How to Handle Editor's Notes When You Disagree
Sitting down to (finally) write something is such a great feeling. No matter what I’m writing, once I get into that space, it feels like the most natural thing in the world. I often wonder why I wasted so much time procrastinating.
Words will pour out of my fingertips as I glide over my keyboard, tapping and clicking my way to creative freedom. At some part in the process, I’ll reach my conclusion or ending. I pop the final full stop at the end of the sentence with a flourish of my index finger, and put the piece away before I come back to edit. On re-reading, I’ll pick up on my common errors, remove redundant wording or repetitive phrasing, and add in the missing ‘c’ or ‘a’ from where my keyboard sticks.
Then comes the next phase - I send it over to the managing editor.
While it might be nice to think the final full stop you place is the end of the writing process (and hey, sometimes it is) there is much more work to be done. This comes in the form of editing notes. Most of the time, I love receiving these as they are wonderful learning opportunities. It’s great when you work with an editor who ‘gets’ it and wants to support your piece to become the very best it can be.
But sometimes … it doesn’t quite work that way.
I’ve worked with a couple of editors who’ve left feedback, comments and edits that were, to be blunt, painful. After pouring yourself into a piece, working and reworking it, pulling out the guns for that fantastic source - receiving feedback that’s negative, vague, or feedback you simply don’t agree with can be really challenging.
How do we handle this? Do we argue our case? Do we just quietly go along with things for an easy life?
Handling editor notes when we don’t necessarily agree with them or when they feel more critical than is perhaps warranted, is more about handling ourselves than anything else. It’s okay not to agree with an editing suggestion, but how you handle it makes the biggest difference for you feeling good about your work and maintaining a good working relationship with the editor.
Here are a few ways I approach this.
Mediate Your Emotional Response
Every single writer is different. Every editor is different. Most publications are different, and I feel confident saying that most of the articles you write will also be different.
When there are so many differences in the room, it pays to take a step back and remember them. Despite how vague or blunt an editing suggestion might initially read, it probably isn’t coming from a place of the editor thinking your work is a pile of steaming proverbial. Otherwise they wouldn’t bother spending their time editing it.
We’re allowed to feel hurt or dejected over feedback on our work that isn't ‘this was so amazing!’ but you also need to accept that the editor has some good ideas too. If it’s hurting, you’re not thinking clearly, and editing and rewriting requires clear thought. Allow yourself some time to feel your initial emotions, take a breather, get some space, and then come back to the piece with a clear mind.
If after sleeping on it, you still don’t agree with the suggestions, at least you’ll be in a calmer frame of mind to have an open chat about things.
Meet Half-Way
Once you’re in a better headspace, you can start to make positive decisions about the edits.
In some cases, I’ve been really resistant but once I had a play around and made some of the changes, the reason the editor made the suggestions in the first place became clear.
Sometimes the way an editor has worded things is a little confusing or they’ve misinterpreted something I was trying to say. While their suggestion might not work for me, the fact that they’ve highlighted something I’ve written as ambiguous or confusing, helps me to work on the piece in a new way that can bring better clarity to the work.
This meeting ‘half-way’ is atually a great part of the writer-editor relationship - and the reason why you should never totally dimiss feedback.
Offer Some Options
If the edits are still not working for you, then it’s time to think about your options. An editor might refuse to publish a piece if there’s something about it that just doesn’t work for them. Again, remember, we’re all humans in this arena and we all bring different experiences to the table.
You can agree to disagree but it’s better to think about how to move forward - and that might mean offering some options. In one piece I wrote, the editor had a real issue with how I had opened things, but it was a part of the story that felt really important to me. After a little back forth I offered to remove the introduction altogether, and rewrote one for that piece. I then used the other introduction for another piece that was more focused and the editor ended up loving that too - they published both articles.
Still Not Working?
If it’s still not working and you genuinely believe the notes are wrong, then you might feel likeyou’re out of options. If the editing suggestions are purely based on opinion, what do you do?
I know too well how much we tend to cling to our darlings, even when they need to be killed. There is a lot of merit in fresh eyes and fresh perspectives. As in my example above, it might pay to listen to the new perspective and take a slice of your work in a new direction. Or sometimes you might just need to accept it’s time to let the darlings die.
Editors are usually writers too and they understand what it’s like getting editing notes, good or bad. Keep this in mind if you decide to stick to your guns on a piece. I’ve got plenty of examples of when an editor’s feedback didn’t work for me but I politely thanked them and took the piece elsewhere. When it comes to subjectivity, there’s no more nuance to be found than in the world of writing. Why start an arguement over an editing disagreement?
There’s a big world of publications and editors out there - you can always a new home.
The key is to be polite. Always.
