Before self-publishing exploded and transformed the book industry, most authors published their books by traditional means. You either got an agent who sold your book to a publisher, or you worked with a publisher directly. Once your book was in the publisher’s hands, they took care of the editing, which was mostly done behind closed doors. You didn’t have to worry about persnickety things like misplaced modifiers, Oxford commas, and bad breaks—and I don’t mean the dating kind.