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.
It's brutal when an editor or copyeditor messes with your voice whether it's first person, second, or third. It shows a tin ear as well as a lack of respect.
It wasn't anything that brutal, thankfully. It was more in this vein: I would never say it that way... the change suggestion doesn't "sing" in sync with the voice/tone of the piece. It felt clunky, in other words. You know how it is, there is a mood, a certain way the character looks at the world - in this case an old man in rural Texas - not dialect but a certain "rhythm". It's OK, I fixed it, lol!
I had the copy editor of my first book suggest changing *all* of the dialogue of my European-born non-native speakers of English. That book saw many STETs.
That is so frustrating. Lots of people THINK they are copy editors when what they are is proofreaders in over their heads. When I taught copy editing, we spent the first part of the nine-month course mastering the fundamentals. Then we moved on to the art of breaking “the rules” in service of respecting the integrity of the author’s voice. That didn’t go over well with a certain kind of person whose rigidity is better suited to proofreading. (Not dissing proofreaders—they should be following “the rules” and not editing at that stage of the project.) One thing I continually stressed is that not every author’s voice is or has to be “beautiful.” What readers respond to is authenticity. The editor is working for the reader (and for the author, to the extent that the author is also working for the reader).
That is wonderfully clear! I totally agree that some people think they're copy editing when they were really proof reading and oblivious to the nuances of voice, whatever that voice might be. I am blessed to be married to a writer who as my beta reader can make suggestions to a draft of a story and essay and not change the voice an iota. It's a kind of osmotic ventriloquism.
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.
That is a wonderful memoir. Highly recommended. For all the usual good reasons but also because you absolutely nailed the description of the 1950s American kitchen table.
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.
It's brutal when an editor or copyeditor messes with your voice whether it's first person, second, or third. It shows a tin ear as well as a lack of respect.
It wasn't anything that brutal, thankfully. It was more in this vein: I would never say it that way... the change suggestion doesn't "sing" in sync with the voice/tone of the piece. It felt clunky, in other words. You know how it is, there is a mood, a certain way the character looks at the world - in this case an old man in rural Texas - not dialect but a certain "rhythm". It's OK, I fixed it, lol!
I had the copy editor of my first book suggest changing *all* of the dialogue of my European-born non-native speakers of English. That book saw many STETs.
That is so frustrating. Lots of people THINK they are copy editors when what they are is proofreaders in over their heads. When I taught copy editing, we spent the first part of the nine-month course mastering the fundamentals. Then we moved on to the art of breaking “the rules” in service of respecting the integrity of the author’s voice. That didn’t go over well with a certain kind of person whose rigidity is better suited to proofreading. (Not dissing proofreaders—they should be following “the rules” and not editing at that stage of the project.) One thing I continually stressed is that not every author’s voice is or has to be “beautiful.” What readers respond to is authenticity. The editor is working for the reader (and for the author, to the extent that the author is also working for the reader).
That is wonderfully clear! I totally agree that some people think they're copy editing when they were really proof reading and oblivious to the nuances of voice, whatever that voice might be. I am blessed to be married to a writer who as my beta reader can make suggestions to a draft of a story and essay and not change the voice an iota. It's a kind of osmotic ventriloquism.
“Osmotic ventriloquism”! 😁
I confess I grinned when I wrote that.
Were the two editors more or less saying the same things? If not it must have been a drag that they didn't give you consolidated edits.
they commented on different things, they didn't contradict each other, luckily :)
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.
Sigh....I had an essay rejected maybe 15 times before the editor at The Smart Set loved it and so did the illustrator. They. Got. It. https://www.thesmartset.com/my-brother-is-toast/
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 🙏!
You're welcome, and good luck!!!
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.
I hope the research is fruitful, and thanks for subscribing. You might enjoy reading my memoir My Germany. https://www.levraphael.com/sgbooks.html
That is a wonderful memoir. Highly recommended. For all the usual good reasons but also because you absolutely nailed the description of the 1950s American kitchen table.
Wie nett von Ihnen!
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.
Great young minds think alike!