The People’s Publisher

I don’t know if the other Z2H editors’ experience is the same as mine, but now that it’s widely known that I am the latest editor, it’s not unusual for people to ask me, “What does an editor do?”

It’s not the most common thing I’m asked. That’s “How does one become an editor?” Second and third most popular are, “Someone made you and editor?” and “Really?”, respectively. (My father, who has no aspirations towards editing, actually started with those two.)

The answers to the first three questions are fairly brief and kind of boring, but here they are: 1) “I’m not entirely sure”, 2) “It’s crazy, isn’t it?”, and 3) “Yes, really. Geez, you remind me of my Dad.”

The answer to #4, in an ideal world, would also be short: “Not much.” I don’t live in an ideal world (I do, however, live in an almost ideal bedroom), so my almost, but not quite as short answer is “As little as possible.”

Unlike 98% of the things I post online, the preceding paragraph was not intended as a joke. Well, not really. I suppose I could clarify it a little, expand the answer to, “As little as possible, while still fulfilling the requirements of the job.”

What is the job, then? Well, I’ve got a very detailed list of what I’m supposed and allowed to do for Z2H’s creator clients. Somewhere. Not here. And if I had it here, I’m probably not supposed to talk about its specifics without getting the Chief’s permission, which would be hard to do and still make my deadline (silly Andrew, forgetting Wednesday is editing blog day…). So I’ll just tell you what I think the job of editor is–or at least should be, again in my hypothetical ideal world:

Help everyone involved produce the best comic possible.

It sounds simple, and it sometimes is. If everyone (creators to company and back) agrees on what qualifies as the best comic–that helps. If everyone knows exactly what they’re doing–that helps too. If everyone performs their assignments inside the agreed-upon deadline–that helps a lot.

And if any of that stuff isn’t happening for any reason–then I help.

How do I help, you ask?

Tune in next week, and I’ll give you some examples.

In the meantime, here’s a couple of quick character sketches whipped up by KNIGHTCAP: NOVEMBER’S SONG artist “Peachy” John Keane:

Foley

PS: I’d consider it a personal favour if you refrained from telling John I called him “Peachy.”