10
WAYS TO PISS OFF AN EDITOR
Here is editor Michele Sponagleís hard-won list of things that have not been conducive to a healthy editor/writer relationship.
10 Ways to Piss Off an Editor
FROM MICHELE:
It's meant to enlighten and educate. I hope it succeeds on both counts.
It's the result of more than 15 years spent editing, writing and creating
publications, from Maclean's to the Globe & Mail to FLARE to Elm Street
and beyond.
Enjoy!
Michele Sponagle, Editor, St. Joseph Media (Passport to Travel, Leafs Nation, Definiti, Skyservice inflight magazine, etc.)
1) Deliver
copy late.
I'm amazed
at how consistently this happens, despite the long lead times I often
give. I understand that unexpected things come up; that's life. I understand
that the guy you have to interview isn't back from Tasmania until next
Thursday. All I ask is that you let me know. I have a fact checker, a
copy editor, my publisher and my art director all waiting for copy from
me. The entire process of putting together newspaper or magazine pages
begins with the arrival of copy.
2) Send
lame pitches.
"How about
a story on France?" is not an acceptable pitch. I'm also shocked to see
story ideas that are totally inappropriate for the magazines' readerships.
Seriously, I once received a pitch for the now dead Elm Street magazine
from a writer who wanted to do a story on shark attacks. For Elm Street?!!!!
Obviously, she was taking a shot-gun approach
to her pitches, hoping someone would bite. I didn't and she ended up looking
silly. Do your homework on the publications you want to write for. Is
your story idea really appropriate for their readership, based on age,
demographic and content?
3) Expect
instantaneous answers to pitches.
Creating a
complete lineup for a section or entire magazine is a time-consuming process
with many elements that need to be considered. If I know an idea won't
work right away, I try to answer the writer within a week. If it's a maybe,
it may be a month or so until the staff can meet, discuss, fine-tune and
figure out art needs. It's lean and mean in the mag world these days.
The staff is overworked. Responding to your story pitch isn't our top
priority. If you really have to know if your story is a go or a no because
of time sensitivity, send a polite reminder email. The squeaky wheel gets
the grease. If you don't hear anything within two to three months or so,
move on.
4) Don't
follow instructions.
In
one instance, I assigned a story to a writer on the phone and then sent
an assignment letter. The feature I later received did not resemble in
the slightest what I had outlined. The writer's explanation? I liked my
story idea better. Sorry, it doesn't work that way.
5) Expect
an editor to know who you and your body of work are .
If
you want to boost your chances of nabbing an assignment, include a bio
(who you've written for and areas of interest, for example) and some examples
of past work, along with your best story pitch. Your best "in" is always
a great idea that is tailored for a specific publication.
6) Act
like a brat.
Editors attend
a lot of the same functions and trips that you do. Quietly I do take note
of unprofessional behaviour. After all, if I'm sending someone to Switzerland
on a fam trip to do a story for me and representing my magazine, I expect
you to conduct yourself with a high degree of professionalism. Being on
time and being courteous are good places to start. I've
heard writers whine about: their room size, that they didn't get a T-shirt
and everyone else did, that the bus didn't turn around on a busy highway
so they could take a photo, and that the tourism people were too cheap
to have a free, open bar (the complaint was made loudly in front of the
industry member who was throwing the media function), etc. Shame on you.
7) Be
bitter when you receive a rejection.
Some editors
can use just one to 10 per cent of all story ideas received. Many ideas
we generate ourselves since we understand the readership better than anyone
else (or should).
If you want
to ensure that you never get an assignment, leave a terse, angry message
after you get a rejection letter, OR attempt to engage in debate about
the merits of your story, OR ignore the editor at a media function even
though you've been chatty in the past.
8) Secretly
double-dip.
Twice in the
last year, writers have sold me ideas that they also sold to another publication,
without telling me. Worse still, when they handed in copy to me, it was
EXACTLY the same for the most part of what was already published. The
writer didn't even re-work the text. Extra, extra bad, he didn't even
re-check the facts. The restaurant he mentioned was closed and the art
exhibit he told readers to go see had been gone for six months.
If I'm paying
about $1 per word (usually), I expect original copy. If the story has
run before, tell me. This gives me the chance to offer you a re-print
rate, or I can ask you to modify the text so that it's not exactly the
same as what ran. I understand that the basic facts will be the same,
but your slant or mode of delivery can be different.
Be
honest with the editor. If you've written a story on the coffee culture
of Seattle, say so. There's nothing worse than finding out afterwards
that the writer has already done that story for someone else. It appears
deceptive and sneaky if you're not up front about where an article has
been published before.
9) Be
rude or defensive when the fact checker or copy editor asks you questions
about your copy.
I can't count
how many times fact checkers have saved writers from embarrassment. In
a recent case, I had a writer do a similar story that she had published
in a major newspaper. It ran there full of factual errors and erroneous
addresses, phone numbers and website addresses. The fact checker found,
and corrected, all of those mistakes. It happened quietly behind the scenes
and the writer will never know that we fixed her sloppy work. Be nice
to the fact checker or copy editor. They may stop you from looking like
an idiot.
10) Deliver
shoddy work.
Travel writing is what most Canadians dream of doing and frankly, there
are hundreds and hundreds of travel writers available to me to assign
work to. If you aren't delivering stories that are properly researched,
accurate, properly structured (a good lead, good logical flow with bridge
sentence connecting paragraphs, a "nut graph," and a solid kicker), then
it's unlikely I'll work with you again. I'm willing to tweak and modify
copy. That's my job. But when I get poorly written copy that needs serious
mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in order to save it, I get pissed off.
You should
know that editors talk among themselves about writers. We're well aware
of who's competent, who's busy and who's a nightmare to deal with. In
this business, your reputation matters and you should make sure that you
do everything you can to keep it golden.
• 10 Ways To Piss Off An Editor
• 10 Ways To Annoy A Freelancer
• Random Advice from Professionals
• Self-Syndicating, The Holy Grail
• On The Road E-Practicalities
• All-Purpose Bad Travel Story
