On my desk

An editor's desk is a scary thing.  Well, not always--some editors have clean, organized desks with lots of bare space to work.  Mine, however, is not that.  There are piles of paper, manuscripts, covers, books, galleys, pens, and various forms of caffeine stacked on every horizontal surface on the desk. (And more paper and manuscripts on the floor).  Plus, a vampalo (a vampiric buffalo), courtesy of a kind author.

Organized chaos notwithstanding, however, I've had some great things cross my desk lately en route to my apartment--I should probably note that contrary to popular opinion, editors do not spend their days with their feet up on their desks, reading manuscripts and eating bonbons.  (Much like the fabled 3-martini luncheon, that has long since passed into legend. Alas.)  All the reading and editing is done at home, at night and on weekends.

I just finished reading THE NEW SPACE OPERA anthology edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan, collecting a host of stories from some of the best sf writers today, including Peter F. Hamilton, Dan Simmons, Gwyneth Jones, Alastair Reynolds, and more.  Spanning galaxies and centuries, these stories hit the limits of space and humanity, and then blow right past them.  Exciting, thoughtful, action-packed and provoking...I adored this new collection.  And, unlike Battlestar Galactica, I don't have to catch up on 3 seasons first. 

I also read THE SERPENT BRIDE by Sara Douglass--a wonderful new epic fantasy trilogy whose creepy, erie prologue sucked me in immediately.  Luckily, the rest of the story is equally good.

At home now I've got a new Jani Kilian novel by Kristine Smith, a short story by upcoming (and fabulous) new supernatural author Vicki Pettersson, and more, not to mention the manuscripts that need to travel home, the manuscripts about to arrive in the office, and the many submissions that all need to be read.  And I should have galleys of Kim Harrison's upcoming book, FOR A FEW DEMONS MORE, in the next day or so--yay!

So, a lot of paper. Luckily, reading new books by great authors is one of the best parts of this job. (Discovering great books by new authors is another best part.). Now, if I could just read and edit faster...

-- Diana

Comments

[Tanja]

Just wanted to say how much I appreciate getting to read about some of the inside info and exploration that's being posted here...from authors whose work I definitely enjoy reading. And the occasional editor comment is cool, too. :) Glad that this blog is around and that I found it. Yay!