'I will have no further alterations to the story or text': An examination of an author's collaboration with his peers and publisher

Abstract

The collaborative creative process that occurs before a work is published often remains hidden. It can also be defined in different ways. While the role of the publisher's editor usually can be clearly identified, other aspects of collaboration are more nebulous, such as the role of readers and literary agents. However, these processes are pivotal to the development of written works. Through the analysis of archive material, this paper sets out to show how one writer, the mid-twentieth century Australian novelist GM Glaskin, collaborated with his peers, literary agent and publisher. The paper documents how Glaskin wrote, what use he made of other writers and the relationship he had with his publisher's editor. While this is an examination of the writing processes and editing of just one author, the paper sheds some light on the collaborative roles of peers and editors in that process. Through analysis of his works, the paper also seeks to return the works of GM Glaskin to the attention of Australian readers.