Ms. Placed-Modifier

Dear Ms. Placed-Modifier,

How do I get my editor off my back? She always wants me to change my words, and then she goes behind my back and cuts out huge chunks of prose that I’ve put a lot of time and effort into. I find this especially irritating when I’m writing editorials or creative non-fiction pieces, because who is she to say what my opinion is or what really happened? My artistic freedom is being stifled, and I’m about ready to quit my job! How can I get my editor to understand that I carefully choose every word I write down and that the order I write them in is the best order?

Sincerely,

Angst-ridden Writer

Dear Angsty,

Although writing is an art, while on the job you are nothing more and nothing less than hired help. If you want to give your artistic side free reign, you have to do it on your own time. Even then, you will likely have to pass your work over to an editor at some time during the publishing process. Self-publishing may be a growing trend, but it’s not wise to unleash stories upon the world that have only been reviewed by the biased eyes of family and friends.

Keep in mind, your editor has a job to do: to make sure that the prose you produce is suitable for the publication and its audience. True, she may be altering what you perceive to be a vital phrase or paragraph in your editorial or creative non-fiction piece, but she ensures that the story you are telling will resonate with readers. Your editor also has the advantage of perspective, something that writers often lose when they are too close to the words they write.

You can minimize the amount of changing, chopping, and rearranging that your editor has to do by keeping her job in mind while you write. Don’t forget that you were hired to perform a service, not create artistic masterpieces. Take a step back from your words to better see how your finished article will fit the publication as a whole. If you meet your editor part way, you may find that she is more agreeable to letting you keep some of your choicest sentences.