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Subject:Re: Re[2]: Careen Path From:"Wing, Michael J" <mjwing -at- INGR -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 3 Feb 1997 12:48:57 -0600
>
>> Bob, I for one do not believe that writers are "Editors". I know that
>> most of us are hired with that title, but any good writer I know would
>> not consider being an editor. Perhaps (though I don't know) editors
>> don't want to be writers. The exceptions are those that you mention in
>> you post. Of course, being the owners does make a difference!
>
>Benjamin Franklin, Edgar Alan Poe, and H.L. Mencken found it possible
>to lower themselves to editing, to name just three.
>
> -- Robert
>--
And what companies did they work for?
This seems to me like an apples and oranges discussion. As you
previously described the publishing hierarchy (let's call it apples), an
Editor seems to rule over a writer. The Editor has control over what
goes in, what goes out, and what is written about in the first place.
They have initial and final approval of an article. They writer cannot
supersede the Editor's judgment.
In much of the corporate world (oranges), Editors support writers. They
(the Editors) make grammatical corrections; have input but not control
on content; define, measure, and correct standards of style; and so
forth. However, it the writer who has judgment on what goes in and what
does not.
Therefore, if Mr. Franklin, Mr. Poe, and Mr. Mencken are from the apples
world, they cannot lower themselves to Editor. This, according to your
hierarchy, is an increase in status, skills, and responsibility.
However, if they were in the oranges world, then performing editing
duties (depending on the corporation) may very well be drop is status
(or at least a lateral change). So if these three are examples of
'lowering themselves in status', then what (again) companies did they
work for?
Mike Wing
_____________________________________________
| Michael Wing
| Principal Technical Writer
| Infrastructure Technical Information Development
| http://www.ingr.com/iss/products/mapping/
| Intergraph Corporation
| Huntsville, Alabama
| (205) 730-7250
| mjwing -at- ingr -dot- com
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