Bad Editors- It Is Too Important Not To Write

Five hours ago I wrote a piece of fiction that didn’t work the way I wanted it to. I didn’t feel like the rhythm and flow I wanted it to have and I was disappointed.

Maybe it was because the internal editor was yelling and screaming at me about my failure to hit the mark I set for myself. But sometimes the internal editor is wrong.

Sometimes that guy fails to distinguish between editing for mistakes and destroys the style and content. Sometimes I tell him to STFU and get out of my way.

My natural hair color is black and my natural habitat is wherever it is that writers live.

There is a reason why Twenty-Five Links That Will Make You A Better Writer/Blogger is driving so much traffic to the blog and it is not based solely upon the headline.

If headlines were the only thing that worked How To Make More Money and Have Better Sex Through Blogging would be doing a hell of a lot better than it is and it is doing well.

BTW folks, I owe responses to your comments and I will get to them, but sometimes you have to write.

Write out Of The Rut

Many times when I feel unsatisfied with my writing I make a point to write more. Writing is about practice and discipline. You don’t become better by walking away and moaning about how bad it was.

Every day I talk to my children about the need to keep going even when things are tough and I can do no less. Some days in school are going to be hard. Some days at the office suck.

Some of my best writing is never acknowledged and some of my worst receives all sorts of acclaim. Don’t try to understand they rhyme and rhythm because sometimes there are no explanations.

What About Bad Editors?

Fifteen years ago one my editors butchered a piece I wrote about the Superbowl. The man took an hour to rewrite it and then handed it back to me with his name and mine on the byline.

I was livid.

It was as if he had decided to move into my home and made himself comfortable by throwing out all of my furniture and replacing it with his.

When I asked him why he had taken a machete to it he told me he really liked the idea and thought he could make it stronger. He didn’t. He took an opinion piece and turned it into his opinion.

I told him to take my name off of it and when he refused I went the publisher. I don’t know if I would handle it the same way today, but I would be just as irritated.

There is an art to editing. Editors are supposed to make your work stronger. They are supposed to provide constructive feedback on why they make changes. Sometimes you run into bad editors who for whatever reasons drop the ball.

When this guy told me The Princess Bride wasn’t funny I knew I was in trouble. Some people just suck.

Triberr

I joined a supertribe in Triberr. I am not real sure it was a good idea. I am not convinced that people are really going to read my posts and or promote them.

But even if they do promote them I wonder what kind of response we are seeing from Twitter. It really is being used as a broadcast channel by more and more people.

It is a problem. I need to blog about it again.

The bigger picture is I am focusing on building community. I am focused on building my community around me. I need to balance my disdain for headlines with looking for ways to bring people in.

But first I need to sleep. It is after 1 and I have a 5:30 am conference call. Morning comes too soon and I am not a true vampire. Don’t take that admission as permission to mess with me.

I may not drink your blood, but I am not above biting your neck, kicking your shins or stabbing you. That goes double for the people that keep sending me Farmville invitations. I don’t play and don’t want to play.

I hope your farm burns down and is destroyed by a tornado. Not in real life, just on Facebook. In real life I hope your farm does well, see sometimes I am nice like that.

• Saved: Narishkeit