WRITING QUESTION #4

Q - How can editing be gratiously refused because it seems more of a re-write than an edit?

A - I'm not sure what kind of editing this refers to. Whether a paid edit or the editing done at a publishing house, so I'll try to address both situations. If you are hiring someone to edit material for you, it's always good to have them do a few pages as a sample before you hire them. If this is for a book, I'd ask them to turn in what they have completed every few days so you can correct their approach before they finish the whole project. However, if you have already hired them and are not happy with the edit, you really need to tell them that and explain why. If you are paying, you should be able to get what you hired them for.

If the editor is at a publishing house, then things are a little more complicated. Actually I had that kind of experience with a how-to writing book I had written. Instead of the usual copy edit, she virtually rewrote every sentence. Fortunately the editor sent the edited pages periodically, so I was aware of what was happening right from the start. My mistake was trying to live with the changes--although in some cases she purposely changed material to say the opposite of what I had intended--but that she didn't agree with. Finally I had to go to the editor who was over this copyeditor and tell her what was happeneing. She was very apologetic and said I should have come to her immediately and she would have taken over the job herself. A hard lesson. As writers we have the right to stand up to preserve the integrity of our writing. Don't be afraid to stand up for yourself in a situation like this.