Nozaki being lazy makes more sense if you think of his career path. Starts off as an idealistic young author --> Gets paired with Maeno, the useless editor, and is forced to do everything himself, and learns to cut corners to get things out on time --> Transfers to Ken, whom he respects, but is now a realist about the industry, and having a useful editor actually lets him get away with stupid ideas, since his editor will rein him in.