overview |

General introductions all around & about the course.

Introduction to book editing, how it has changed, shepherding a book through the editing process. How has editing changed from what it used to be in the past – say 20 years ago – through the present – Maxwell Perkins and more. General discussion of Perkins, expectations of students (participation, this course is a dialogue, not simply to sit and take notes, so please, speak up and participate – this is what editors do!). General overview of course.

Part I : Types of different editors at houses what types do you think there are? General assignment: delve into the Perkins and read more about him and how he changed the face of publishing and book editing after the phase of morality publishing.
See if you can find three or so books that you feel will be as twenty years from now as they are today. In short, books that would make good backlist books and be as relevant twenty years from now as they are today. Be prepared to say why you feel this is.

We'll just cover some basics about editing in this section to welcome you to the class and give you some ideas about what we will be covering.