4:19 PM
One of the things I miss from my days in publishing: the opportunity to read great books long before the general public. But the real reason I link to this entry in Patrick's blog is one of his own comments in the thread below, now added to my quotefile:

"One of the ways I sometimes screw myself up, as an editor, is by falling into the belief that I have to be able to offer an alternative to something that doesn't work. This has more than once caused me to take way too long to give newly-written books the feedback that they deserve.

It is of course gratifying to have a better idea, and even more fun when the author agrees. But authors generally want to know when something doesn't work; and moreover most of the time they're the ones who are going to think up the fix. Thinking I have to do so is a species of vanity; keeping the author waiting because of it simply compounds the offense."