Editors Are Usually Really Nice People

photo by Ian Burnes

If you have Zen or Buddhist inclinations—and you’re also in the profession of writing and publishing—you will love this story and meditation by Gillian Burnes. It begins:

In the middle of a Vipassana meditation retreat last summer … I went up to the teacher at the end of the dharma talk and said, as sweetly as I could, “Editors are usually really nice people.” He’d been using “editor” to stand for the harsh inner voice of self-loathing, and of course I understood what he meant, but as a magazine copy editor I had to stand up for my professional brotherhood.

Burnes goes on to discuss the difference between generation mode and analysis mode. Read the full piece in the latest Glimmer Train bulletin.

Also check out:

Poking the Tiger: Thoughts on Characterization and Story-Building by Dennis Bock
What We Settle For by Tracy Guzeman
The Dialogue Zone: When Characters Take Over by Tom Kealey

Jane Friedman

View posts by Jane Friedman

Jane Friedman (@JaneFriedman) has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in digital media strategy for authors and publishers. She is the publisher of The Hot Sheet, the essential newsletter on the publishing industry for authors, and was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World in 2019.

In addition to being a columnist for Publishers Weekly, Jane is a professor with The Great Courses, which released her 24-lecture series, How to Publish Your Book. Her book for creative writers, The Business of Being a Writer (University of Chicago Press), received a starred review from Library Journal.

Jane speaks regularly at conferences and industry events such as BookExpo America, Digital Book World, and the AWP Conference, and has served on panels with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund. Find out more.