Doing Right by your Writers
Recently, in my Technical Editing class, we had a very interesting discussion in regards to the writer/editor relationship. While I've touched on the necessity of understanding boundaries and respecting the author's wishes, this discussion really struck a chord with me as it made me more aware of the fact that editing mistakes can cause the author's work to lose its integrity.
The main debate of this class discussion was whether or not we want authors to aim for editorial correctness (checking for spelling and grammar mistakes, proper sentence flow, cutting or adding things, changing tone, the list could go on) before sending a manuscript or document to the editor. And to a degree, yes, we as editors appreciate this. Even if we don't all have editing experience, it's likely most of us have proofread something for someone else at some point. As an English major, my friends often ask me to read over their papers and recommend changes, to which I (usually) happily oblige.
But I'm certainly guilty of occasionally finding a mistake that causes me to roll my eyes and think Seriously? How did they not think to do that differently? I don't want to be harsh, and neither do most editors. But losing your patience and failing to kindly recommend changes can make a writer nervous about sending you their work, and when they are thinking about and editor's potential for hurtful criticism, they likely won't fully focus on the work that they feel happy and comfortable with because they'll be trying to perfect it for their editor.
In further researching editorial mistakes, I came across an article for Writer's Digest called The 7 Deadly Sins of Editors (According to Novelists). Authors Steven James and Pam Johnson point out several other mistakes that can damage a writer's work rather than help it be the best version of what it is. Mistakes such as 'Smarty-Pantsiness' (bossing the writer around), 'Intrusion' (making the work sound like your writing rather than the actual writer's) and 'Meddlesomeness (demanding the final say in changes). Not only can these mistakes cause the work to lose its integrity, as it is no longer what came from the writers heart organically, but they are also the types of things that make writers hate editors. We're all familiar with that cliche, but hey, it exists for a reason.
Ironically, though it is our job as editors to fix mistakes, we are not perfect and there are some errors specific to this line of work that we can be prone to. Sometimes we all need a reminder to be mindful of these habits that are easy to fall into (I know I do). After all, the most phenomenal books, speeches, screenplays etc, are phenomenal due to writers and editors who work well because of each other, not in spite of each other.
The main debate of this class discussion was whether or not we want authors to aim for editorial correctness (checking for spelling and grammar mistakes, proper sentence flow, cutting or adding things, changing tone, the list could go on) before sending a manuscript or document to the editor. And to a degree, yes, we as editors appreciate this. Even if we don't all have editing experience, it's likely most of us have proofread something for someone else at some point. As an English major, my friends often ask me to read over their papers and recommend changes, to which I (usually) happily oblige.
But I'm certainly guilty of occasionally finding a mistake that causes me to roll my eyes and think Seriously? How did they not think to do that differently? I don't want to be harsh, and neither do most editors. But losing your patience and failing to kindly recommend changes can make a writer nervous about sending you their work, and when they are thinking about and editor's potential for hurtful criticism, they likely won't fully focus on the work that they feel happy and comfortable with because they'll be trying to perfect it for their editor.
In further researching editorial mistakes, I came across an article for Writer's Digest called The 7 Deadly Sins of Editors (According to Novelists). Authors Steven James and Pam Johnson point out several other mistakes that can damage a writer's work rather than help it be the best version of what it is. Mistakes such as 'Smarty-Pantsiness' (bossing the writer around), 'Intrusion' (making the work sound like your writing rather than the actual writer's) and 'Meddlesomeness (demanding the final say in changes). Not only can these mistakes cause the work to lose its integrity, as it is no longer what came from the writers heart organically, but they are also the types of things that make writers hate editors. We're all familiar with that cliche, but hey, it exists for a reason.
Ironically, though it is our job as editors to fix mistakes, we are not perfect and there are some errors specific to this line of work that we can be prone to. Sometimes we all need a reminder to be mindful of these habits that are easy to fall into (I know I do). After all, the most phenomenal books, speeches, screenplays etc, are phenomenal due to writers and editors who work well because of each other, not in spite of each other.
Comments
Post a Comment