So, with this encouragement one starts to conceive fanciful ideas. What will my next piece be about? How should I write it? Better be careful in writing it properly. It gives one a bit of incentive that the next time the editor sends you an email, it may be good news.
There may be encouragement in a letter to the editor. The letter may be a rejection of some issue, but although this sounds funny, there’s the bit in the letter that says, ‘do try again’ and see how it goes. There is still the second attempt at getting it right.
If you’ve read the first drafts of Star Wars you may understand or at least I do as I have just compared the older stories of Star Wars with the finished script. It was amazing. I was so surprised to see the dearth in the original drafts compared to the later ones. That is, I… Read More Multiple drafts reveal a real development
Just adding the word may have provided accuracy when one could have missed it out. But is it true?
A powerful force arrested him And pushed him down the alley Where he heard a clown Speaking jests I must have been so fooled by the sight Like a vision made me see a whole other world, behind the wall It blew my senses Then, I was lost in my thoughts Intrigue surrounded me And… Read More Cool view
The headline, the opening paragraph, and the photos, all come together to set the tone for the article. The editors did this extremely well, although I wasn’t expecting it, nor did I intend it. But it did serve the readership and I am pleased how the article turned out. The whole article reflected one basic… Read More When the page comes together
Do small touches make the difference to an article? Like a slight tweak, a slight delete, a shortening, a change of word? Emphatically, yes! But it depends. Sometimes, it wouldn’t matter, but other times, it may sort out the clutter and expression, say, into something more readable, exciting, or colorful.
An editor of mine, a while ago, had the good sense to ‘broaden’ or ‘widen’ my paragraphs. In my submitted piece, I sometimes stopped a paragraph quite short, but the editor widened the paragraph out, to add to that paragraph the next one after it, so it became one paragraph. In the end, it worked.
A brief guide on how to make a positive impression with an editor for any writer like me who’s been learning as they go along. I’ve found that one way to make a good impression with an editor, is to write the piece good enough that it doesn’t look like it needs editing. That’s one… Read More Writing to make an impression on the editor
Why would an editor not edit a piece that is going to be published? The answer may be simple. The piece is good enough and so good enough that editing it would waste their precious time when they could be doing other things. Why spend time on what doesn’t need fixing, when they are other,… Read More Why do editors not edit things?
It’s good even great to get editors to accept your work and publish it even when some things were edited out because they were “inappropriate”. The editor must make a judgement call and cut the inappropriate stuff out. This is done so the readers are served. Most of the article is suitable, but some additional… Read More When editors publish your work
Looking back, a really old review of mine was given major editorial treatment, in other words it was in need of cosmetics. It was given a face lift. I provided the content, that went untouched. Thank you, editor.
In retrospect, certain embarrassing turns of phrase and articulations in a column I wrote were going to make my column sound off-color. But a good editor saved me from such embarrassments. Having wrote the article, I sent it off to the editor, this was back in 2002. Sometimes, I may write a sentence or paragraph… Read More Confession: the editor saved my article
Editors are there to present your work, but I wasn’t expecting life lessons as well. However, I’ve finally grasped what they were on about. And it’s all true. There were two lessons, both points resonating now.
Storyteller's Eclectic Flying Machine 