tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6752087278312138965.post6140869611759527765..comments2023-09-11T06:13:03.758-04:00Comments on Talking Writing: Searching for Max Perkins: Are Writers Groups the New Editors?Martha Nicholshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02125887259454036708noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6752087278312138965.post-32786877867920547972010-03-20T15:02:48.082-04:002010-03-20T15:02:48.082-04:00Hi Elizabeth
At long last I am reading your post...Hi Elizabeth<br /> At long last I am reading your post, and seconding David's dilemma of stuffing the whole package of work/family/money and writing, and editing, into a constructive whole; definitely a feeble work in progress in my case. But your article is great, both about the junction of friendship and writing, and about the backbone the presence of a writing group can add to that frequently subjective, wobbly process of writing. Eventually they may be replaced by adoring readers, but the fact that there is a any kind of group of writers who have faith in you, and the wayward stages of many soon-to-be-great-works, is uplifting. Writer's groups honor not only good writing, but what can be the psychologically infested process of getting words on the page. As you point out, the great editors, with their skills and their intimacy, walked the walk of Virgil and Dante: the thorny trek through the writing mind and its defense mechanisms, sans REI. It may be the closest some of us get to a religious community. Laurie WeiszLaurie Weiszhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18132708530832803723noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6752087278312138965.post-31164398137046902672010-02-08T16:36:01.586-05:002010-02-08T16:36:01.586-05:00Paula and Martha, thanks so much for your comments...Paula and Martha, thanks so much for your comments.<br /><br />It's great to hear that many published authors have supportive, warmhearted relationships with their editors, although I wish that unpublished works and writers were also nurtured as in the past. I think of John Kennedy Toole, for example, and wonder if things would have been different if he had had a Max Perkins in his life. We'll never know for sure.<br /><br />In any case, Martha, you are so right that we need a safe place to fail as well as to celebrate achievement. I'm very lucky to have my writers group by my side.Elizabeth Langosyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06870671096712471918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6752087278312138965.post-83765232784875708032010-02-04T22:08:58.859-05:002010-02-04T22:08:58.859-05:00Elizabeth, you remind me again of what gift a goo...Elizabeth, you remind me again of what gift a good writing group can be, and what a particular kind of friendship evolves from it. It's rare to find other sympathetic writers who you trust enough to reveal the way your mind works and the emotional blocks you face at every turn.<br /><br />And it's so rare in adult life to have a safe space to fail spectacularly. I think in rare editorial relationships, with a kindred soul like Max Perkins, writers also felt that kind of safety. But it may feel even safer with peers. If we find our kindred souls, they'll let us know it's OK to fail, and that we should try again, and regardless it was worth the effort. Thanks for writing this.Martha Nicholshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02125887259454036708noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6752087278312138965.post-39462016335838382462010-02-04T18:20:04.372-05:002010-02-04T18:20:04.372-05:00I'm not so sure the days of the Max Perkins ed...I'm not so sure the days of the Max Perkins editors have passed entirely, as I know many published authors who adore their editors and have developed both professional and personal relationships with them throughout their careers. Both author and editor exchange and execute suggestions that make the work better.<br /><br />It's the editor's role that has changed over the decades since Max and his stable of writers sat at the helm of the publishing world. These days it's up to the author to polish the manuscript to salable condition before it reaches the publishing house. If the piece is accepted, an editor there will give the author final suggestions, the author will make revisions, and then a copy editor will give the piece a final proofread before it goes to print. It's getting the publisher to give your work a serious look in the first place that's the rub--which is why the author (or a hired professional of his/her choosing) must do the bulk of the editorial work to begin with.<br /><br />As for writers' groups, I strongly believe in them, yet it's difficult to find a critique group that isn't rife with overblown egos. If you've found one whose proven, well-informed members care about your work more than they care about their own and are sincerely dedicated to helping one another become better writers, consider yourself blessed. If that's the case, MAKE THE TIME to attend every meeting. And if they've proven you can trust them to steer you in a positive direction (i.e., toward a salable piece of writing) then set your own ego aside and listen carefully to their suggestions, just as Elizabeth did with her friend Judy's assessment.<br /><br />A fine post, Elizabeth. Thanks!Paula L. Silicihttp://www.pro-edits.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6752087278312138965.post-62252890009122977682010-02-04T16:14:34.767-05:002010-02-04T16:14:34.767-05:00David, it would have taken me forever to complete ...David, it would have taken me forever to complete such a substantial revision of my story if I'd still been working at my day job. In addition to losing editors like Max Perkins, writers have lost the time needed to productively focus on creative work. This is due partly, I think, to the reduction in well-paying venues over the years, particularly for short fiction. If we can't get paid enough for our writing to support ourselves (and, for many of us, our families), we can't quit our day jobs.<br /><br />It's worth squeezing in time to meet with other writers or with creative friends, even if it's during a lunch hour. The frustrating thing when you're working full-time is having to hold a lunch meeting to an hour, especially if people are traveling from across town to get together. But it's very valuable.Elizabeth Langosyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06870671096712471918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6752087278312138965.post-84813610717723237732010-02-04T12:14:21.304-05:002010-02-04T12:14:21.304-05:00This is a great post and speaks to so much that is...This is a great post and speaks to so much that is wrong with my world today. Not only do I need to find a writer's group, but a couple of men's books I've been reading tell me I need to cultivate more male friendships. <br /><br />Long story short, many of us mid-age writers, juggling kids, being good husbands, slogging through day jobs, and trying to find time to write (and blog), don't have much time to spend in the big wide world -- with writer's groups or men's groups, or just plain old one-on-one lunches with friends. <br /><br />Time, time, time, time, time...wonder if I will ever get my act together!David Biddlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08802209288312003880noreply@blogger.com