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Judgmental Assumptions

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By: Abhi Sharma
By: Abhi Sharma

Good morning everyone!

Have you ever heard or witnessed something another did that stuck with you for a long time? It could be something as complex as a long period of harassment or brow beating or as simple as a single word or phrase. One of those that sticks with me to this day is the constant phrase, “He/She/They should’ve hired an editor!”

What gets me about this is I’ve read books where the editing was pretty questionable, but in the opening pages the author listed an editing service they used or a “professional” editor that charges a couple thousand bucks depending on the size of the manuscript.

The funny thing about that situation was they did what we’re all supposed to. The real issue was they either didn’t know enough about the process and trusted the editors, thought they knew everything and chose to ignore the advice/changes, or they did the best they could with what they had. More times than not, once we put out that embarrassing first novel, most of us fall into the latter category.

Instead of looking at their books with a balanced eye, we tend to throw the assumption out that they didn’t do any editing and then toss them on the trash pile while our own aren’t always as good as we think others should be. To me, that greatly weakens the argument for others to “improve.”

Don’t get me wrong, it is important to ensure our manuscripts are edited and hammered into the best possible manuscript it can be. For some, that means handing out hundreds or thousands of dollars for editors, cover artists, etc. For most of us, we trade services or look for editors we can afford. There’s nothing wrong with either of those choices as you will find quality editors at every level. The real problem comes when we assume something.

Here’s a perfect example. Ask ten different authors and editors what is passive voice. The chances are you’ll get everyone knowing what the grammatical answer is, but when it comes to writing you’ll have upwards of ten opinions. Some will say using was –ing, had been, and phrases such as “began to” is passive. Some may say all of them, other may say none of them.

The use of italics for vessels, publications, thoughts, and emphasis?

Or using POV?

How about whether to use toward/towards, all right/alright, kneeled/knelt?

Even comma usage is up for debate a good amount of the time.

By: anna gutermuth

The problem often originates in stylistic choices where we feel one thing is correct over another. So, when someone disagrees they bring out the tried and true, “He/She/They need an editor” or belittling someone’s attempt when they “trade services” or hire a “bargain editor.”

Like everything else, there’s tons of information and voices pulling at us from all sides and it’s up to each of us to weigh what we hear and do our own research. Despite many popular opinions out there, not everything works for everyone. It’s about finding what works best for us and trusting others to do the same.

I like to ask myself these questions before shredding another’s work: Is mine perfect? Did I miss similar mistakes?

If we’re honest with ourselves, most of the time we’ll answer, “No,” and leave it at that unless we don’t mind someone ripping us apart for the same thing.

Maybe it’s as easy as being mindful of what we say. Since it’s rare we know how much effort someone truly put into something, why not simply say, “I think this could use more editing,” as it’s much more helpful to say “additional” instead of assuming there was no editing done.

As always, this is nothing more than my thought on a topic. Yours may differ, and that’s fine. It’s what makes our world and occupation so awesome. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.