I’m a lead editor at a large traditional publishing house. A lot of people don’t really know what that means, or what it is that I do all day. (It’s not correct people’s grammar.) If you have a general question about what an editor is or does, please feel free to ask!

Sep 23, 2026 · 12:32 AM UTC

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Replying to @pauljpastor
Editors are literally the best.
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*Good* editors. The bad ones are literally the worst. Also, thank you!
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Replying to @pauljpastor
Do you lick frogs found in the garden? Would you advise this as an aid to creativity? 🤣
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Only when in Mexico, Rod! You know this Working Boy is more into the (culinary) mushrooms.
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Replying to @pauljpastor
"It’s not correct people’s grammar." That's why guys like you hire guys like me. That's what I do all day! 😀
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You are my hero!
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Replying to @pauljpastor
Why is there a policy of never reprinting books like this?
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I don't understand the question, but I do love Alan Lee's illustrations, particularly this Merlin.
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Replying to @pauljpastor
How do you find a balance between responding to market demand and just giving people any they want vs trying to promote books you feel are of high literary or cultural value but may not sell as well?
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It’s a balance! Lots of micro adjustments and learning. Trying not to let the perfect defeat the good.
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Replying to @pauljpastor
My college students often want to know how to get into editing. I direct them to job boards and internships. Anything else you’d recommend?
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Lead editors rarely go to school for publishing. It is all about temperament, skillset, and experience. Get an entry level job, do freelance on the side, and just go for it. Take any opportunity you can early on, then get choosy later.
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Replying to @pauljpastor
what are the biggest changes in your world, good or bad, over the past decade or so? feels like my neck of the woods, academia, talks about its changes nonstop, but we don’t hear quite as much from publishing.
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Honestly my seat is quite stable. Biggest is simply the decline of shared standards of thought and taste. My role, among others, is to slow that decline as much as possible. Many people now access nonfiction content through video or podcast, which is fine—that is one big change.
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Replying to @pauljpastor
What do you do all day?
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Try to decide what you will want to read in two years.
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Replying to @pauljpastor
What do you see your business publishing more of in 2028?
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Nice try! Books!
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Replying to @pauljpastor
Does your enjoyment of a work affect your ability to edit it?
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No.
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Replying to @pauljpastor
Have you ever read a manuscript that came over the transom? If not, why not? If I were a publisher, I would not leave that job entirely to agents.
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Oh man do I have stories of what’s come over the transom! I will always peek, but have never signed an unsolicited manuscript like that.
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