6. Editors
In the beginning I argued with editors. The phrase ‘shivering like a new born foal’* in my first book arrived in the galleys as ‘shivering like a new born chicken.’ I was outraged, reinstated ‘foal’, to discover in print I’d written ‘fowl’. I’ve woken up in a cold sweat when, during the Iraq invasion, I wrote about friends who became ‘ dessert warfare ’ armchair experts. I was saved that time. A newspaper editor didn’t save me from ‘Bass Straight’. It appeared in the banner heading too. As I’m a humorist, they probably thought it was a joke. On the other hand, I’ve had a book editor insist that a character cannot walk ‘ through the door ’ but must walk ‘in at the door.’ Perhaps she was technically correct. I don’t know, but it sounded horrible. She added about 90 @s to the MS. I took them out and sent her an email with the 90 @s. I don’t see myself as the hissy fit type. Note to Self: Be more gracious or shut the FU. We writers often assume our copy is perfectly clear to others. It may not be. Now I’ll go all Jerry McGuire in the sting. To all my editors, who have saved me from my own arrogance or ignorance over the years, a big belated ‘thanks’.
kerrycue 