Neither Writers nor Editors Are Gods

Occasionally I receive a query that goes something like this:

I hope u can help me. I already fired 3 other editors since they were messing up my book. The last editor I told her to stop cause she was horrible. My book is 700 pages long, single spaced, and I need it done next week. I don’t want any speling or any of my sentences changed cause I want to keep it in a unique style. Please reply ASAP with your estimate, and I hope its not to high.*

The easiest thing to do in such a situation is send my price quote, wait for the outraged reply of “You want how much?” and go on with my life. So far, this method has worked 100% of the time.

But this scenario raises some questions about the relationship between writers and editors.

Sometimes these relationships become quite close and last for many years, with each party holding genuine respect and even affection for the other. Even in a short-term working relationship, writer and editor normally treat one another with courtesy and professionalism—the editor respects the writer’s voice, and the writer respects the editor’s attempts to make that voice clearer. Unfortunately, there are editors who arrogantly try to impose their will on someone else’s writing, and there are writers who, also arrogantly, think all editors are unimaginative fools who don’t know genius when they see it.

Writers are not gods. Most writers already know this, and they accept their editors’ corrections and suggestions with an open mind. When they decide to reject a suggestion, they do so without making a big fuss.

Editors also are not gods. Most editors already know this, and they tread carefully when working with someone else’s writing. They make corrections thoughtfully and offer suggestions with tact and with the author’s benefit in mind. When a writer rejects their suggestions, the editor moves on without making a big fuss.

It’s fairly obvious to me that the writer of the above query thinks he (or she) is a minor god—but then I’m mostly an editor, so of course I would think that! Is it possible that this writer hired three incompetent or arrogant editors who each took a potential masterpiece and messed it up with their grammar and correct spelling? I suppose it is, but I tend not to trust people who misspell “spelling.” It seems much more likely that this particular author is just impossible to work with and doesn’t really want to be edited in the first place. This person should forego editing, self-publish their masterpiece, and have said masterpiece be read by exactly two people (the author and the author’s mother).

Then again, maybe I am just a know-it-all editor who couldn’t recognize true genius if it bit me on the nose!

*This query is fictional, but very similar to some real ones I have read.