Editors Need to Get It
It seems today that with the changing technology, the world is gearing toward changing the way they do things. From communications to processing, computers is changing the way people do business. Even in the publishing industry there are many companies that have taken to the new technology.
Unfortunately, there are those who are reluctant to change. Some editors even prefer to accept only paper submissions. What happened to saving the trees? There are some editors who don't even have a computer and don't want one. Some are so old-fashioned they even hate computers.
The ones who fail to embrace the new technology are in for a rude awakening. They will be left in the dust in the long-run for failing to adapt to the changes. Why? Because people will turn to those who will accept the changes. More and more the use of email and faxes have given consumers and business alike the avenue to communicate at much faster speeds. This is society on speed. It's not the laid back approach as it was a few years ago. Today, most people are in a rush to get to one place after another. No one has the chance to breathe.
As the day proceeds and cost-cutting becomes an even bigger issue, there will be many respondents, who will take advantage of the speed of email and faxes to communicate with companies or each other. It is now getting to a point where many professional, well-established writers are sending their queries by email. They refuse to send queries, proposals, or even the manuscript through the mail.
Why should a writer spend money on postage to mail a proposal, knowing it will take weeks or months while the editor plows through a bunch of queries when he can send a query to more modern publishers and get an almost instant response? It just makes sense. Plus, by sending a manuscript through the mail, you are paying for postage with the possible idea the manuscript will be returned rejected.
Editors need to get with the times and realize that this is a fast-paced society. Most of our business and personal lives is governed by the workings of a computer. They need to understand that times are changing. If they want to stay in business for a long time in the future, they better get on the bandwagon and accept the fact their roles are changing and they need to change their attitudes and ways of doing business.
Soon, this will be a paperless society. As of now books are being placed on cassette and CD as audio books. Eventually, perhaps within a couple of years, books will no longer be printed but made available electronically. Special ebook readers will be made available at low-cost to the public. These readers will take an electronic book and show it on a screen for viewing.
The bottom line here is that if editors and publishers want to stay in business, they have to go along with the flow and accept responsibility to change, or get left behind.
Harry Husted is a freelance writer and author. His writing projects include ghostwriting, copywriting, web site content, and DTP. His credits include articles for Internet Day, Internet World, Advertising Today, Advertising Age, L-Advertising, and a host of others. Harry is also an author of three books, Learn How to Repair Computers: Get Certified in 15 Weeks, How to Write Your Way to Millions, and How to Find and Start a Legitimate Home Business. He can be reached by sending email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit his site at http://www.creatingwords.com
This article is copyright (c) 2002 by Harry Husted, and may be reprinted in it's entirety as long as this byline and copyright statement is included.