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Topic: Rewrites
| Author | Message |
| KC4 | Posted – 11/1/2007 12:54:27 PM | show profile What do you do/say when an editor completely rewrites your article? I'm dealing with an editor - not an actual journalist, just a businessperson who developed their own publication - who pays me to write articles that aren't used (except maybe a sentence or two). I'm a good writer. I'm a professional writer. My versions are (in my of course biased mind) stronger than the published versions. So I emailed the editor and asked if my work was unsatisfactory, and was told that he/she has a habit of rewriting everyone's articles and most people are used to it. I then asked just to be asked for any changes, so the work is actually my own. Still, another butchered post went up today (no byline thankfully) and I'm wondering, should I just bow out? Sure, I can collect a check, but I do put time, energy, and heart and soul to writing these articles...and it sucks to see something I don't recognize (and can't in good faith use as a clip) as the final product. Any advice? |
| candylilacs | Posted – 11/1/2007 2:08:56 PM | show profile You are being paid for a service You are being paid for a service and you have delivered that service. I seriously doubt the posts you are writing will be quoted word for word in The New Yorker (fill in whatever you want.) Yes, we're all writers but not everything we write is destined to be pored over by literary critics. So just realize you are performing a service here. The copy no longer belongs to you. Yes, it smarts when your name is on it and there are misspelled words or just wrong information inserted after you finished with it, but just grit your teeth and thank them for their payment. Soon, if you work hard and keep persevering you will work for more established and respectable publications and this won't be as much of a problem. Good luck. http://cctextra.com/blogs/propertylines |
| designtime | Posted – 11/1/2007 2:13:13 PM | show profile Well, I think you should ask what you can do to save the editor time. Ask what specifically the editor would like to see in future versions so that you can provide that. This way it forces the editor to think about these changes. And will give you some concrete information about why these changes are being made. Sometimes people rewrite things for no reason. Sometimes circumstances change and what an editor needed at one time doesn't work later on. So, keep that in mind. If the editor is so disorganized that he/she can't give you the information you need to fulfill the assignment, you might need to stop working for this person. But keep in mind that there might be some good reasons why the copy was changed. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 11/2/2007 12:13:09 AM | show profile The editor has pretty much explain his operating procedure, and it's not going to change, so if you can't stomach it, don't write for them anymore. If you can't just view it as a money gig, stay with it. But don't put your heart and soul into this type of writing. |
