Nathan Bransford - The Forums

Heather B wrote:Oh Lord, Mira. *shakes head* I do that too.

Oh Heather - I was just joking! Well, I do edit my bosses memos, but only when he asks. And then I'm veeerrry nice about it. :)

Have you really done that?

Gosh, I've edited MANY memos circulating around the office where I worked. And returned some to the authors for rewrites when they just didn't convey the intended message. My co-worker and I would routinely get out the wite-out or pen to fix stuff. No one ever prosecuted us for it.

I ask myself that every time I pick up my manuscript.

You know you've been editing too long when you stick the manuscript in the freezer to express your feelings through actions, the way your characters should -- and maybe to be a little dramatic about things.

...you are reading a book that you've been waiting for (it's a series) and think, "Dear Lord, this was hardly edited at all, just look at that sentence structure!"

And immediately start to go for the red pen.

You know you've been editing too long when your friend is talking to you, but your eyes have glazed over because you are rethinking the last passage you had been working on, and you finally know how to rewrite that problem sentence.

sierramcconnell wrote:...you are reading a book that you've been waiting for (it's a series) and think, "Dear Lord, this was hardly edited at all, just look at that sentence structure!"

And immediately start to go for the red pen.

I just had that exact same experience!!! I found missing periods, misplaced quotation marks, and even two instances of having the wrong name assigned to a character (as in this person is DEAD, how can they be standing there talking?!). I couldn't believe it, especially since this author is a NYT bestseller with the best editors in the genre.

I'm about at the cross-eyed stage. Seriously, I think I need to get a pair those special glasses they make for looking at computer screens. They say you are supposed to look away from your computer every twenty minutes and focus on something far away for twenty seconds, but, ummm, I tend to get tunnel vision, staring at the screen for hours at a time when I'm editing/writing. Does itchy eye-strain qualify as sacrificing for my art?

Mira wrote:

Heather B wrote:Oh Lord, Mira. *shakes head* I do that too.

Oh Heather - I was just joking! Well, I do edit my bosses memos, but only when he asks. And then I'm veeerrry nice about it. :)

Have you really done that?

I can't help it. I'll send the other managers their memos back, with corrections. When our consultant emails us I do it too. I manage to refrain myself from doing it to the Operations Consultant but only just. I mean, his are really bad. It seems like the further up the chain it goes, the worse their grammar becomes.

It's like a compulsive tick. They used to get offended but now they know I can't help it. Now I have to go to another store and go through it all again. I'm sure they appreciate it, though. Deep down.