editor effort

[Bluetrain]

hey all,

i have a question regarding editor effort.

As a volunteer editor myself, I put as much effort into my editing/reviewing as I do into my undergrad's papers. That is, i not only edit and proofread, I also tackle the structure, pacing, development, etc of the piece.

I use microsoft embedded comments (the reviewing toolbar) to comment, question, and critique. On one recent story only 2 1/2 pages long, I had no less that 36 embedded comments. Some stories have well over 50.

My point is, I just sent out the start of a long short story to a few different volunteer editors. The exerpt was 17 or so pages long, yet one editor gave me no comments and concentrated on spellingand grammar and whatnot.

Is the onus on me to specify what I'm looking for (which I do), or is it on the editors to specify in their blurbs what they'll do to a story? What expectations should i have?

I guess that's more than one question...

thanks for letting me semi-rant

b

 

[Couture]

I think you should specify what you are looking for.

However, you must realize that you are in the minority as far as editors go. There are those that will provide an in depth edit, but they are in the minority. Take it as a compliment.

 

[Whispersecret]

I think the editors do what they can. Some people think that editing is proofreading. Some people don't want to impose their subjective comments on you, preferring to stick with straightforward/right or wrong mechanics.

Asking for what you want might help, but when I was editing, it didn't work. I'd read that the person wanted such and such, but when I got into editor-mode, I just ran on auto-pilot, usually forgetting completely what they wanted. Maybe I'm not the only one who works like this.

The only solution I think is to get more than one editor, like you have. Or take note of particular editors' tendencies, and approach only those editors who do what you like.

Hope that helps.

 

[Weird Harold]

Is the onus on me to specify what I'm looking for (which I do), or is it on the editors to specify in their blurbs what they'll do to a story? What expectations should i have?

Like you, I made extensive use of the reveiwing tools when I edited -- unless specifically asked for proofreading only.

You should tell editors what you want from them, and go elsewhere if they don't provide what you need. (BTW, you can use the compare files function under the track changes menu to highlight what the editor doesn't highlight.

End the end, the volunteer editors are worth the cost -- any input at all is useful.