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In my early days as a writer, I had a lot of success in writing articles for the trade journals of my occupation. As a long time paramedic, I had the expertise to back up any of the articles that I submitted for publication. Each of the articles that were accepted ended up in the magazines pretty much exactly as submitted. Until this one…
The story goes like this:
I was all fat, dumb and happy. The query had received a positive response and I crafted the article. I sent the manuscript to the publication and waited for any suggested changes. One day, I popped over to the mailbox and saw the manila envelope from the publication. Finally! I could get this one done and move on to the next project. What happened next chilled me to the very core. Apparently the envelope had been mislabeled. This packet should have been addressed to the local Emergency Room because someone had bled all over the freaking thing. I blinked. I blinked again and tried to read the original article through the sea of red. Not an easy task. I was thinking that I must have sent an early draft version by mistake or something.
As I read, my initial chill turned to raging heat of volcanic proportions. It was indeed the manuscript I intended to send. Not a single typo in the thing. Not one. As it turns out, the red that covered the manuscript was designed by the editor to put the damned thing in HER voice! It was ugly from that point forward. She ignored what I had to say in discussions to the point where the article actually ended up being published with a huge factual error which caused me a bit of grief and embarrassment. The whole incident still pisses me off to this day.
Here’s the point:
This still happens although on a much smaller scale. Even on a small scale however, it still pisses me off. This has happened a few times when I’ve submitted guest posts to blogs. Here’s my take on the matter: If I have made grammatical errors or typographical errors, please correct them and thank you very much for doing so. If the tone of the article does not fit the web site then shame on me for not researching the site beforehand, please forgive me, send the article back and I will rewrite. But don’t you dare ever, EVER edit what I’ve submitted just so that you can hear the thing in your own writing voice. It’s mine, dammit. Not yours. If the tone fits the publication, the facts are accurate and the grammar is correct, leave it alone – you have no business touching the thing. Get off yourself and go check your ego in at some fleabag hotel, where it belongs.
I’m not one of those ego-maniacal writers who thinks their prose is above stinking. Far from it. But when I’ve worked diligently on a article and have proofed and checked until I’m blue in the face then it should stand on its own merit, above mentioned items notwithstanding.
So, I’m curious what other writers have to say about this. Have you ever been edited? If so, what was the experience like? Did the editor work with you to help craft a better article or did they just try to manipulate it into their own voice?
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Hi George,
You’re shared an enlightening set of experiences. Wow. (You also crack me up, funny man.)
I definitely know what you’re talking about, though. Although, much of my experiences being edited occurred in much different circumstances, I’ve felt that burn, too. What is it with maniacal, Napoleonic-writer personalities? I didn’t last long in the situation I was in. Nothing I could do could make the editor become King of All Writers, no matter how much I let him rip me apart. If you get my drift. Plus, it was simply a loosing battle (loosing my mind, that is.)
Thanks for this glimpse. I love your writer voice, don’t let anyone mess with it!
~xo
Lori´s last [type] ..A Life With Purpose
Hi Lori,
It’s amazing to me how some of these folks managed to get into the position of “power” that they sometimes hold. If I ever reach that pinnacle, I sure hope I’m more human.
George
George,
From the perspective of a freelance editor, I completely agree with you. I always tell my clients that after I finish editing their book, it should sound just like them–only better. That’s not always easy to do, but if I fail and let my voice creep in, I want my authors to call me on it.
Lillie Ammann´s last [type] ..Scripture for the Fourth Sunday in Advent 2010
Hi Lillie,
I was hoping to hear your perspective on this one. I think that is the foundation for a wonderful author/editor relationship.
I think that a blog owner absolutely has a right to decline a guest post or make suggestions. However, unless the original author agrees to direct editing of their work, they should be left to do those edits themselves. And they should definitely have the final say about how and when their work is published to the world!
Hi Iain. Exactly. If it is going to have my name attached to it, I need to have final say.
George
George, I love your blistering honesty. And you always make it so fun. This is about the best I’ve felt about this subject, ever, because you ranted for all of us. :~)
I walked away from a place I could have been republished when the editor rewrote my post in his own voice. It was a high-profile place for the writing world where I could have had a lot of exposure . . . but what would be the point? I’m not there to speak in his voice. It was creepy, too, because his rewrite changed my meaning and a unique tip for writers was lost in the process. The thrust of what I was saying had been whitewashed.
@fearofwriting´s last [type] ..Writer Discovered While Waitressing
Hi Milli,
Good on you for sticking to your guns. I think as writers we tend to let ourselves get pushed around too much for fear of looking like we are an arrogant, difficult to work with writer when in fact in a lot of instances, nothing could be further from the truth.
George
Thanks, George. But that brings up another angle (and possibly worth a whole new blog post from the Tell It Like It Is Moose). I did not make any waves or stick up for myself. I just never took up the open invitation to write more for that site. I did not know how to express my horror of having my meaning changed by the editor without sounding, as you say, like an arrogant, difficult-to-work-with writer. Perhaps I should have. Then again, it might have back-fired on me. For me and my goals at that time, it was not worth getting an ulcer about. Better to be passive and just walk away. But was that right?
@fearofwriting´s last [type] ..Writer Discovered While Waitressing