I think the problem *is* that you made up a synopsis. Pick a real one and I think we'd have better luck.
Do editors and authors usually work well together? Or are there usually a lot of primadonnas on either side?
Do the agents work more as middleman between the author and editor - or does it depend entirely on the agent/editor relationship? Or is it usually editor/author only?
This all depends entirely on the people involved. Some agents are very hands-on. Some agents are very hands-off. Some agents don't need to involve themselves in the day to day editorial aspects of publishing. Others want to be CC'd on everything.
Some authors are prima donnas.
Most prima donna editors do not last long in the business.
It is rare for an author and editor who don't get along to work on more than one book together -- the author or author's agent will ask that the author's work be assigned to a different editor (or the editor will!).
In my opinion an editor should be able to request whatever they want...
That doesn't mean an author should give it to them!
I can't speak for other editors -- although I will do a post about this in a few weeks and maybe the editors who read this will contribute their thoughts -- but I try very hard to make sure that my relationships with my authors are balanced. Most of my authors write because they love it, because they have stories to tell -- and that means that my job as an editor, as I have said before, is to figure out what story they want to tell, what story they are telling, and how to make the two come together in a way that will engage a reader.
Re: Me Again Marge... *ps don't use caption html - it whacks it outta shape*
Do editors and authors usually work well together? Or are there usually a lot of primadonnas on either side?
Do the agents work more as middleman between the author and editor - or does it depend entirely on the agent/editor relationship? Or is it usually editor/author only?
This all depends entirely on the people involved. Some agents are very hands-on. Some agents are very hands-off. Some agents don't need to involve themselves in the day to day editorial aspects of publishing. Others want to be CC'd on everything.
Some authors are prima donnas.
Most prima donna editors do not last long in the business.
It is rare for an author and editor who don't get along to work on more than one book together -- the author or author's agent will ask that the author's work be assigned to a different editor (or the editor will!).
In my opinion an editor should be able to request whatever they want...
That doesn't mean an author should give it to them!
I can't speak for other editors -- although I will do a post about this in a few weeks and maybe the editors who read this will contribute their thoughts -- but I try very hard to make sure that my relationships with my authors are balanced. Most of my authors write because they love it, because they have stories to tell -- and that means that my job as an editor, as I have said before, is to figure out what story they want to tell, what story they are telling, and how to make the two come together in a way that will engage a reader.