A GOOD EDITOR will improve your copy - whether it be online, in print or for broadcast. A good editor won't always be gentle.
Here is a great column written about James Walker Michaels, the longtime editor at Forbes magazine who passed away last week.
Here are some of Michaels' comments about stories:
"This is badly written and badly edited. It would be an insult to foist it on the reader."
"If I can’t stay awake editing this, how can a reader stay awake reading it? What’s the point? If it has a point, maybe we can make a story of it."
Basically, being a journalist requires having thick skin. Your editors will snap at you, sources will get angry and the readers will complain.
But it is all so worth it.
7 comments:
Well, Chris, you should sign up for my Writing for Journalism class next semester. If you're already taking that (or took it before), sign up for my magazine article writing class.
Cause I love slaying papers. And I'm amazing with a red pen.
- George (the teacher)
Whoever Chris is, i love him. Calling the teacher out? Classic.
I just read the article. Mr. Michaels seemed AMAZING. The comments might of been mean, but they were hilerious. And I'm sure they were true. I think I'd cry if a teacher wrote that on my paper, but it'd be such a great story to tell.
PS: I'm considering taking that magazine article class. Sounds awesome.
I think having a good editor is like having a good friend. I'd want a good friend to tell me if I'm, well, being an idiot. The same goes with an editor. I'd want someone to help me improve myself and my writing. Constructive criticism.
I'm taking a writing for journalism course now, and so far it's been completely geared towards new editorial style. I'm trying to go on the magazine track and my teacher has criticized me for getting too.. hmm.. "personal" with my writing. I see the benefits of learning to write in different formats for different types of publications, but man.. my confidence in my writing has been plummeting. Then again, I suppose that's what a good editor will do too... make you feel so worthless as a writer that it'll encourage you to.. well, get your shit together. ha.
A good editor is always honest and upfront. A journalist is not perfect;they should be able to accept positive criticism and apply it to their job.
I think you do need a thick skin being a writer. It'll hurt when you write something you're proud of only to get it back with stuff written all over it. Not everyone is going to like what you write, and your editor's job is to help you learn that. Love this guy for being so up front and honest.
People say I write my heart is that a journalist thing because I love writing now .
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