line editor and the writer are moving and instructive both.
As well, there is just enough literary gossip about some of the famous writers we know of, and how the art of line editing worked with their processes, to spice things up a touch. Line editors are unrecognized contributors to the art of excellent writing, most often -- as who has heard of these people? No doubt a few of us here have but I bet most are as unaware as I was. I came away feeling these people are heroes of literature.
Ultimately the article seemed to offer me a more visceral and functional way of relating to text I myself am trying to improve or revise -- or decide if I need to do either.
Enjoy!
I found this article a pleasure to read and, though I almost certainly will never be a novelist, for instance, I also found it useful. The intimate and detailed descriptions of what line editing is, how it works, and the relationship between the line editor and the writer are moving and instructive both.
As well, there is just enough literary gossip about some of the famous writers we know of, and how the art of line editing worked with their processes, to spice things up a touch. Line editors are unrecognized contributors to the art of excellent writing, most often -- as who has heard of these people? No doubt a few of us here have but I bet most are as unaware as I was. I came away feeling these people are heroes of literature.
Ultimately the article seemed to offer me a more visceral and functional way of relating to text I myself am trying to improve or revise -- or decide if I need to do either.
Enjoy!
