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RARA-AVIS: Re: RARA-AVIS Digest V1 #24
Coming out of the darkness to say hi! Name's Seidman, editing mystery
fiction is the game. And thin skin is, often the dress. So:
Jerry Silverman seemed to have a complaint about editors and publishers ("if
you don't want your writing fucked with, write a novel. Guess they never
heard of editors and publishers"). Writers have recourse: nowhere is it
written that you have to accept the editorial changes, for one thing. If
you're willing to sell out, fine. But if you don't agree, you can fight or
withdraw the book. Second, editors (well, good editors) rarely make the kind
of radical changes that occur in screenplays (or that we're told occur in
screenplays).
On another, more interesting note: St. Martin's is releasing a book this
month with the clever title: The Drowning Pool. Of course, this one is a
cozy about a romance writer. Now, we know you can't copyright titles, but
this one strikes me as being more than a bit bizarre. I spoke to one
bookseller who hadn't heard of the SMP book, but said it didn't matter: most
of the store's customers probably never heard of the original book, or the
author, or the p.i. What can you expect: in a world where too many mystery
fans think James Lee Burke is a p.i. writer, and cats solve crimes....
Hang tough.
Seidman
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