How odd. I can't but wonder how much experience these editors had. The kind of inappropriate voice and life-killing copyediting they did was what students in my freshman comp courses wanted to do to their classmates' essays--which I specifically told them NOT to do.
Rock on! It sounds as if the editor(s) wanted a different voice than the one they accepted (yours). Between that and all the crickets and especially the ghosting, I'd say you did the right thing. Your piece and you deserve better and you will find it.
Good for you! I was once asked to rewrite a story in the third person instead of the first. I tried but it didn't work for me so I declined their acceptance (sic).
At least you didn’t have the horrible experience of them publishing your story with their edits and you only finding out after publication. That happened to a poem of mine.
Bravo, Jennifer!! Not an easy choice you made, but as you said, "Relinquishing distinctive expression is too high a price to pay for a byline..." Absolutely. I hesitated on accepting the suggested edits for my first (and so far only) publication, but they didn't kill the story or my voice, and in one case actually helped tighten the story, so I went with it. If I ever get feedback such as wipes out my voice or style -- no matter how quirky mine might be -- then fuggedaboutit. Thanks for sharing your bravery.
I'm in a similar position now, with an essay I've been told needs more "conflict." I'm going to look at the essay with the idea of drama in mind, but I'm not even sure that an essay needs conflict? Any insights into this?
Jun 1, 2023·edited Jun 1, 2023Liked by Jennifer Worrell
I can totally relate. The copyeditor for my 19th book, a memoir/travelogue titled My Germany sent me the opening pages so I could see how he worked. I was shocked. Everything that made the writing stand out (IMHO) had been flattened. The text didn't sound like me at all anymore, and it read like something pedestrian AI might come up with. I complained to the publisher and the copyeditor backed off from writing the book the way he would have wanted to.
I also feel apprehensive when an editor states they have accepted a work of mine -- but to expect edits.
Often, there are none to come or they are very minor. I consider suggestions with an open mind ...
But there have been times -- specifically with literary nonfiction works -- that an editor has suggested or out-right DONE edits that are pure fabrications (and in one case, pure misinformation about an environmentally sensitive region).
Needless to say in these latter cases, I withdrew the work ...
Jenny just keep doing what you've been doing. I spent a lot of years dealing with people the same way. They wanted me to do it there way. After a while I stop telling them and just did it. After a while they made me a Designer because I knew more then they did.
Agree wholeheartedly. I should not have allowed my first poem to be published (oh so many years ago now) in the 'zine and by the editor who accepted it... with just two edits. The first edit was fine. Not great, but fine. Ten years later I did an A/B comparison in a critique group, and some people liked my original line, others liked the edited line, a couple of people had no opinion either way.
But every time I have performed my poem live, I ignore the second edit, because it erases the "punchline" of the poem. Yes, that line doesn't fit the strict meter of the poem. That was the point. The poem followed its meter meticulously until that last line crashes and burns. It's one of my few poems that gets laughs and applause (more than the polite applause we all appreciate but suspect we might not have earned). That particular editor at that particular monthly 'zine just didn't get it. She rewrote the last line so that it fit the meter and simply stated that poetry was hard. But it was my very first paid publication, and she was so complimentary, I thanked her and signed the first-print-rights away for $5.
I never cashed that check. At first I put it in a little photo frame because I wanted to remember the first time I had been paid for a freelance submission. Later, I put a copy of the poem itself in a similar-sized frame, the one with my original ending... I keep them together to remind myself that sometimes the editor will discern that our work is a bad fit for their publication, but other times it's up to us to discern that. It is as much a service to readers as it is to us creators.
You absolutely did the right thing. Sometimes an editor has suggestions that make your story stronger, but it's still your story. Sometimes they don't. I am proud of you. I've done similar things in similar situations - it's never easy. Good onya.
Editors for the most part feel like they don’t get the idea behind the story—they tend to look at it as a bunch of words to clean up. It’s impossible to get another person to truly understand the spirit of a story or an essay.
But of course, there are always good editors who understand this, and bad editors who treat it like an English assignment to be graded.
How odd. I can't but wonder how much experience these editors had. The kind of inappropriate voice and life-killing copyediting they did was what students in my freshman comp courses wanted to do to their classmates' essays--which I specifically told them NOT to do.
You made the right decision. That kind of heavy-handed editing, plus the lack of a response from the mag, would have sealed the deal for me.
Rock on! It sounds as if the editor(s) wanted a different voice than the one they accepted (yours). Between that and all the crickets and especially the ghosting, I'd say you did the right thing. Your piece and you deserve better and you will find it.
Well said, and I wholeheartedly concur. Also, I loved the cricket and grasshopper references. :)
Good for you! I was once asked to rewrite a story in the third person instead of the first. I tried but it didn't work for me so I declined their acceptance (sic).
I would have done exactly the same.
At least you didn’t have the horrible experience of them publishing your story with their edits and you only finding out after publication. That happened to a poem of mine.
I’m forwarding this to my editing clients.
Bravo, Jennifer!! Not an easy choice you made, but as you said, "Relinquishing distinctive expression is too high a price to pay for a byline..." Absolutely. I hesitated on accepting the suggested edits for my first (and so far only) publication, but they didn't kill the story or my voice, and in one case actually helped tighten the story, so I went with it. If I ever get feedback such as wipes out my voice or style -- no matter how quirky mine might be -- then fuggedaboutit. Thanks for sharing your bravery.
Good for you, Ms. Worrell. You made the right choice.
I'm in a similar position now, with an essay I've been told needs more "conflict." I'm going to look at the essay with the idea of drama in mind, but I'm not even sure that an essay needs conflict? Any insights into this?
I can totally relate. The copyeditor for my 19th book, a memoir/travelogue titled My Germany sent me the opening pages so I could see how he worked. I was shocked. Everything that made the writing stand out (IMHO) had been flattened. The text didn't sound like me at all anymore, and it read like something pedestrian AI might come up with. I complained to the publisher and the copyeditor backed off from writing the book the way he would have wanted to.
I also feel apprehensive when an editor states they have accepted a work of mine -- but to expect edits.
Often, there are none to come or they are very minor. I consider suggestions with an open mind ...
But there have been times -- specifically with literary nonfiction works -- that an editor has suggested or out-right DONE edits that are pure fabrications (and in one case, pure misinformation about an environmentally sensitive region).
Needless to say in these latter cases, I withdrew the work ...
Jenny just keep doing what you've been doing. I spent a lot of years dealing with people the same way. They wanted me to do it there way. After a while I stop telling them and just did it. After a while they made me a Designer because I knew more then they did.
Agree wholeheartedly. I should not have allowed my first poem to be published (oh so many years ago now) in the 'zine and by the editor who accepted it... with just two edits. The first edit was fine. Not great, but fine. Ten years later I did an A/B comparison in a critique group, and some people liked my original line, others liked the edited line, a couple of people had no opinion either way.
But every time I have performed my poem live, I ignore the second edit, because it erases the "punchline" of the poem. Yes, that line doesn't fit the strict meter of the poem. That was the point. The poem followed its meter meticulously until that last line crashes and burns. It's one of my few poems that gets laughs and applause (more than the polite applause we all appreciate but suspect we might not have earned). That particular editor at that particular monthly 'zine just didn't get it. She rewrote the last line so that it fit the meter and simply stated that poetry was hard. But it was my very first paid publication, and she was so complimentary, I thanked her and signed the first-print-rights away for $5.
I never cashed that check. At first I put it in a little photo frame because I wanted to remember the first time I had been paid for a freelance submission. Later, I put a copy of the poem itself in a similar-sized frame, the one with my original ending... I keep them together to remind myself that sometimes the editor will discern that our work is a bad fit for their publication, but other times it's up to us to discern that. It is as much a service to readers as it is to us creators.
You absolutely did the right thing. Sometimes an editor has suggestions that make your story stronger, but it's still your story. Sometimes they don't. I am proud of you. I've done similar things in similar situations - it's never easy. Good onya.
This resonates with me to a great degree.
Editors for the most part feel like they don’t get the idea behind the story—they tend to look at it as a bunch of words to clean up. It’s impossible to get another person to truly understand the spirit of a story or an essay.
But of course, there are always good editors who understand this, and bad editors who treat it like an English assignment to be graded.