Acceptance with a catch...

Rachel Udin · Dec 22, 2012

Acceptance but wants a rewrite.

I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. On one hand, I want the story to read like a slow slice of life (Japanese style) on the other, it is an acceptance.

The suggestions would cut the genre and kinda betray the attempt towards Japanese story telling... (which does not have the annoying open ending nor the long info dumps out of nowhere.)

Ideas about how to handle it professionally? I'm a rookie...

VanessaNorth · Dec 22, 2012

If you don't like the terms, you don't have to sign the contract

AllieKat · Dec 22, 2012

Do you want this enough to change it? Will you regret it or feel like you've betrayed your story, later? Only you can answer those questions. It's not wrong to change a story as requested, if you can believe in the changes. But if you've the nagging sense of selling your story short, it might be better for it to remain forever unpublished than to change it too much.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 23, 2012

If you don't like it, walk away, but rewrites are a common part of freelancing. Editors need what their particular readers want, which often is not the slant the writer has. This is another very good reason to not write an article until after the editor asks to see it.

Remember, too, that one big trick of successful freelancing is using the same idea for several articles. This editor wants it one way, with one slant, the next will want it another way, with another slant. You can sell to both.

eqb · Dec 23, 2012

Rachel Udin said:
Acceptance but wants a rewrite.

Ideas about how to handle it professionally? I'm a rookie...

If you think you'd regret making those changes, just write back and thank them for their consideration, but you don't feel comfortable making these particular changes for this particular story.

Or...If you can see a way to address their concerns, but in a way that stays true to your vision of the story, you could revise and resubmit, and in your cover letter, explain the different approach you took.

gettingby · Dec 23, 2012

You say you're a rookie. Well, rewrites are part of the business. Trust your editor. He has been at this much longer than you have and only has the intention of making the story better. Also, keep in mind that this is just one story. You will write many more over the course of your career. You also will have many more rewrites to do. This is how things work.

It sounds like you are trying to be creative in your approach to telling this story, but that doesn't always work for places. I would make the changes and make the sale.

eqb · Dec 23, 2012

gettingby said:
You say you're a rookie. Well, rewrites are part of the business. Trust your editor. He has been at this much longer than you have and only has the intention of making the story better. Also, keep in mind that this is just one story. You will write many more over the course of your career. You also will have many more rewrites to do. This is how things work.

No, no, it's not.

Rewrites are part of the business, yes, but if a writer has a gut instinct about their work, they should listen to it. I once rewrote an essay according to someone else's vision. I have forever regretted giving in to her.

On the other hand, an editor once suggested major revisions to my first novel. The suggestions were fine, as they went, but they would have changed my book into something alien to me and my goals. I turned them down and never had second thoughts.

All that said, it's possible to address an editor's concerns with your own interpretation. Professional editors don't have a problem with that. The only difficulty is when you can't reach common ground.

gettingby · Dec 23, 2012

eqb - Sometimes that gut feeling you are talking about can cost a writer the sale.

Rachel Udin - It is totally up to you what you want to do, but you say you are new at this. I believe, when starting out, it is best to just do what the editor wants and get some solid clips under your belt. Journalism is more about the story than how the story is written. Good luck.

eqb · Dec 23, 2012

gettingby said:
eqb - Sometimes that gut feeling you are talking about can cost a writer the sale.

That is not always a bad thing.

But it would be helpful if you read my entire post. I never said, Never Revise. That would be as dumb as saying, Always Revise!

Any author needs to determine if they want a sale at all costs, or if the nature of the story is more important, or if they can answer the editor's concerns a different way and still achieve the sale.

veinglory · Dec 23, 2012

My caveat would be to trust your editor if they are in fact trustworthy and do have a long history of success in the industry. Just because someone calls themself an editor at a place that calls themself a publisher does not make either of these things true.

MelodySRV · Dec 23, 2012

Editors have been at this long enough that they know what they are talking about. However, if you are concerned, bring that up with your editor. Tell them you want to keep that angle and see if they have suggestions for it.

Also, ask if this house is the best place for your manuscript. If not, then try other places. Not every manuscript has a place at every house.

eqb · Dec 23, 2012

MelodySRV said:
Editors have been at this long enough that they know what they are talking about.

Yes and no.

Experienced does not equate to Always Right. Sometimes it's best to address their concerns your own way. Sometimes it 's best to just say no, thank you.

veinglory · Dec 23, 2012

Also we seemed to be assuming the editor an experienced professional, not a teenage 'freelancer' with a fly-by-night epublisher.

Rachel Udin · Dec 23, 2012

Thanks for the input! Definitely helped out. I know there isn't an easy answer to this type of thing, but the input on how to handle it in a professional manner really helped.

I ended up on a compromise... and we'll see how it turns out. I clarified my objectives with the story and said I was open to suggestions on the rest and I'll see if that fits in line with what the editor thought the story was. If it doesn't work out, then I'll move on. If it does, yay me.

I rather get published with something I can really believe in so when I get that much better and look back I don't hang my head in shame.

I'm not against rewrites, but I would like the integrity and vision of my stories to still be there. i.e. change the wording to make the heart of the story shine, rather than change the wording to simply fit the editor's vision of the story which may not match mine, in which case, I rather submit a new story that does fit the editor's need and find a new home for the existing story.

I'm doing another rewrite as we speak on a different piece (Which is kicking my butt). It's just this single story I wavered on. Editorial suggestions don't bother me so much... When the suggestions are drastic, that's when I waver.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 24, 2012

eqb said:
No, no, it's not.

Rewrites are part of the business, yes, but if a writer has a gut instinct about their work, they should listen to it. I once rewrote an essay according to someone else's vision. I have forever regretted giving in to her.

On the other hand, an editor once suggested major revisions to my first novel. The suggestions were fine, as they went, but they would have changed my book into something alien to me and my goals. I turned them down and never had second thoughts.

All that said, it's possible to address an editor's concerns with your own interpretation. Professional editors don't have a problem with that. The only difficulty is when you can't reach common ground.

Novels and freelancing have nothing in common, including how and why an editor wants a rewrite.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 24, 2012

Editors, at least those with good magazines, are pretty much always right for their readership. And, honestly, unless an editor wants changes that will make an article say something you disagree with, saying no is pretty silly, and will get you nowhere in this business.

As an editor, you should darned well know what I want, and largely how I want it, before you query me. When a writer queries, and then starts talking about integrity and vision, I tune out fast.

Every magazine has a given slant, a way the editors wants things, and if you read the magazine, you'll know what it is. If you don't read the magazine, you're probably just wasting your time, and the editor's.

Anna Spargo-Ryan · Dec 29, 2012

Part of being a successful freelance writer is being adaptable. That can mean writing in styles, formats, structures that you wouldn't otherwise. The editor will know what his/her audience is looking for in the publication, and your piece being in said publication will depend on your adaptability.

Having said that, if the piece you've written does rely heavily on its tone and structure, and it sounds like it does, then go with your gut. There is little harm in telling an editor that a piece serves a specific purpose and that you feel it may be better suited to a different publication (but then follow up with other pitches!).

Rachel Udin · Dec 29, 2012

Jamesaritchie said:
Editors, at least those with good magazines, are pretty much always right for their readership. And, honestly, unless an editor wants changes that will make an article say something you disagree with, saying no is pretty silly, and will get you nowhere in this business.

As an editor, you should darned well know what I want, and largely how I want it, before you query me. When a writer queries, and then starts talking about integrity and vision, I tune out fast.

Every magazine has a given slant, a way the editors wants things, and if you read the magazine, you'll know what it is. If you don't read the magazine, you're probably just wasting your time, and the editor's.

In this case I knew what the editor wanted... and I had read the magazine, but even with the guidelines and fitting everything in, sometimes it just doesn't work out.

In this case of this story, I met the editor halfway, and it didn't work out. I wasn't trying to preach or be unreasonable... I made the changes asked and did the checking, but the editor simply did not understand the story (said as much) and it was probably not the right fit like I initially thought it was.

In the end I opted out because the subgenres of the story would have to be changed, which would change what I wanted for the story.

On the article level, it would be like submitting an op-ed and being told to change your thesis because it doesn't fit with what the editor believes in the opposite position though there is no trace of this in the original magazine nor submission guidelines... ultimately, I believe you need someone who wants the same thing for your writing... you can strike out like that.

I'll find a different home.... and submit other stuff. It's not a complete loss.

If you want to go back and forth on the topic, go ahead, but this is resolved for me twice over.

Acceptance with a catch...

Rachel Udin

VanessaNorth

Purple hair, not prose.

AllieKat

just a writer, unbranded

Jamesaritchie

eqb

I write novels

gettingby

eqb

I write novels

gettingby

eqb

I write novels

veinglory

volitare nequeo

MelodySRV

eqb

I write novels

veinglory

volitare nequeo

Rachel Udin

Jamesaritchie

Jamesaritchie

Anna Spargo-Ryan

Just pokin' about

Rachel Udin