October 17, 2001
�2001, by Kathleen Gibson
Being edited�.it hurts, it helps
It�s author�s week in the school system soon, but every week is author�s week for me. Here�s an inside view�
�If you can�t stand being edited, you�ve no business being a writer.� The speaker was a
grizzled writing veteran, author of multiple novels; battle scarred and slightly jaded. Bow-legged too, from countless hours in the saddle rounding up cattle on his Montana ranch. He was lecturing at a national writing conference and I was paying particular attention. So, I noticed, were all the other writers.
Authors are sensitive about editing, and that may be the understatement of the century. Much of writing is art�conceived and birthed in the soul as surely and as painfully as a child develops in its mother�s body. Editors� decisions to cut and rearrange words can affect the same reaction in a writer that a mother would have to a doctor�s suggestion that he cut off a toe or place the ear of her perfect newborn on its elbow instead. Alas, a writer, if he wants to stay published, has no choice but to work through the pain. It diminishes over time.
I recall the first galley that Reader�s Digest (the king of condensation, remember?) sent back to me. (A galley is the print-ready copy of an article, returned to the author for last approval�after the editor�s knife.) My article had been over five thousand words. It came back about half. My father�s favorite curse (Yawmer Yooks!) seemed far too insipid, but repeated loudly and rapidly, it worked. I realized then that if I wanted to continue writing for the Digest, I�d need to put my ego, and my days of gentle editing aside. I�m still learning, and it still hurts, though less so.
A good editor has one role�to help the voice and message of the writer to ring more clearly. The beguiling temptation of the wordsmith is to ramble, to use far too many words,to wander on, to take the circuitous route�..yes, like that. We�re in love with words, you see! �Sorry, Kathleen, but that�s the brutal nature of my job,� one of my editors told me recently when I protested that he�d cut out the best part out of my article. I had to trust his objectivity�the article was better after the slash. It�s not fun, being an editor (I�ve been one!) but a good editor is an author�s best ally.
My Christian belief is that our gifts and abilities are to be used to leave the world a little brighter than we found it. That�s why I write, and that�s why I�ve come to value good editors. They polish my words, help me reveal life�s sunny side.
Whether you write or sing, preach or paint, God will send someone along to assist in the polishing of your skills. At times it may feel like criticism, but if you listen, you'll be the better for it. I know I am.
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