Saw this comment over on Threads about The Information piece:

One is not an author if they don’t write every single word. That’s who we are. That’s what we do. If a computer is writing it for a person, said person is not the author. Or even a writer, really.

Said this yesterday, but I’ll say it again. Writing is often a highly collaborative process, especially when it’s done in a production environment.

For example, on the Information op-ed, I had strong feedback from two other readers, one of whom suggested language changes I ended up using. Then I had help from a press person to figure out who to pitch to, what my initial headline could be (it wasn’t used in the end), etc. Then I had help from an editor at The Information, who cut and slightly re-wrote parts of the piece, and gave me suggestions and asked questions that significantly improved the arguments and presentation. Then there was at least one copy-editor/proof-reader who came in to fix all those little buggy things. In other words, I did not write every single word.

So, in short, according to the person above’s criteria, I and every other single writer who has ever worked with editors, beta readers, proofreaders, etc. is “not a real writer.” That just doesn’t even make sense.

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