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IMHO, the important question about editing positions, and the people
who take them, has to do with authority. How much explicit authority
will your editor have? If the editorial position is not clearly
defined in your chain of command (and even if it is), you will need
someone who is an expert at persuasion.
Ask your candidates how their authority has been set up in the past.
Ask how they handled situations where writers refused to make
corrections they recommended.
Ask how they feel in general about the roles of editor and writer.
(Which one *should* have the final word?)
Ask how, in the past, they earned the respect of the writers they
edited. This is a biggie. Even if editors are explicitly given
authority over writers, everyone will work much better together if the
writers truly respect their editors and vice versa. Editors worth
their salt know this and should be able to explain how they deal with
it.
Emily Skarzenski
ICS Deloitte - Chadds Ford, PA
eskarzenski -at- dttus -dot- com
