by Leo Wiles
18 February 2015
I worked hard on a piece that was changed at the other end to be something I didn’t recognise at all. I was embarrassed and also, if I’m honest, pissed off as I felt my original copy was strong. Should I say something to the editor? J
You could, but I wouldn’t expect much. This is why I don’t share off-the-record anecdotes with my editors, who could strong-arm me to write them – and it’s also why I keep a copy of the original copy to back myself if and when a publication changes my copy to the point of no return. By this I mean when an incredibly angry celeb tracks down your number and tells you that you are lower than pond scum and you wonder why the hell they would say that – only to grab a copy of the latest issue to find the cover story you wrote has been given more spin than a washing machine.
Fortunately, editors have done a hatchet job on my copy only twice during my career. Once, a chief subeditor fond of dining on two bottles of red at lunch decided to beef-up my interview with a UK celebrity by adding the inflammatory header that said celeb was ‘off his trolley’ (with my byline underneath, of course). The outcome being, one pissed off PR calling – and lots of apologising on my behalf.
The second one cut deepest. I’d interviewed an ARIA-winning singer who rang and gave me a huge serve when my commissioning editor turned a breakout into the main body of the story, re-angling and re-writing it to the point where I no longer recognised it. Again, I found myself apologising profusely but at no point did I dump my editor or title in it, as I was new to freelancing and did not want to bite a hand that fed me. I did however call the editor and let him know – he laughed as only the editor on a large circulation title can, and I was then left to pick up the pieces.
Over a decade later the unfairness still rankles and I wish I’d sent him my copy and a note explaining the real lie of the land. Perhaps one day I will, as even now writing this post it troubles me that my name was attached to a piece that I didn’t write and wouldn’t have put my name to – and that to this day, there is someone out there who thought I set out to wound him and his family with my words. I guess I’ve always prided myself on dealing with interviewees fairly and justly, and did not beat up an angle – no matter who they were.
It’s one of the reasons I love PR and why, when working as an editor, I didn’t tamper too much with copy. I believe that an editor’s job is to ensure the story flows well, that it’s newsworthy and, like the ABC’s mantra, has the ability to inform, educate and entertain in a factual way. Only if a piece was terribly written or went over word count did I change it – and even then I had a pool of talented subs who’d work their magic lightly instead of just cutting from the bottom.
So my answer to your question is, it happens. And as a freelancer, you have to become fairly sanguine about the editing process: you’ve been paid to write something and once the copy’s filed, you don’t really have a lot of say over what happens to it at the other end. Some editors are so busy they learn to let it go – if copy’s good, they put it through and that’s that. Others can’t resist getting out the red pen and re-writing whatever they’ve commissioned, even if it’s totally fine. A good editor will send it back to you and ask if you’re okay with the changes. But many won’t, as it’s up to you to decide whether you let it go or take it up with the editor. If you’re not happy with the new version, you have every right to take a stand, but it might mean no more work from that title. One way around this is to ask if you could take a peek at the subbed version to make sure quotes and facts have all translated accurately – if it’s a controversial piece, the editor might be glad you asked. But others might see your request as more work so it could easily go both ways. Ultimately, I’d be looking to work with editors who like and respect your work so your copy being butchered happens rarely, if ever.
Have you ever been screwed over by an editor reworking your copy? What did you do?
I disagree. I’d say something — politely, point out some of the main differences — and speak up. If this editor is the only editor who’s paying your mortgage, that’s different. But I’d prefer to have a conversation with them and talk it through. The other approach is to ‘pick your battle’. So if there’s one section of the story that really doesn’t work for you, say so. If the story is now inaccurate, definitely say so. And ask them why they did it. One editor I work with always changes my copy and I often don’t know why. When he recently changed the ending, I queried it, he gave me his reason, I accepted and we moved on. Good luck!
Hi Claire,
Absolutely when possible all facts and other quotes etc. as Pineapple Mac pointed out as a reporter you should always stay your ground. Preferably putting it in writing as a recap – read arse covering measure too.
I’m pleased to read that your experience was with an amenable editor. However, I’m not that surprised because let’s face it they don’t want egg on their face or a law suit either.
In my case I made it very clear to the news editor however the cover story feature was already in print… AND he had the weight of a national circulation behind him and chose not to care.
While it’s very poor form to change writing to be inaccurate or to change direct quotes of an interview subject, there are, I find as a sub-editor, often good reasons why copy gets changed. It could simply be that it didn’t suit the tone of the mag or was way off wordcount, but I’m afraid it can also be because something is poorly written, unclear, plagued by factual inaccuracies or – and this happens far more frequently than it should – it contains blatant copy-and-paste plagiarism. So I think if a writer is affronted by a heavy-handed copy edit of their work it does no harm to ask (politely) why. It could be something for which you are blameless, in which case you breathe sigh of relief; it could be because you committed one of the above offences, in which case you know to lift your game; or it could be because you’re dealing with a low-rank publication that puts the whole media industry to shame, in which case you know never to deal with them again.
Thanks Pineapplemac for your viewpoint.
I’ve worked with thousands of subs in my time and there’s one thing to remember that as a triangle the editor, sub and writer are all trying to give the reader the best read they can deliver.
Sometimes egos need to take a back seat and let the in-house team take over as they know their brand and house style inside out.
I would always drop a polite note: “I read the latest copy of XYZ mag and I noticed you changed [this] in my copy. Was just wondering whether there’s anything I can do before I submit copy to save you time next issue?” Phrase it as ‘I noticed’ and ‘I want to help you’.
Sometimes it’s a poor brief and and the editor wants (but didn’t explicitly state) a particular angle so the editing is rearranging what you’ve written to suit that last-minute perspective.
As an editor, I also have pet hates in sentence/paragraph structure that are not grammatically wrong but can be expressed better so I might restructure a paragraph. Any substantial changes I will highlight with the writer and give my reasons for the change to check if it’s okay (it’s their byline after all!). That being said, I work mainly with experts who write rather than writers.
Love it Adeline – great advice for that situation.