How do you turn down an edit?

[KillerMuffin]

I like editing, I think it vastly improves my own writing skills, since it makes me think about the way the sentences, paragraphs, and stories are crafted together. I've just found myself with an uncomfortable backlog all of the sudden. Not to mention there are the stories that I can tell will take up entirely too much time and effort for me to feasibly accomplish.

I don't want to sound crass, but there really isn't any other way to sound since it is crass. There are some stories that have come across my "desk" that are just beyond my scope to edit. They don't seem to have many redeeming qualities and if I added all the comments I'd had at the time then I would have quadrupled the size of the file. I don't have the time to devote to these stories that take about 20 times the effort as another that's three times the length. I don't want to discourage these authors, because I don't ever want them to quit writing, and gawd knows I'm not the be all end all judge of good writing.

If I didn't have a full time job and an even more full time pain in the ass StudMuffin I would have the time to devote to whatever comes across my "desk," but I don't. I don't want anyone to think they aren't good enough, but I don't want to have to rewrite the entire story for them either, simply because they can't write very well yet.

How do I turn an edit down without discouraging too much? Drat, I feel bad for posting this, but darn it, I really wanna know.

 

[Whispersecret]

It's a tough problem, KM, and one that I wrestled with while I was on the volunteer list. Some stories I received were so horribly written, that there just wasn't a way to explain what was wrong with them without writing a book about the English language.

The best solution I came up with was to edit one or two paragraphs thoroughly. I'd explain my comments and teach a little about punctuation or whatever. Then, I'd explain as gently as I could that perhaps they should now take what they've learned about using quotation marks (or whatever) and go back now and apply it throughout the story. I'd offer to look at it again for them after they'd revised it, but they usually didn't send it back.

This is exactly why I'm really restricting whom I critique now. It's hard enough work editing someone who has talent, like you, KM, or Alyrahh, or Weird Harold. When you are faced with a 20 sentence paragraph that only has three complete sentences in it, fixing it is tantamount to rewriting it.

Good luck.

 

[Weird Harold]

How do I turn an edit down without discouraging too much? Drat, I feel bad for posting this, but darn it, I really wanna know.

If I'm backlogged, I will reply that I can add the story to my queue but it will take several weeks before I can get to it. If the author decides to wait for me to edit it, I will eventually get to it. Most authors aren't that patient, so when I check with them to see if they still want it edited a couple of weeks later, they've gone to another editor.

When I edit a story that is horrible, I do a critique of the bad trends in a story with suggestions of how to correct them. The story I'm currently working on has a widespread problem with matching verb tenses. My first comment noted "I can't tell whther you intended this to be in present tense or past tense. You need to go through and change the verb tenses. I'm not going to correct any except where required to make sense of a sentence."

I suspect this author may not be a native English speaker, and if requested I'll match up the tenses for a non-english speaker.

Whenever something is a consistent problem throughout a story, I'll explain the problem and leave it to the author to correct it. Some problems, like passive voice, I will highlight each occurance for the author's decision.

Another way I avoid rewriting a story is to ask the author what exactly they were trying to say in a particular paragraph or section, with an explanantion of why I didn't understand.

Every story is different, and I have on one occasion suggested that an author should give up because they didn't have a basic grasp of storytelling.

Storytelling can't be taught. There has to be a spark of talent or inspiration to nurture. I'll make every effort to fan a spark into a flame, but I have neither the time nor talent to strike that spark if it's not already there.

I try to always find the good points and praise them. Partly because novice authors have fragile egos that need stroking, but mostly to steer them to what is working for them and away from all of the red electrons I leave trailing about in their files.

 

[Easy Boy]

New writer's perspective

I'd be fine with a short response telling me you're too busy. There are enough volunteer editors, I could move on.

I wouldn't want to get a slapdash edit, just a few comments thrown out in order to get me out of your in-box. If you're going to edit my writing, I want you to take your time with it. And if that means I'll have to wait a few weeks, that's OK. We could talk about time frame before I even send you the piece. (For a problematic story, WS's approach sounds fine.)

Question for editors--do authors ask your permission to send you stories for review?

 

[Whispersecret]

Great question, Easy. When I was on the Volunteer Editor list, some people would ask. Some wouldn't.

Here's my idea of how to submit something for editing:

Email the editor and ask if they have time to edit right now. Introduce yourself. Tell how long the story is and what type of editing you'd like. Some people only want proofreading. Others are seeking a deeper analysis.

Ask them to let you know how long they think it will be before they can send it back.

Establish what type of word processing program the both of you have. MSWord has an excellent editing feature that allows me to make suggestions (sometimes lengthy ones) in a separate window, so it doesn't look like I bled all over your story.

Don't be surprised if you don't get an answer. I have a feeling that some of the people on that list don't want to edit anymore and just never bothered to tell Laurel to take them off the list.

When you get an okay, send it. But please, greet the editor in the email. Don't just send an attachment with a blank email. I found that jarringly rude everytime it happened. At least say, "Here's the story, as promised. Thanks for looking it over."

When you get your story back, be sure to thank them. Editing can be very time-consuming, especially if you take the time to add explanations of why you're suggesting the changes.

Happy writing!

 

[Weird Harold]

Re: New writer's perspective

Question for editors--do authors ask your permission to send you stories for review?

I usually get the story attached to a question if I've got the time to edit. That's fine with me. I don't have to open the file if I tell them I'm too busy.

I personally will send a message to a prospective editor with the title "editing workload?" and the stats on the story, before I send the file.

 

[Jake2001]

You have created your own problem obviously by doing such a wonderful job for the people you have helped. People are going to show their appreciation by creating more work for you, both by sending you more to edit and by recommending you to others.

Had I have read your post before requesting your assistance, I would have chosen another editor. Now, having received your feedback and made the changes you suggested, I have placed my submission feeling confident and anxious to see the results when published.

I only hope it is consolation to know how much your efforts are appreciated and how much it encourages us newbies to continue writing. Sorry Muff if this doesn't answer your question but then your response to my request was, "send it on."

 

[KillerMuffin]

LOL

Some things one can tell from the initial query email. Yours was intelligent, well thought out, full of correctly capitalized letters, no obvious mispellings, and you used conjuctives correctly. Your inclusion of extraneous information that lengthened your query to several paragraphs also gave me some idea that any time required to spend on your story would be to help you write a better story, not teach you the basic mechanics of the language. Some email I get is like:

hi saw ur name on the volintere editr list would u edit my story i spent allot of time on it. than ks

mr. hotguy69

The thought of opening a story written by a person who has so little respect for their writing, as well as the editor they are querying, just makes my skin crawl.