"In practical terms, you'll have a better chance selling to the [sf genre] magazines if your story is (1) short and (2) science fiction rather than fantasy. My career followed that track; so did the careers of most other science fiction writers in the field."

"There are thousands of editors out there looking for work. The big publishers use a lot of freelance editors these days. I can hire the same people I might end up with if I were to go the traditional route, pay them once, and still retain ownership and control over my work."

"All these [sf genre] magazines pride themselves on publishing stories from new writers. What doesn't get told quite as often is that they survive by discovering new writers."

"If magic exploits our capacity to continuously, unconsciously modify events in the ongoing world to form a story, even at the expense of everything we know to be possible in the universe, then we are indeed master editors, tirelessly working to communicate to others and ourselves a meaningful tale."

"The only reason I was asked to edit this volume [of The Best American Short Stories] was because someone out there in the world was equally conscientious and didn't let this nobody writer slip between the cracks."

"A Story either works or doesn't work. It either engages the reader or it doesn't. It's alive or it's dead, like our mongooses. And the last thing an editor wants to do is kill a living Story, no matter how mangy."

"I work with three: my editor in the U.K., my editor in Australia, and my editor in America.  It does make it hard, because often their editorial reports contradict each other, so in the end, I have to make my own decision."

"Ultimately that's what led me to becoming an editor ... driving myself to find things that would challenge me as a reader and change the way I read."

"Ultimately, the question 'Who's the target reader, and why?' must be answered by everyone in the publishing chain (writer, editor, marketer, publicist, publisher). Identifying the audience (the people who will buy your book) defines which of these two cultures 'Literary' or 'Commercial' you belong to."

"Your work will be rejected.  Often, always, and forever.  Good work.  Quality work.  Publishable work.  Work you've born your soul into.  You will be turned down not only for logic and for reason, but for the silliest of subjectivities: The editor's cat has just died, and your work is too sad.  The agent is moving in a darker publishing direction; your work is too light.  Your poems are too short.  Your essays are too long.  We've seen this before.  We've never seen this before and wouldn't know how to market it.  It's good, but it won't sell.  It's good, but it's just not right for us.  You do understand, don't you?"

"Literary and commercial: If you are a writer, an editor or a publisher in traditional trade book publishing, you have to decide which of these two cultures you want to align yourself with."

"Just write the stories you want to write.  If you are writing about authentic characters, we (agents, then editors, then readers) will care."

"Most reputable media outlets will at least pay something, and most reputable editors are going to pay more attention to clips from serious sources when considering you for assignments."

"People die of exposure.  As prestigious as you may think writing for certain websites may be, most editors know exactly what websites are legit and pay their writers.  They know you likely gave it away for free—which is definitely not how the pros conduct themselves."

"Some editors are failed writers, but so are most writers." (artist)

"Editorial decisions are subjective.  ....  Writing is an ongoing process and should never end with a rejection letter."

"I wish all writers realized that agents, publishers, book doctors, vanity presses, and how-to seminars, have a cost attached to them—sometimes a very high cost—with zero guarantees. You can be a writer, and have writer be a part of your identity, without any of them."

"I don't understand why people post details about their unpublished manuscripts online.  It's not like editors and agents have thousands of minions combing the Internet in search of your story."

"The first comment I got from my editor was that it was the most linear plot she'd ever read, and she could predict exactly what was going to happen, and I needed to rip the whole thing apart and redo it.  So that's where I got with outlining."

"I'm my own worst critic.  Editors are always calling me a good writer.  To me, I'm a horrible writer, and I keep that mindset so I never get lax or comfortable."

"You've got to protect your voice and your vision from everybody, really.  Even the best-intentioned editors.  And I mean, I love my editor; I've been with Vicky Wilson for over 35 years.  She's wonderful, and her remarks on the finished manuscript are always terrific.  But I don't go to her to discuss a germinating idea."