幸亏不是职业编辑，偶尔的客串也只是让我短暂地痛苦。尽管如此，还是觉得有些痛苦师出无名。似乎也更能理解编辑们的无奈。体制如此，出版现状如此。
窝在家里整理书稿，却根本无心稿件。不是翻翻手头的闲书，就是上网看看新闻。混了半天，一堆稿子还原封不动地码在书桌一角。我死死盯着它，它也了无生气地还我以颜色，怎地，明天交稿，你还磨蹭什么？！我缓缓翻开书稿，红笔在握，无力地想，如果一部连编辑都懒得翻看的书稿必须出版，印成书谁看呢？但是，当资源必须浪费，编辑的血汗和精力必须没来由地付出，就连这想也是多余了。
每每遇上正式出版的文字垃圾，我就不禁惦念董桥的书《文字是肉做的》。他是编辑出身的作家，编辑生涯让他对文字的感情慎重而浓郁。在他的文章里，该简洁的绝不繁复，该华丽的绝不简陋，那一笔美文是几十年中西文化熏陶的结果，也是董先生拿文字当人心的最好回报。
复将董桥先生的几本书翻出，翻看版权页上责任编辑的姓名，心想，真是群幸运的家伙。书中照例有我勾圈出的别字，读者介意的董先生也介意，他说过四川出版的他的文录，讹误很多，可能是六七百页不大好看。唉，好作者的好文章当配上最过硬的审校，换做我们这般无福的编辑，连出错的机会都没有。
正嚼蜡般整理书稿，一位编辑朋友在QQ上问我几时去单位，他要还我林达的书，顺便介绍他花38元买得的四本好书。这年头读书的人不多，买书而读的更少，难得他与我同行又读趣相投，于是，我们的话题常由书说开去，私下里的走动也无非借书，换书，聊书，间或送对方一本心仪的小书。
最早读林达还是在大学时代，外国宪法课上韩大元老师偶尔提起过。那一年，三联刚刚出版了林达的近距离看美国系列丛书之一的《历史深处的忧虑》（1997年），在北大风入松书店买得。后来三联陆续出版了这个系列的其他三本《总统是靠不住的》（1998年）、《我也有一个梦想》（1999年）、《如彗星划过夜空》（2006年）。编辑朋友近来读林达，颇多感慨，受他的影响，我重新买齐了林达的作品。他送我一本《像自由一样美丽》，我借他读《扫起落叶好过冬》。
好作品的魅力是恒久的，《历史深处的忧虑》截至2008年8月已重印12次，总印数11万余册。和动辄起印10万册的畅销书比，林达的书用了10多年时间卖了10几万册，是典型的长销书。
再过几十年，还会有读者惦念林达、惦念董桥。书架上的美文会随着书页的枯黄而不朽。那时，我手头的这部书稿肯定早已化浆循环灰飞烟灭了……
译文:
Difficult for Editors
Luckily I’m not a professional editor and to be an editor once in a while is also a short pain for me. But I’m still thinking there is no reason to feel painful on it. After that it seems I have more understand of the pain editors feel because of the nowadays’ system and the press.
I’m to stay at home to sort out and proofread the manuscripts. In fact I don’t have mind on that but do some light readings or surf the net for reading news. Several hours later, the manuscripts are still are where they were. I stared at them fixedly and they gave me back a dull look. It seems says : “ Why are you still dawdling as you have to hand in tomorrow？” Then I opened it slowly with red pen in hand. A question came in my mind at once, that is , is there anybody read the book after it’s republished if the editor even don’t have any interest to open and read it? However, it’s unnecessary to think about this as resources are being wasted and editors put in a lot of hard work and energy.
Every time when I read some published articles with junk texts, I can’t help thinking of the work Text is Made from Meat written by Dong Qiao. He is a writer from editor’s family. His editor career makes him have a careful and dense sentiment to texts. His writing has a laconic style without any complicated words, while has flowery words other than simple ones. His beautiful writings resulted from several decade’ an edifying influence of Chinese and Western culture on him, also from the return of his taking texts as heart.
I took out several books of Dong Qiao again and checked the names of the executive editors. I think they really are luck editors. I also gave some circles on some wrong words. What readers mind are also Mr. Dong mind. He said there were a lot of errors in the works, about 600 or 700 pages which are a little hard to read, published in Sichuan province. Beautiful works written by great writers should be with most excellent editors’ reviewing and proofreading. So I , as an unlucky editor, don’t even have the chance of making mistakes in proofreading good works.
One friend of editor asked me on line via QQ talking software when I will be back to the company while I was sorting out the papers like chewing wax. He wanted to give me back a book written by Linda and by the way was to introduce me four books he just bought with RMB 38. Nowadays there are few people like reading and fewer ones who buy books for reading. It’s a wonder he is my profession and we have a common interest of reading. Therefore we talk starting from books, associate with each other for reason of borrowing, exchanging or talking about books, or now and then giving a good book as a gift.
When I was studying in the university I started reading works written by Linda. In the classes of Foreign Constitutional Law, teacher Han Dayuan let us know her and his works. She published a book Concern in The Deep of History, one of the four books, including President is Undependable wrote in 1998, I Have a Dream Too in 1999, Split the Night Like a Comet in 2006. That friend recently read Linda’s works and had a lot sigh with emotion. Affected by him, I bought all the books of Linda. He gave me a book Beautiful as Freedom and borrowed one Sweep Leaves to for the Winte from me.
Good works have unfailing charm. The book Concern in The Deep of History have been reprinted for twelve times with 0.11 million copies since August, 2008. Compared with the best sellers starting print for 0.1 million copies, It took more than 10 years to sell out over 0.11 copies which is really a long time seller.
Several decades later, there must will be more readers who will miss Linda and Dong Qiao. The pages will yellow while the beautiful works will be monuments. By that time, the book I’m working on must has been turned to pulp and ashes.