Editor Has a Little Issue

[beachbaby179]

I just received a story from someone for whom English is not a first language. The story is a MESS. Do I go through the effort of editing and cleaning up the whole story? Half of it is in broken English and the other half is in 'text speak' - the letter 'u' for 'you', etc.

How do I break it to this author that he/she is just plain not ready to be writing?

 

[PennLady]

Gently but directly. How's that for not very helpful?

I honestly don't think there's another way. You could provide examples of their errors and correct text, but only if you want to put that kind of time in. You need to tell them that their English is poor, that text speak is not acceptable, and that you are not the person they need for help.

You could perhaps encourage them to continue for practice or take a class.

 

[beachbaby179]

Thanks - I value your input. I've been visiting the site for a few years now (you're a fave, by the way - and where has Mugsy been?) but I'm new to editing and I also HATE to hurt people's feelings. I really don't think there's any way around it this time, though. Thanks again.

 

[_Lynn_]

Offering a few tips for correcting some of the errors might be a good way to help the author. Suggest they go through the story to fix punctuation, grammar, etc. -- whatever you noticed that was consistently wrong in their work. Then give some examples for them to follow. That teaches them the correct ways and leaves less errors for someone else to find later.

 

[sr71plt]

It sounds like their abilities in English may be just too rudimentary for the author to be doing this and you'll have to invest a lot of time and wind up essentially writing it yourself with little sinking in to the author. Is the mother tongue one that Lit. has a story file for? You might suggest the author write and post in his/her own language.

 

[robertreams]

Been there, done that! I would merely suggest they find someone else. You don't have to lie, but Do you really have the time for something like that? I'd say, I really don't have the time, suggest a course in English writing in ABE.

 

[PennLady]

Those are all good points. I've often found that offering concrete advice, or suggestions on where to get help, takes the edge off of criticism.

 

[beachbaby179]

Cut to the end of the story: I did some research before I responded back, included some links to valuable websites on grammar, punctuation, and links to stories on Lit that I thought were particularly well written. Told him/her not to give up, but to practice more before submitting again. Haven't heard back yet, but I did the best I could.

 

[PennLady]

Thanks - I value your input. I've been visiting the site for a few years now (you're a fave, by the way - and where has Mugsy been?) but I'm new to editing and I also HATE to hurt people's feelings. I really don't think there's any way around it this time, though. Thanks again.

Why, thank you. Mugsy is still around and has stories brewing, but personal stuff and work has kept her quite busy. She put up a story this year, in the incest category. I forget the name, though, sorry. I read it, it was of course well-done.

You don't want to needlessly hurt feelings, true, but it will happen and you often don't have control over it. I think the best you can do is be direct and honest, and I think it was good of you to provide the links. You may not hear back, but you handled it well, so don't worry about it.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

I've never interacted with any LIT writer who welcomed objective feedback. Never. I now comment on 5 star writing and let the other go.

 

[sr71plt]

You need to read in more on the Story Feedback forum then, Jim. There are plenty of authors who thank those who have critiqued their stories there and don't either get defensive about it or reject the critique. You just more or less see whatever you want to see on this forum.

 

[beachbaby179]

really?

I've never interacted with any LIT writer who welcomed objective feedback. Never. I now comment on 5 star writing and let the other go.

I guess I've been very lucky then. Most of the authors I've worked with so far have been extremely receptive and my two "regulars" bounce ideas off me now while writing. It has been tons of fun with one or two odd experiences mixed in.

 

[tangentjoker]

I've been very blunt with my regular authors about what they are doing wrong grammatically. They know me and know I want their stories to be well received. The writing has improved dramatically since mosst of them started with me.

I don't sugarcoat things because those mistakes come back when you do. I have worked with a few ESL writers. The ones I've worked with have not used text speak but two did obviously use bad translation software. I forged through and made all of the appropriate corrections. I let the writers know what their most common errors were.

I'm certainly not rude, but I'm clear about the mistakes being made. I was a young writer once!

I, for my part, will even take cruelly worded criticism from anons commenting on my stories. I get to the point of what is being said. If it is a valid concern, I work it into my next chapter.

 

[lovecraft68]

I've never interacted with any LIT writer who welcomed objective feedback. Never. I now comment on 5 star writing and let the other go.

That's not true, I used to let you kick me around all the time!

 

[gustavca]

I have been very direct with my authors and have different reactions. One author welcomed my directness; another never contacted me again. You have to respond as you respond and don't get upset if someone can't take constructive criticism.

 

[johnnieblue44]

I just received a story from someone for whom English is not a first language. The story is a MESS. Do I go through the effort of editing and cleaning up the whole story? Half of it is in broken English and the other half is in 'text speak' - the letter 'u' for 'you', etc.

How do I break it to this author that he/she is just plain not ready to be writing?

An amateur once asked Hall of Fame golfing great Sam Snead to watch his swing for awhile and then offer tips.

Snead watched the golfer for about three minutes. The amateur turned to Snead and asked, "Well, what do you think?"

Snead replied slowly. "Take two weeks off......and then give up the game altogether."

Sometimes the truth needs to be said.

 

[snoopercharmbrights]

This is, of course, an old problem; I remember it from the early "naughties", and there were few useful suggestions then about ESL authors. I was given some sage advice years ago, and in a different mentoring context. Basically it was, "Give heavy criticism in a shit sandwich."

Find two things you can praise, however minor, and put the criticism in between them.

 

[passionaterain]

Find two things you can praise, however minor, and put the criticism in between them.

Compliment sandwich time!

 

[PokingFun]

In my experience, there are those who have wonderful, creative ideas and those who are able to put those ideas down in eloquent speech. They are not always one in the same. Writing is a skill that can be learned. Like other skills it takes time and practice.

When I have an author who has many things going on, I try to understand that a writer who enjoys the creative side of writing may not enjoy the technical side. I do a few things for writers when the piece is just a mess. First, I suggest more reading. Speech patterns are habits. Reading builds habits.

Next, I let them know up front that I want to edit the story, but we need to work together in stages to end up with a successful piece. I call attention to an issue, such as text speech, and tell the writer in this stage we are going to eliminate all text speech. If I need to, I will highlight the speech in the document. Once they complete that stage we move to the next stage. We work through the document together until it is better. If email is not working well then a live chat is sometimes necessary to really explain the issues.

It comes down to this - are the editor and the writer willing to set aside the time it will take to fix a hot mess? These things take time. Not everyone has time and that's okay.

So far, I have not had any negative lash back from authors about my methods. I try to respect the author's voice and keep my editing within their sphere. I hope that it pleases the writers and, in turn, their readers.