On Writers & Editors
I just finished vetting two stories that I will have going into print next month; the usual amount of typos one expects to see ... some of them mine, some of them the typesetter's ... and a touch here or there (the editor adding a line to clarify a thought) and an entire paragraph that vanished from the story [and, of course, it was the one that explains how the hero realized who the killer was].
One other thing that came up was that the editor had deleted every Em Dash showing cut-off dialogue, and replaced each with an Ellipsis.
For those who don't know off-hand, this is when the dialogue does the following:
"Get going, you!"
"Now, just a minute, I--"
"SHUT UP!"
The editor changed these to read:
"Get going, you!"
"Now, just a minute, I..."
"SHUT UP!"
...and when I requested that they be stetted (which essentially means "changed back to the way they were originally") she explained how the choice was an editorial one in keeping with the rest of the stories they had in print, and that she would not make the changes I requested. Because I recognized that it was an editorial choice toward style, and that it is futile to argue against the tide of the stylebook, I shrugged and said "Okay, use lose the Em Dashes, then. I'll live."
So, the story may not be exactly the way I wanted it to be, but it will go into print and probably no one but me will even notice the change. Which leads me to today's writing topic:
HOW TO REACT WHEN AN EDITOR CHANGES YOUR WORK
There are generally a few well-defined ways that you can handle things when an editor makes changes you do not agree with. The first, of course, is to immediately pull your work from their hands while screaming at the top of your lungs that you would rather flush your story down a toilet rather than live to see a single word of your deathless prose be changed.
This is pretty much guaranteed to keep you unpublished, and if word of your behavior gets around to other editors (and it will) it is going to keep you from getting work elsewhere. Everyone gets edited. That's a simple fact. Some of us get less editing than others, but we all get edited.
The next method of handling this is to let the editor hang on to your work but steadfastly refuse to make any changes whatsoever, and to refuse to let the editor make any either ... usually because you have reasons you consider logical and reasonable as to why your story cannot be changed. (Often they aren't, but that never stopped any writer I ever met from voicing them.)
In the end you may get published, but you also stand a strong chance of a tired editor looking at his looming slushpile, shrugging and saying "Okay, good luck with it elsewhere" and going on to find someone to replace you. You probably won't get on anyone's informal blacklist, but the editor WILL remember you and certainly won't be coming to you with invites to submit in the future.
You can also try working with the editor, making polite suggestions as to why you don't like the change in question, and your logical reasons why your original version works better than the editor's choice would. You might get some changes reversed, but you may also get none of them reversed.
You will get published, but you may be unhappy with the changes. The question arises, how bad were the changes, and how much do they bother you? It becomes a personal choice, then. I know at least one writer who was so unhappy with the choices that she refused to let it go into print, and pulled it, even though it was scheduled to go into the next issue of the magazine.
And then there is the option of meekly rolling over and not saying a word, even when the editor sends you the galley proofs and asks your opinion on the changes. You do nothing and just smile no matter how much it hurts.
My advice is to not roll over. You should consider making some small stand IF you think that something in the text should not have been changed, stating quietly why you disagree with the change, and then asking politely what the editor thinks of your argument. Be advised that DEMANDING anything from an editor, on the other hand, is a good way to shoot yourself in the foot.
Trust me on that one. Editors have long memories. I know; I have been one. We remember the writers who are a pleasure to work with, and we also remember the ones who are a pain in the ass. And considering how much competition you face trying to get published in the marketplace today, why would you choose to make it hard on yourself?
And what about when your work is changed without your permission, and you only find out about it when it goes into print? Well, I have only once ever had a story so viciously mangled that I would rather it wasn't published -- but I did not know about the horrific cuts and alterations until I saw the work in print. I made the mistake of opening my mouth to the publisher about it ... and never saw another story get published there. Still, given how they mangled the story in question, maybe it was not great loss not to see more stories torn up that way!
In the end, the advice is this: be polite, and remember that the editor has some reason for making the changes; if you are polite as well, you might get some unwanted changes revoked and still remain the editor's friend. Piss on his desk, however, and you just ensure your chances of getting published are that much smaller.
One other thing that came up was that the editor had deleted every Em Dash showing cut-off dialogue, and replaced each with an Ellipsis.
For those who don't know off-hand, this is when the dialogue does the following:
"Get going, you!"
"Now, just a minute, I--"
"SHUT UP!"
The editor changed these to read:
"Get going, you!"
"Now, just a minute, I..."
"SHUT UP!"
...and when I requested that they be stetted (which essentially means "changed back to the way they were originally") she explained how the choice was an editorial one in keeping with the rest of the stories they had in print, and that she would not make the changes I requested. Because I recognized that it was an editorial choice toward style, and that it is futile to argue against the tide of the stylebook, I shrugged and said "Okay, use lose the Em Dashes, then. I'll live."
So, the story may not be exactly the way I wanted it to be, but it will go into print and probably no one but me will even notice the change. Which leads me to today's writing topic:
HOW TO REACT WHEN AN EDITOR CHANGES YOUR WORK
There are generally a few well-defined ways that you can handle things when an editor makes changes you do not agree with. The first, of course, is to immediately pull your work from their hands while screaming at the top of your lungs that you would rather flush your story down a toilet rather than live to see a single word of your deathless prose be changed.
This is pretty much guaranteed to keep you unpublished, and if word of your behavior gets around to other editors (and it will) it is going to keep you from getting work elsewhere. Everyone gets edited. That's a simple fact. Some of us get less editing than others, but we all get edited.
The next method of handling this is to let the editor hang on to your work but steadfastly refuse to make any changes whatsoever, and to refuse to let the editor make any either ... usually because you have reasons you consider logical and reasonable as to why your story cannot be changed. (Often they aren't, but that never stopped any writer I ever met from voicing them.)
In the end you may get published, but you also stand a strong chance of a tired editor looking at his looming slushpile, shrugging and saying "Okay, good luck with it elsewhere" and going on to find someone to replace you. You probably won't get on anyone's informal blacklist, but the editor WILL remember you and certainly won't be coming to you with invites to submit in the future.
You can also try working with the editor, making polite suggestions as to why you don't like the change in question, and your logical reasons why your original version works better than the editor's choice would. You might get some changes reversed, but you may also get none of them reversed.
You will get published, but you may be unhappy with the changes. The question arises, how bad were the changes, and how much do they bother you? It becomes a personal choice, then. I know at least one writer who was so unhappy with the choices that she refused to let it go into print, and pulled it, even though it was scheduled to go into the next issue of the magazine.
And then there is the option of meekly rolling over and not saying a word, even when the editor sends you the galley proofs and asks your opinion on the changes. You do nothing and just smile no matter how much it hurts.
My advice is to not roll over. You should consider making some small stand IF you think that something in the text should not have been changed, stating quietly why you disagree with the change, and then asking politely what the editor thinks of your argument. Be advised that DEMANDING anything from an editor, on the other hand, is a good way to shoot yourself in the foot.
Trust me on that one. Editors have long memories. I know; I have been one. We remember the writers who are a pleasure to work with, and we also remember the ones who are a pain in the ass. And considering how much competition you face trying to get published in the marketplace today, why would you choose to make it hard on yourself?
And what about when your work is changed without your permission, and you only find out about it when it goes into print? Well, I have only once ever had a story so viciously mangled that I would rather it wasn't published -- but I did not know about the horrific cuts and alterations until I saw the work in print. I made the mistake of opening my mouth to the publisher about it ... and never saw another story get published there. Still, given how they mangled the story in question, maybe it was not great loss not to see more stories torn up that way!
In the end, the advice is this: be polite, and remember that the editor has some reason for making the changes; if you are polite as well, you might get some unwanted changes revoked and still remain the editor's friend. Piss on his desk, however, and you just ensure your chances of getting published are that much smaller.