Editor Bias Quotes

My first novel was turned down by about twenty publishers over a period of two and a half years. Because my name is Irish and would not be familiar to English editors, one of them said: 'If she writes anything else, do let us know.' Slowly, very slowly, the books began to sell and be noticed.

If you're an editor at TIME magazine or writer at TIME magazine and you are shocked to look at real documented research that says men and women are different - what in the world did you believe beforehand?

When a guy is perceived as macho, female editors aren't going to like it - because they all want to be men.

Try pitching a story of happiness to your editors, and their toes are going to curl up.

Does advertising corrupt editors? Yes it does, but fewer editors than you may suppose... the vast majority of editors are incorruptible.

I didn't get fired." "You didn't punch your boss and get fired from the Tribune? That's what I heard." "I punched what could loosely be called a colleague for cribbing my notes on a story and since the editor–who happened to be the asshole's uncle–took his word over mine, I quit." "To write books. Is it fun?" "I guess it is." "I bet you killed the asshole in the first one you wrote." "You'd be right. Beat him to death with a shovel. Very satisfying.

It is unsound for an independent editor to be a financial contributor to any cause which would cause any type of special pleading.

There are two kinds of editors, those who correct your copy and those who say it's wonderful.

Another editor. That thing behind his ear is his pencil. Whenever he finds a bright thing in your manuscript he strikes it out with that. That does him good, and makes him smile and show his teeth, the way he is doing in the picture. This one has just been striking out a smart thing, and now he is sitting there with his thumbs in his vest-holes, gloating. They are full of envy and malice, editors are.

One should fight like the devil the temptation to think well of editors. They are all, without exception - at least some of the time, incompetent or crazy.

Book-publishing is all about politics. Agents, editors, which books will be puffed, which ignored, etc.