Letting my nerd flag fly
By far my least-favorite part about being an editor is when a writer or another reviewer decides to fight me throughout the process. It is really unpleasant. It usually stems from one of the following:
- The writer/reviewer is insecure and can't admit he/she is wrong.
- The writer/reviewer has enough knowledge of grammar and style that he/she is dangerous.
- The editor is wrongmistaken.
There are many other scenarios, I'm sure, but those are the three main issues I face. Also, I don't know what it is, but people seem to get great satisfaction from pointing out when editors make an error and really rub it in their faces.
In my reviews, I always try to be thoughtful, thorough, and kind. Although Pat probably won't back me on this, I will fully admit that I make mistakes and that I don't know everything. (I'm still learning!) But 99% of the time I have a rationale for the changes I make during a review and can almost always support each change with documentation. For the most part, I think I am really good at what I do.
I seem to go through phases where things are hunky-dory. I think I've got this whole editor-writer relationship down pat and that I've truly earned the respect of my associates. And then everything will go to shit, and I'm slogging through the day dodging bullets and hoping for the best. All I can do is try to stay thoughtful, thorough, and kind and give myself a pat on the back after a day's work. (That's the other downside of being an editor: When I do a good job, all is well so my work goes unnoticed. When I make a mistake, that's when people notice. Oh, hai! I was in an interview once where the hiring manager said something like, "If you do this job, you're going to have to be okay with yourself at the end of the day. Editors don't get praise." It's so true.) Also, I read blogs like this one. It's like therapy. This latest post definitely struck a chord with me, as they often do, and I thought I would share.
Fran
Comments
#1 :)
Fran... I enjoyed the reply. I wasn't expecting any particular type of response (or a response at all, for that matter). Thanks for "listening" to my slight rant :) I like to talk grammar, even though I am a science person at heart. By the way, Pat, without a doubt, had to learn those prepositions (my sister, 6 years older than I had to learn them with Mr. "J"). Maybe he is blocking out distressing memories. We did get quizzed on them almost daily!
#2 Maria - I asked Pat and he
Maria - I asked Pat and he said he did have Mr. Jaimeson but said, "I don't remember that." Ha! Yeah, I think that audience and context are big things to consider when writing (and reading). My rule is that I don't get too worked up about bad grammar unless I'm getting paid to. I guess another factor for me is that I am constantly surrounded by bad grammar. Even a lot of professional writers I work with wouldn't know how to use a semicolon properly to save their lives, and that kind of boggles my brain. Really, there are only a few ways to use a semicolon properly, people! And then the majority of people on Facebook and commenting on news sites...it's amazing some people passed 6th grade English class. I'm not sure where I'm going with this except to say that I have different expectations for different people and in different situations. If I held everyone to the level of scrutiny I hold professional writers, I would probably need to be put in a rubber room. Regarding data as a false singular, I think it depends on the audience. In medical writing, if you said "data is," well, I don't know what would happen, but I'm sure it wouldn't be pretty. Thinking of "data" as a plural noun that should take a plural verb and plural modifiers when I was a medical editor was sort of tricky, so in my head I always pronounced it as "datas,"which may be goofy, but it worked. In business writing, I almost always see "data" used as as singular noun, so I guess when I switched jobs I drank the Kool-Aid and am okay with it. My dictionary of choice is Merriam-Webster, and they're okay with both constructions, so I feel fine leaving it up to house style and going with the flow on that one. Not sure if that was the answer you expected!
Mom, Dad, and Aunt Kish - Thanks for the nice anniversary wishes!
Angie - Your message made my day when I saw it on Saturday. I don't know if you know this, but when I'm in a tricky situation and I want to be sort of a badass, I think, what would Angie do/say?
Stella - It's definitely a challenge. I am pretty sure I would hate having my writing edited. Some editors don't know what they're talking about or want to make changes for the sake of making changes. They make the rest of us look bad. ;-)
Sarah - I don't think she knows, and I would be sort of horrified if she saw my cruddy little site.
#3 Yay, grammar! Embrace the nerd :)
Hi, Fran...I just wanted to say that I enjoyed reading the "Don't Need No Stinkin' Badges" diatribe. I felt like there were nails coming down a chalkboard when I read the "...than me" sentence, and then I continued on to the gist of the article, and it all made sense. I get the point being made, with respect to "than" being a preposition in certain instances, but in this case, the pronoun should clearly be a subject, not an object, pronoun. My 6th grade English teacher (shout out to Mr. Jamieson if any East Middle School people are reading this...did Pat have Mr. "J"?) made us memorize all (really, the most commonly used..I think we memorized 45 of them) of the prepositions of the English language, and I STILL remember them and use them as my check-up when I pause to think about pronoun usage. BTW, since you like to talk about these things, I would be really, really excited if you could address the fact that "data" is a plural noun and thus belongs with a plural verb! I internally freak out every time I hear/see the misuse! I might think of posting that opinion to FB, but I am going to wait a bit, as I think I may have ruffled some feathers with the Olbermann post :) Hope you are doing well, and congrats on the anniversary!
#4 Happy Anniversary
Congratulations Pat and Fran,
We love you and hope that you have had a lovely day and will have a very happy year. Your love for each other has given us all a beautiful gift.
Love,
Dad and Mom
Dave and Norma
#5 Happy Anniversary to the Reeds!
It seems like a few days ago that we motored to Skaneateles for the wedding and power outage accompanied by extreme heat and great joy for you two! Hope your anniversary turns out to be a very special day. Mike and I send our love!
#6 Apparently the editor in me
Apparently the editor in me wants to respond more than the ID in me. I say tell them to suck it. It's not like their names go on the cover and there will be national book tours. It's just elearning. Plus if they have enough time to whine over grammatical preferences, they obviously aren't working hard enough. You're a fabulous editor and you're always super nice about your reviews. (We'll blame that on Margaux, cause I certainly didn't teach you that!)
#7 Love your editors
These days, I write for government, and my work gets ruthlessly edited. I always say thank you, even though I fall in the category of knowing enough grammar and style that I'm dangerous. It's hard to look at others' work with a critical eye, without doing a slash and burn. I'm grateful they only trim mine back as much as they do.
I'm sure you're brilliant at it, by the way.
#8 Nerds rock
This has been the craziest 2 weeks at work but today I have been done since 3:30 so I happy to see that you have a few new blog posts!
Does this other person know that you are the 2010 recipient of the Goodest Editor Award?
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