The editor's role

In The Daily Telegraph Dan Franklin looks back at the careers of two great literary editors, John Blackwell and Tom Maschler, and considers how the role has changed today.

It is rare to find an editor like John Blackwell these days. John's sort of editing took time - many cigarettes, many beers, much discussion and laughter. The impatient deadlines of modern publishing don't suit such people. Nowadays most publishers have tiny editorial departments and depend heavily on freelances. They may do an excellent job, but it is rare for them to build up quite the same relationship with an author.