So I edit stuff at my company that is written by our staff and by freelancers. I edit for factual accuracy, scientific accuracy, and compliance with a ton of regulatory laws we have to follow.
A freelancer wrote a story. He used a word that I considered inappropriate/offensive, and I circled it and wrote with my Red Pen Of Doom "kinda racist - can we cut?"
He wrote back a passively nasty email ranting about all of his qualifications and asking why I had said he used a racist term. I wrote back explaining that the AP Stylebook (we don't write for the AP, but its good journalistic guidelines!) says the word in that context can be disparaging or offensive, and that we have a wide range of readers with different backgrounds and we always err on the side of not offending anyone.
He wrote back again to say that he disagreed with me, but he would change it, and he said, "I just think you could have been a bit more courteous in your comment. Telling a writer he's using a "racist" term is a bit capricious."
It's totally doing my head in. I don't get this at all. Because 1, if an editor marks changes to your work, it's not to insult you or imply you suck at writing, it's to improve the piece. And 2, you're getting paid to write articles for our company. So you need to make us happy, not do a prima donna writer routine over a simple article. I'm extra mad because he said he wanted to "discuss" the editorial changes over the phone, but I'm awkward and stupid over the phone and I was afraid he was going to go aggressive and bowl me over in conversation, which in fact is what he intended to do.
Was my comment at all out of line? How courteous must an editor be? How much more courteous could I have been about this?
A freelancer wrote a story. He used a word that I considered inappropriate/offensive, and I circled it and wrote with my Red Pen Of Doom "kinda racist - can we cut?"
He wrote back a passively nasty email ranting about all of his qualifications and asking why I had said he used a racist term. I wrote back explaining that the AP Stylebook (we don't write for the AP, but its good journalistic guidelines!) says the word in that context can be disparaging or offensive, and that we have a wide range of readers with different backgrounds and we always err on the side of not offending anyone.
He wrote back again to say that he disagreed with me, but he would change it, and he said, "I just think you could have been a bit more courteous in your comment. Telling a writer he's using a "racist" term is a bit capricious."
It's totally doing my head in. I don't get this at all. Because 1, if an editor marks changes to your work, it's not to insult you or imply you suck at writing, it's to improve the piece. And 2, you're getting paid to write articles for our company. So you need to make us happy, not do a prima donna writer routine over a simple article. I'm extra mad because he said he wanted to "discuss" the editorial changes over the phone, but I'm awkward and stupid over the phone and I was afraid he was going to go aggressive and bowl me over in conversation, which in fact is what he intended to do.
Was my comment at all out of line? How courteous must an editor be? How much more courteous could I have been about this?
