18 September 2017
An English teacher once asked me, "Are you a writer or an editor?" This isn't an unusual question, it seems: plenty of writers (and readers) have come up against it, even if it all just boils down to how many hours they have in the day. But some magical people, of course, manage to do it all: write incredible books and also edit them. The premier example of this is of course Toni Morrison, whose impressive list would be much more discussed if she wasn't also one of the most important novelists of the century in her own right. But still: an editor's influence can be major, and they are not always well-appreciated for it.