tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7489828862286549092.post2836662261536627279..comments2023-05-18T04:24:50.676-04:00Comments on Consult the Editor: Getting Real About the Problem of Accuracy in Book PublishingKarl Weberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03587358000156945375noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7489828862286549092.post-51688589957458197362010-04-26T12:04:30.622-04:002010-04-26T12:04:30.622-04:00As a somewhat tangential addendum to Karl's po...As a somewhat tangential addendum to Karl's post, I want to say that with so much information a click away on the Internet, the job of source checkimg has taken on a whole new dimention.<br />I find that when I'm working with an author who quotes a source with whom I'm not familiar, I automatically go to the Internet to find out who this person is. Is he or she a reliable source? What are this person's credentials? Affiliations? If I have any doubts I then go back to the author and ask a few questions: Do you know who this is? Is it someone with whom you want to be associated? Do you think quoting this person is going to make readers take your point more seriously--or less? Are there other sources you might prefer to quote on this subject?<br />As a collaborator/ghost writer, I believe this is part of my job--just as it should be the author's job to ask him/herself the same questions.<br />I understand that this isn't the same thing as fabricating anecdotes or information, but it's part of that amorphous, potentially dicy/dangerous quagmire of "validation" publishers are more and more being expected to navigate--ironically at a time when their human resources (those in-house editors) are already overtaxed. So--where does the buck really stop?Judy Kernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12706544245805322751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7489828862286549092.post-12252909595995044862010-03-10T14:05:05.178-05:002010-03-10T14:05:05.178-05:00Sandi, I hear you and I am not unsympathetic. But...Sandi, I hear you and I am not unsympathetic. But realistically where will the resources come from to enable publishers to take on this big new task? How would you handle it if you woke up tomorrow and found yourself in charge at Random House or Simon & Schuster? I don't know what I would do about it.Karl Weberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03587358000156945375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7489828862286549092.post-293417380584974452010-03-09T20:48:55.272-05:002010-03-09T20:48:55.272-05:00The Times article also raises the question for me-...The Times article also raises the question for me- is it time for publishers to be responsible for fact checking? Just because they have not been responsible doesn't mean they shouldn't be now. The media is changing. We are all adapting. Theoretically they are the people with corporate dollars to spend on lawyers, operations people,and fact checkers. Jack Macrae, the editor of the Holt book was quoted as saying "there is a thin line between fact and fiction". What does this mean? Too many mistakes like this the last few years. it's time for publishers to get the message. Somebody has to be responsible or narrative non fiction is going to be tainted.Sandi Gelles-Colehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16926925388759975262noreply@blogger.com