Working with Writers

After editing a peers’ paper I was able to apply many of the editing tips I learned over the semester. The main point I would like to discuss is focusing on the positive and giving constructive criticism.

So many times I have received a paper that has been all marked up with red pen. It always makes me want to rip up my paper and start from scratch. I feel like any positive aspect or more constructive criticism would have made a huge difference.

Focusing on what is done well only helps the writer. You can say, “This is great, how can you expand upon this?” or, “Although I like this idea, maybe you could consider doing this differently.” Giving a positive with a negative helps the writer maintain confidence in the piece but also gives them ideas of what to change. 

Although I don’t feel 100 percent ready to be an editor, this class has given me more tools to use.

Editing mistake:

The mistake I saw consistently in this person’s paper was the absence of necessary commas.

Example:

Carl Porter the co-founder of the National Undergraduate Literature Conference stated….

Correct Sentence:

Carl Porter, the co-founder of the National Undergraduate Literature Conference, stated…

My Experience of Being an Editor

This semester I have been acting as the publications editor for Weber State University’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter. The role has taught me a lot about editing my peers work, assigning content and creating headlines for newsletter and blog pieces. Communications 3220 has been a great mirror and resource for this position. However, I wish I had the tools provided in this weeks reading to help me all semester long.

            In order to really grasp the role of being an editor, this week I also asked my employer if I could edit some articles that get published in their quarterly advertising magazine. My employer, Get Away Today, was thrilled that I was willing to take a look at some copy and asked if I would even be willing to edit a children’s book that the president of the company is going to have published. I was both excited and intimidated by the task. I rarely see the president of the company, and now I was being asked to edit his work!

            Heading into this project, I remembered what the chapter said about being a “writing coach.” This way I could keep in mind to work beside authors of the articles and children’s book I was editing. I also referred to the coaching tips on page 314 of the supplemental reading to help me feel confident in my edits.

            The two tips I was able to use the most this week were “give constructive feedback” and “be specific.” I edited a total of three articles. All of which I thought were strong and appropriate for the target audience, but all three had grammar mistakes. I was able to approach the authors and be specific about the mistakes I found and compliment them on the areas I felt would be really appealing to the readers. This went over well and I feel they appreciated my feedback.

            Now, the more intimidating task was looking at the children’s book the president of the company had written. Luckily for me, I genuinely enjoyed it. However, I still had an edit or two to almost every other page. I noticed that there were some inconsistencies in the words he chose to capitalize to emphasize the word. For example, the story played on animals at the zoo, and on most pages the animal name was capitalized but not on every page. Also, I noticed that most of the book held a rhyme and a rhythm but some of the pages missed the rhyme. This posed a challenge for me because I had to remember that this wasn’t my story.

            After I compiled my edits of the children’s story, I was able to speak to the author about my suggestions. When I spoke to him, I remembered to lead with a question and see if there was a reason he wanted to emphasize some animal’s names with the capitalizations and not others. He said that was a good catch and he had intended to capitalize each name. Then I was able to read a couple pages aloud to him and explain my thought about the rhyme. Looking at it together, we added a couple words here and took out a couple words there and both agreed it sounded much better. He was very kind and thankful for my help.

            These are the first things that I have edited in the professional world and I am surprised by the amount of pride I received from the experience. It showed me that although my own writing isn’t perfect, I have still learned enough to help others improve their writing.

Working with Writers

You need to ask questions to your writer. In one instance I was unaware of what he meant in one of his sentences. I needed to clarify so that I could edit it correctly. Without clarifying I could have rewritten the sentence to mean something completely different than the writer originally intended. Without a firm grasp of what the author is trying to convey you cannot correctly help them to edit.

            “Remember, the four most important words in editing: It’s not Your Story.” This is a very important statement. This came into play when editing this paper. It basically comes down to the fact that when you edit, unless you are in a professional setting, you cannot force a writer to change anything. It is still their story and they have the final say if they take your edits into consideration and use them, or not. I know that my brother used a majority of my suggestions; however, some he did not and that is fine. It is his paper and his decision.

            To help a writer edit a story you must remember at least these four rules: be specific, ask questions, give constructive feedback, bend the rules and remember who wrote the story. These rules help to teach you to work with writers. They truly help with dealing with the ego of another person in the writing and editing process. 

I found this gem on my Facebook feed this week. I would rewrite this as: 

ATTENTION

Toilet only for those who are: 

Disabled, elderly, pregnant or children. 

Thank you for shopping with us! 

It's important to write good headlines meow

 Without question, headline writing is the most difficult aspect of journalism. Good headlines are the hook that lures readers to generate that precious click -- a click that means money.

Headline writers need to be on top of the ever-changing landscape of journalism.  Social media has changed the game and the tip suggesting a headline “be specific” helps in that arena. I pride myself on my headlines, warranted or not. As I discussed in class, my most recent opinion column titled, “Poetry saved my life” is short and to the point, but elusive enough to get the reader to generate that  click. Headline writing is something I’ve toyed with in the field for years. I understand how good headlines guide traffic and I’ve been successful in doing so many times. Don’t worry, this bit of egotism is not without it’s humility, I’ve written headlines I’m not entirely fond of, such as: “Music on the Spot: StreetLighters strike up heartbreak ‘In Between Three and Four.” This headline is not only way too long, but it also showcases my unhealthy need need to always be punny. I tried to incorporate the album title in the headline, but it just comes of as a stretch. I’ve been told that puns are a bit passé these days, but I still insist on using them.

My editing lesson this week comes in the form of a prank. I love the way this hockey player deliberately replaces the word "now" with "meow" (shout-out to Super Troopers) and the reporter seems none-the-wiser. This is an important and hilarious lesson in the fragility of our language. This also poses an interesting question to reporters looking for a quote: How would you quote this?

Working With Writers

This assignment provided some valuable lessons in editing for me; and primarily that the editing process needs to truly be a collaboration between two individuals, as opposed to an editor simply telling the writer “what to do.”  From the reading, “Working with Writers”, one portion that struck me as rather important: “How often do you shout when you’re reading? If you’re the kind of person who gets so excited by something who gets so excited by something good that you have to yell, ‘Listen to this!’ or so incensed by something bad that you want to scream at it and wrestle it to the ground, then you’ve got definite editor potential.”  (Harrigan 7)  This portion reminded me of the passion required to want to improve the work of others, as opposed to simply wanting to mock it or ridicule it.  A good editor must be passionate about the process but must find a way to help channel that passion so as to help the writer improve their work as opposed to hindering them work or possibly attempting to take it over.

Editing Mistake

I had a rather amusing experience this past week, especially considering one of our classmates recently made fun of Target’s website in their blog. I went to go use the restroom at the Target by our house when I was there and I when I was walking in the sign read: “Please do not take any unpaid merchandise into the restroom.” I think the sign should have read “unpaid for” or “unpurchased”; and for Target, while I love the store, may need to have its editing department hone their skills a bit.

Working with my wife as the writer

            I’ve often said that writing is the most rewarding and equally psychotic thing I’ve ever ventured into. I care more about my writing than any other public display I present, thus when it is critiqued I listen, and perhaps I die just a bit as well. This was none more evident to me than during the following exercise, as I worked with my wife on her writing.

            I aspire to become a teacher in the field of Communications. I’ve always held a passion for teaching and this exercise allowed me the ability to take up the role. My wife is a freshman at Salt Lake Community College, majoring in Criminal Justice. She’s never really been fond of writing but she understood that going back to school would mean she was in for a lot of it. She’s currently finishing her first developmental writing course and will begin English 1010 in the spring.

            She’s writing a paper discussing her reactions and opinions on the movie, Sling Blade. I’ve been critical of her writing all semester and been looking for opportunities to teacher her ways to improve. As we sat down to edit this paper I knew she wasn’t prepared for me to tear it apart. I know that feeling; everyone wants to know if their doing a good job, but it seems we love to get defensive when our work is is formally judged. Finding humility in our work is perhaps the best way we can grow as writers.

            Her paper originally began without a lead. I discussed with her the importance of writing a great beginning that held the ability to hook her reader. I presented her with the idea to discuss her feelings directly after watching the film; this provided a more personal and realistic approach to the setup of her story.

            She impressed me with her knowledge of the subject matter, but she seemed to struggle with sentence structure and wordiness. I advised her to remove the clutter with sentences such as:

            “On that note I am going to go back to crime that Karl committed, where he admits to killing the neighbor boy because he though the was hurting his mother but once she says what was really going on Karl decides to also kill his mother since he thought it was BAD what they were doing.”

This sentence was reduce to simply read:

            “Karl has in-fact committed a murder as he admits to killing his mother along with a neighbor boy.”  

The second sentence is much cleaner and less cluttered. The details eradicated from the first sentence could then be illustrated in the sentences following.

            We also worked on punctuation issues. I found many improperly punctuated words and sentences; an overall lack of punctuation seems to be the main issue. Perhaps new writers shy away from punctuation out of fear they will use it incorrectly. I told her to remember that too many commas are better than none.

            She had a fair grip on plurals and possessives but did need some help with improper capitalization. It may be a common misconception that emphasis is better served using all caps, but it just looks unprofessional.

            I have enjoyed the opportunity to coach my wife in her writing and from a teaching standpoint I absolutely loved it. However, I can say that I truly and sincerely do not want to be a career editor. This may come off as slightly contradictory with my aspirations to become a teacher. However, the difference between teaching and editing lies not in the action of correction, but the motives behind it. Working editors have a motive to correct in order to make their own jobs run smoother, this can put a great deal of stress on the reporter; if you don’t look good, it directly affects your editor. Teachers correct with the motive to improve their students, not because it affects the teacher’s job directly, but because it affects the students themselves.

The editing mistake this week comes from the wonderful world of social media. I'm involved in a closed Facebook discussion group about pro wrestling. We typically get some engaging conversation, but some people choose to break every single grammar and punctuation rule they can. Even when I can decipher a valid point from their argument, I just can't continue with them in a discussion, it's too much work.