From: dlaibman@JJAY.CUNY.EDU
Date: Sat Mar 06 2004 - 15:23:39 EST
Jerry, It's a loaded question! I love it. It is the nightmare of the well-intentioned acquisitions editor at a book publishing house: when/if the *manuscript of the century* arrives on my desk, will I recognize it?? I understand your not wanted to edit *Capital*. But one of my favorite quotes from Marx (letter to Engels, 1862; it is in the selected correspondence) reads: "Am writing on at the book. Am dragging it out, since these *German dogs* judge the value of a book by its cubic contents." (From memory; may not be exact.) David ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gerald A. Levy" <Gerald_A_Levy@MSN.COM> Date: Saturday, March 6, 2004 10:44 am Subject: (OPE-L) A hypothetical question for Editors and Authors > Suppose someone came to you with a proposal to publish > 3 volumes (yet to be written) on _Capital: A Critique of Political > Economy_. The author makes it clear that s/he wants > to 'eventually' publish books on other, related topics. Suppose > you tentatively agree to publish these books. > > Now suppose that the author comes back -- some time later -- > with a manuscript for Volume 1 of _Capital_ which is over > 700 pages long! This is _much_ longer than the author-to-be > indicated when s/he originally discussed the book publishing > proposal with you. > > QUESTION: are you going to ask the author to cut the > size of the manuscript? If so, to what length? Would > you expect the chopped-up, edited-down version to be an > "improvement"? > > In solidarity, Jerry > > > ----------------------------------------------------- > This email has been automatically scanned for viruses. > However, it might still contain undetectable virus(es). > Addressee should take precautions in opening any unsolicited emails. > -- DoIT, John Jay College of Criminal Justice -3- >
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