Publisher: Success is longevity

Daniel Frank, editor-in-chief of Pantheon Books and vice president of Alfred A. Knopf, explained yesterday at a lunch discussion his belief that a novel’s success is dependent on its ability to endure rather than the number of copies sold.

The event, titled “An Editor and His Writers: Thoughts on the Mechanics of Publishing,” also featured Linda Colley, a history professor, and Nicholas Dawidoff, a fellow in American studies. Both Colley and Dawidoff have worked with Frank on their own books.

Frank started the conversation by discussing how he became involved in editing. “I decided on publishing because I loved to read,” he said, adding that as he read, he often tried to think about how to improve the text.

“Learning to edit is almost like learning to play a musical instrument,” he said, explaining that there are certain tactics one can use, but “there’s no one right way to edit a book.”

Though editors usually employ literary agents to find authors with whom they can connect, Frank will sometimes contact authors directly. In addition, the authors with whom he works often refer their colleagues to him. Whether the editor and author will collaborate well, however, depends on a number of factors.

The editor should feel “in the service of the author,” Frank said. The vision of the author is preeminent, and Frank’s goal is to “work together to make that vision as powerful, potent and clear as possible.”

To this end, editors cannot force authors to change their manuscripts. This philosophy also fits well with Frank’s primary interest in the long-lasting appeal of a book rather than its immediate reception.

Colley and Dawidoff provided insights from the authorial perspective. Colley acknowledged that editors want to make money off books, and though this is “entirely right and proper,” some editors adhere to a formula when looking for books, which stifles creative expression.

“There has to be that element of intellectual sympathy and understanding about what you, as the writer, are trying to do,” she said.

“It can be an incredibly lively and nurturing relationship, but you have to make intelligent choices about it,” Dawidoff added. A good editor should be “somebody whom you can really trust, whom you can listen to,” he said.

The editor should also be supportive throughout the writing process. “Writers ... can easily write what they don’t mean, especially in the later stages of the creative process,” Colley explained. “It can be hard to get beyond a certain point [in terms] of clarity.”

“The ideal editor is not just a critic and a judge, but is jogging your mind about the audience ... [and] making sure you really are writing what you want to write,” she added.

The panelists also talked about the publishing industry and how to get started. A book’s audience is an especially important consideration, Frank said, and this may influence whether an author publishes with a mainstream publisher or a university press.

Frank emphasized working on publications as the best way to obtain editing experience. Dawidoff suggested examining the books one admires and finding out the editor and agent for those books. Editors are enthusiastic about receiving letters from people who are passionate about the field, he said.

Those in attendance at the discussion were mostly graduate students in history and humanities students. Overall, they found the discussion to be eye-opening and stimulating. “I thought it was helpful,” Mark Robinson GS said, adding that he was “more attuned to the panelists who had academic experience.”

“It’s always good to get the inside scoop,” Dael Norwood GS said.

“Book publishing is very far in my future. It’s the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s good to know that it’s there,” he added.