How to Stay Cool, Calm, and Corrected From Pitch to Publish

Magazine editors may not use red pens to edit articles anymore, but they still find a way to rip up your work. At first look, the article you spent hours perfecting may seem like a gigantic failure. The truth is, however, that editing is a natural part of the writing process.

Janene Mascarella didn’t know that as a newbie. She turned in an assignment and was shocked when the article came back with battle scars — several editors were bickering via comments, and the ladies got unladylike. “I felt very belittled. Some of the things they were writing were a little catty. I actually started to cry,” admitted Mascarella, who has published articles in WeightWatchers and Family Circle. She emailed the editor, who realized she had not sent Mascarella an edited version of the marked-up document.

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Hopefully you never have to see what really goes on as editors clash about your work, but you will likely have to revise pieces. Luckily, these tips can help you navigate the process.

1. Relax — revisions are normal.

Why do revisions tend to get your heart racing a bit? Denny Watkins, a Chicago-based freelance writer, thinks it’s because writers feel a huge sense of relief after completing an article.

“When you get the marked-up draft back___it makes you have to revisit that mental anguish of the writing process,” said Watkins, who has written for Scientific American and Maxim. “You’re surprised they didn’t see your writing as the same level of perfection that you thought you turned in.”

Danielle Braff, who has written for Women’s Health and Self, agrees. “It always looks overwhelming when you see your piece all marked up,” she said.

Articles at major magazines typically go through more than one review: The assigning editor takes a pass; then it goes on to a committee or a senior editor. Multiple rounds of changes aren__?t unheard of; you may wind up reverting to your original concepts after changing them because editors have conflicting views (in Mascarella’s case, maybe too many).

“It can be frustrating when you’re asked to do an initial revise when it’s clear that the higher-ups haven’t weighed in yet. That pretty much guarantees a second revision request,” said Melissa Daly, a Rhode Island writer who has penned articles for Health and Men’s Health.

Tip: “If you’re feeling really stressed or ticked off at some of the edits or requests, don__?t reply immediately. Give yourself time to cool off,” advised Daly. Then you can cheerfully respond with “Sure, no problem!”

2. Get source contact information from the get-go.

One way to accommodate editing requests is to jot down contact info from sources during the interview stage. “[Then] you’ll be able to get back in touch with your sources real quickly,” Daly said.

Mascarella believes being polite can also go a long way if you need more information later. An editor recently asked Mascarella for more details on an article she wrote; she was out that day and came home to find out edits were due the following morning. Thankfully, her source responded quickly. “It was really just because after I interviewed him, I sent him an email to thank him personally,” she noted. “So be nice!”

Tip: If you go through a PR contact for the interview, make sure to get the source__?s direct info, as well, so you can contact him or her directly if you’re in a time crunch.

3. Ask questions.

When your article comes back with vague instructions, get clarification so your updated draft doesn’t warrant even more rewrites.

“I used to have a major phobia of calling editors___I was afraid I was bothering them or wasting their time,” recalled Terri Huggins, a New Jersey scribe who has crafted pieces for Redbook and Sister 2 Sister. “I would do the worst thing you could possibly do: I’d just guess what the editor wanted and make my edits based on that.”

“Sometimes a senior editor will seek clarification about aspects of the piece that the initial editor did not cover in her requests,” added Braff, whose editors tend to be specific in their demands.

Meryl Davids Landau, an author and writer featured in Prevention, More and others follows up to any revision requests on the phone. She asks what the editor wants the reader to come away with after reading the piece and if the publication has covered the topic before to see if they want a fresh angle.

“I try never to revise anything until I have a clear sense of where the editor thinks my version went off the rails; otherwise the next version is just as likely crash,” she explained.

Tip: Pay attention to each comment; if an editor brings up a point once, they do not want to have to do it again.

4. Know the mag.

Writers who don’t familiarize themselves with the tone and style of the publication in advance are just asking for revisions later.

“I read the magazine, so I can see how they execute things,” Mascarella said. “I get more information just from actually picking up a few copies of the magazine.”

Even if you follow the writer’s guidelines, revisions are still probable. “No matter how good you are, there will be some level of edits,” said Daly. “Recognizing that it doesn’t mean either of you is right or wrong goes a long way toward adopting a more Zen attitude about revisions.”

Tip: Get inside information about a magazine on the cheap: Grab a latte and browse an array of titles at your local bookstore. Take note of contacts, sections, formats and the writing style.

5. Think back to your query.

Staying on target is another way to prevent a large number of revisions. One way to do this is to peek at your query or assignment details before you start to write, so you recall the proposed idea.

After she gets an assignment, Mascarella sends an email to the editor to verify the angle. “I reiterate exactly what I’m covering and how I plan to execute it,” she said. Mascarella said she’s also had fewer revisions since she started asking editors for guidance during the writing process.

Tip: Upon confirming an assignment, refer back to the original query or any other communications you have had with the editor to reiterate the slant, prospective sources and length.

6. Speak up if an editor goes overboard.

Occasionally, revisions can take on a life of their own, and an editor can change direction of a piece completely.

“I’m just not shy to speak up,” said Mascarella. She suggests bringing up what you originally agreed upon, so the editor sees the revisions have gone above and beyond. In some cases, a magazine will come back with more money to compensate you for the extra time needed to refocus the article.

Be careful with this one, though, or you could get pegged as the high-maintenance writer and likely not get another assignment.

Davids Landau recalls a time when an editor told her the editor-in-chief simply didn’t like the piece after signing off on an outline. She argued for the ability to revise, but even the updated draft wasn’t accepted. She got lucky, though; she collected the kill fee and wound up selling the story to another magazine — making more than she would have originally.

Tip: Keep a copy of your initial query and contract handy, so you can remind the publication what they agreed to.

The bottom line

Here’s the skinny on revisions: Sometimes they’re a hassle and you wind up putting double the time you did writing into editing the work. That is par for the course. “Your job isn’t over when you send in the file,” Mascarella pointed out.

And even if your original work ends up looking like a bloodbath, if you’re cooperative and easygoing about it, you could earn repeat assignments. “When you don’t balk at the revisions or give the editor a hard time, they remember that,” Mascarella said. “Be a team player.”

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Kristen Fischer is the author of Ramen Noodles, Rent and Resumes: An After-College Guide to Life.