How much editing does an editor do?

[Juiblex]

I know I am a control freak, and anal retentive.... but I'd like some feedback as to how much editing other folks on CHYOO do to threads that come their way?

First off, I correct major issues like the use of a proper name instead of {FIRST_NAME} or {LAST_NAME}.

Next, I attempt to (as unobtrusively as possible) physically format the thread to match the 'style' of the rest of the story.

I'll also look at proper tense. If someone wrote a thread that is first person in a 3rd person story, I usually 'fix' this for them.

If I find some, I'll fix spelling errors, or grammar issues. I've even occasionally changed a word if I felt in my opinion it was overly repeated.

Usually I dont have to make these types of alterations, as many folks on CHYOO are vetrans who know the ropes. But when I do make these alterations it sometimes weighs heavy on my heart that I am altering someone else's creation. I do my best to inform the author of my changes.

What is everyone's thoughts?

 

[amalgam]

There's only one person adding to my Chyoo. I make paragraphs for him because he doesn't seem to want to, and I used to correct his spelling but I don't bother anymore. For him, I edit for clarity and consistency. Sometimes his threads don't connect well with the previous one, so I add something to bridge the gap. I often don't like his continuing questions either, so I usually end up changing them to allow for more possibilities.

I've tried to inform him of my feelings but he doesn't have a valid email address, so I can't talk to him. When I reject something, he sends me an email (through Chyoo) asking why, when he knows that I can't reply.

So my editing is heavy, but I think I have a special circumstance. Initially, I tried to inform this fellow of my thoughts, but nowadays I think they fall on deaf ears (/blind eyes).

I think you should do all you want, but attempt to communicate, especially with people who regularly contribute.

 

[horny-oz]

I usually do the basics, spelling, grammar and 1st/3rd person thingy. But I have "beefed-up" submissions that were a bit thin rather than reject them! ( unless its ridiculously short ie: I stick it in she goes ahhh baby yeh, what next...) At the end of the day, its your story so do whatever you want to do to it!

 

[Juiblex]

It makes me feel better to hear that from you folks.

At times I felt like an ax-man... but I wanted to do my best to make the story have a general feel like it was written by a single mind.

Thanks!

 

[Zingiber]

Juiblex,

I've done about as much as you:

* fixed tense, spelling and punctuation
* added whitespace for readability

Plus also, more than once:

* split long threads to add a decision point midway

Some contributors have needed more extensive and frequent corrections than others.

In some cases I add comments or send feedback suggesting that the author "re-correct" an accepted thread if I think they might want to look at it again.

-Z

 

[jakelyon]

It depends for me as to what mood I am in. I try to never post anything that has misspellings, or is badly written. Some I have edited a lot to make them passable. Normally if it falls really short I just send it back to them. I have to say though that none of the threads I have sent back with suggestions have ever been fixed and resubmitted.

I guess that is OK as I don't really want to have to write the whole thread for someone anyway. I can't even keep up with my own thread writing.

 

[Zingiber]

... I have to say though that none of the threads I have sent back with suggestions have ever been fixed and resubmitted. ...

I've noticed some of that myself, and it makes me reluctant to reject a thread that has promise. I'll fix it up, approve it, and tell the author to re-fix it if they didn't like it.

-Z

 

[artican]

If I find the value of the thread worth more than its shortcomings, I usually just edit out the problems I have with it and write a note to the writer describing what I did. That way, if they have a problem they could just re-edit and resubmit.

 

[WildGrrl]

Personally, I used to feel realy bad about editing/rejecting threads, but after a while, and after seeing so many people who write on a first grade level, I got over it. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but at least I try.

A big thing for me lately has been tense. Kim Comes Home, my main story, is third person present tense, but people constantly write in past tense. I used to edit the threads, and I still would if they were good enough otherwise, but mostly I just reject them now. I'm not sure whether I've gotten lazy or impatient, but there it is.

Also, there are authors that just write poorly. They write plently, but what they write just doesn't seem to follow. The first time I got something like this, I read it like 5 times thinking that I was just not paying enough attention to the text, but eventually came to realize that the text just made no sense. I then edited it...heavily...hammering on it until it worked and accepted it, but the second time it happened from the same author, I just rejected it with a message that tried to be as polite as it could be.

I've never recieved any of these threads back, and am often nagged by fears of these folks coming back and trying to push my rating down, but oh well. Quality is more important.

P.S. To everyone out there, PLEASE take note of the character's names. Going back through and correcting all the entries for a character throughout the thread is a pain.

 

[jakelyon]

P.S. To everyone out there, PLEASE take note of the character's names. Going back through and correcting all the entries for a character throughout the thread is a pain.

I do this type of thing by copying it out to word and then using the search and replace feature to mass fix the same error. Just a thought if you ever face the issue again.

 

[jakelyon]

A big thing for me lately has been tense. Kim Comes Home, my main story, is third person present tense, but people constantly write in past tense. I used to edit the threads, and I still would if they were good enough otherwise, but mostly I just reject them now. I'm not sure whether I've gotten lazy or impatient, but there it is.

Your comment about tense is interesting as that is one of my biggest problems, staying within the correct tense. I always seem to get mixed up between past and present. Your story being entirely present is interesting. I will have to give it a shot to see if I can keep it consistent. Feel free to reject me if I screw it up.

 

[TJChurch]

Personally, I used to feel realy bad about editing/rejecting threads, but after a while, and after seeing so many people who write on a first grade level, I got over it. I'm not saying I'm perfect, but at least I try.

Yeah. As I've become an editor, I realize many have spelling & grammar errors, & I sometimes fix them myself. Other times, I reject them, & give a reason such as, "This makes no sense"; or tell them specifially what types of problems there are so they might fix & re-submit.

Another problem I seem to have is people who write about the actions of characters who have not been in the story in previous threads that the new thread continues from. That'd be fine if they entered in the new thread, but instead, they are just there with no explanation.[/QUOTE]

 

[artican]

I do this type of thing by copying it out to word and then using the search and replace feature to mass fix the same error. Just a thought if you ever face the issue again.

I hate it when the writer can't even get the names of the characters right. Even going as far as using multiple spellings in the same post!

 

[WildGrrl]

I actually had the first person EVER resubmit a thread after correcting it!!

I still had to edit it because he missed half of the time references, and he STILL got the character's name wrong, but I fixed it and approved it anyhow just because I appreciated the effort.

 

[artican]

Did you read through it to make sure there were actually edits made and that it wasn't just resubmitted as is?

 

[AaronWebster]

Did you read through it to make sure there were actually edits made and that it wasn't just resubmitted as is?

Oooh, cynical!

 

[artican]

I only bring it up because it's something that I might do. Turn out I'm a jerk.