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Date:         Wed, 22 Jul 1992 18:04:11 EDT
From:         "Susan M. Stievater" <STIEVASM@SNYBUFVA.BITNET>
Subject:      Re: Publishing credit

----------------------------Original message----------------------------


----------------------------Original message----------------------------
I've got a question directed to any librarians who've done some publishing or
journal editing.  At what point in the writing/editing process for an
article does an uncompensated informal editor become a second author?  Must
the editor contribute beyond matters of style and presentation to actual
study design or data interpretation?  It's fairly common for abuses to take
place in joint authorship of scientific articles, but I'm curious what the
ethical guidelines call for in publishing in our area.  Does it matter if
the "editorial consultant" isn't a librarian?  Respond directly, or to the
list if you think others would be interested.

Stuart Frazer
West Virginia State College Library
Frazier@wvnwvsc
Frazier@wvnwvsc.wvnet.edu



Dear Stuart,
        Recently I was asked to write an article for ONLINE magazine as a
result of a response that I post on this listserver.  I had just had a book
published, an annotated bibiography and felt I had enough of a grasp on the
subject and the writing skills to put together the article.  The first draft
came back with a request for total revamping of the article.  I had read a
number of related articles for the proposed article.  The editor liked my
ideas.  I decided not to revise it for a number of reasons.  However, one of
the librarians with whom I work had written for this journal before.  He
revamped the article and put his name in as a co-author.
        Essentially, I had done the research and brought some original ideas to
the topic.  I was experiencing difficulty in being intellectually
confined to the editorial ideas.  My colleague was able to basically rewrite
the article.  I saw my research and ideas and his rewriting.  We were both
satisfied with the end draft to be co-authors, which neither of us originally
intended.  The article is being published on ONLINE in September, 1992.
        A co-author is someone who basically does half the work.  In my case I
did the research and wrote up something.  My co-author rewrote it according the
rather specific guidelines of the editor.  I knew I had missed the mark with
it as an article for the journal.  He was able to work through my research and
ideas and combine it with the guidelines of the editor.  I think we each put in
half in terms of time and intellectual energy.
        An editor is someone who has accepted the article and suggests to the
author that there needs to be some reworking of the content or the format of
the article.  There is also someone who is called a copy editor who looks for
syntex and spelling errors.  This usually happens after the editor has gone
through the work with the author and is basically satisfied with it.
        There are some publishing houses and journals that expect an author to
have someone other than the publisher or journal editor to do the editorial
work.  They either do not wish to do it or do not have the time.  In the
journal article that I was trying to write the editor was looking for something
very specific in content and style and wanted more say in the article.
        When one decides to work with someone it is very important to have good
communication so that there is a clear understanding of who does what and that
each person is doing what he or she is suppose to do.
        This is hardly the whole picture but I hope it helps.

Susan M. Stievater, Associate Librarian
Butler Library 111A
State University College at Buffalo
1300 Elmwood Ave.
Buffalo, NY 14222
VOICE: work: (716) 878-6321 or 6313
FAX: work: (716) 878-3163
Internet:Stievasm@snybufva.cs.snybuf.edu
BITNET: STIEVASM@SNYBUFVA


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