Oooof...those editorial comments are rough. A good editor does their best to get into the mind of the writer's work. They also try to read as much as possible so they learn more about what goes on in our world and culture. I'm glad you connected with some fine simpatico editors though.
Very timely post! I just spent the past few days working on suggested edits for 2 stories accepted for publication. One was easy (and came from a great editor who is rightfully picky, so that was encouraging), only one paragraph that the editor found confusing. The other had comments from 2 editors and took me a couple of days to sort out. I understood what they were saying, I struggled to find a way to "say the words"! I seldom accept the proposed sentence change, because it doesn't ring right for me, it's a voice thing and there isn't anything more personal than that.
This was really interesting to me having never been through the process- so happy that you found a good editor to appreciate, improve and help support your work!
Oh yes. I know exactly what you are talking about. I've been trying to sell a space opera short story involving quilting and...the number of rejections I've received with bewilderment about the quilting-specific terms (including a pun in the title) is...pretty much all of them. Regroup and try again, I guess.
I appreciated your essay and subscribed to read more of your writing. I have spent the past three years researching the story of my family’s coming to America--why they left Europe and what they found here. I am especially interested in our surviving the Holocaust and establishing new lives in the wake of trauma. Your similar interests caught my attention.
Oooof...those editorial comments are rough. A good editor does their best to get into the mind of the writer's work. They also try to read as much as possible so they learn more about what goes on in our world and culture. I'm glad you connected with some fine simpatico editors though.
Very timely post! I just spent the past few days working on suggested edits for 2 stories accepted for publication. One was easy (and came from a great editor who is rightfully picky, so that was encouraging), only one paragraph that the editor found confusing. The other had comments from 2 editors and took me a couple of days to sort out. I understood what they were saying, I struggled to find a way to "say the words"! I seldom accept the proposed sentence change, because it doesn't ring right for me, it's a voice thing and there isn't anything more personal than that.
This was really interesting to me having never been through the process- so happy that you found a good editor to appreciate, improve and help support your work!
Oh yes. I know exactly what you are talking about. I've been trying to sell a space opera short story involving quilting and...the number of rejections I've received with bewilderment about the quilting-specific terms (including a pun in the title) is...pretty much all of them. Regroup and try again, I guess.
Well, this is well-timed for me, given the detailed rejection I rec’d yesterday! Yes, the metaphors were mentioned.
And today’s a new day -- thanks 🙏!
I appreciated your essay and subscribed to read more of your writing. I have spent the past three years researching the story of my family’s coming to America--why they left Europe and what they found here. I am especially interested in our surviving the Holocaust and establishing new lives in the wake of trauma. Your similar interests caught my attention.
The first story I wrote was in second grade about a mouse from mars who landed on the moon, looked at Earth and went home.