How To "Read" An Editor
By Richard L. Servis Jr.
When
you're planning to submit a query or manuscript to a particular magazine, it's always a good idea to get a recent copy or
two to study for "style" and "flow" among other things. Another thing
you can study is the editor!
Is
your potential editor an Egotist? Elitist?
Modern? Old-fashioned? A
Perfectionist?
I make a practice
of clipping out a recent masthead and table of contents from prospective magazine markets.
I clip out the "editors page" too, if there is one. Here's where the editor
shows his/her personality--and sometimes a photo. Don't always assume the young-looking
editor is young. Some editors have used the same photo for 20 years.
Does the editor
make a point of "genderless writing?" Does s/he use contractions like "I'll or
"we'll instead of "I will" or "we will"? Do sentences begin with "and,"
"but," or "or?" Some editors from the "old school" don't like contractions. Some never begin sentences with-- and, but, or, although, because or however. Some even abhor the word "that" anywhere in the text!
A few from the old-school don't like the word, "the."
Those sticklers
feel that "the" should be referred to as what it is. They may view the same about
the word "that"-- as what is "that"? (Or, call it what it is).
Is
all this an exaggeration? You'd be surprised!
Rule of thumb--
whatever style the editor uses in the Editor's Page, you can probably use too.
In the back of
your mind, try to outguess whether your potential editor is-- fresh out of journalism school and never edited any professional
work, or is 75 years old and still clings onto yesteryear's criteria, or is it a new publication whereby the editor/owner
doesn't yet have a grasp on publishing traditions. There's also the "bad hair
day" syndrome where an editor doesn't like anything!
On a good day,
you may find an ideal editor who is open-minded, curious, understanding, and perhaps even helpful. Those editors help keep writers-- writing!
You
might also study the editor's remarks when perusing the Writers Market directory. and watch for "Never send me an e-mail."
"Absolutely no phone calls." Manuscripts without return postage will be discarded,
unread." Tactless editors are always difficult to work with!
On the other
extreme..................
Here's a notation
in Writer's Market [Directory] by the editor of City Cycle Motorcycle News shown under "Tips": "Ride a motorcycle and be able
to construct a readable sentence!" {Publisher/Editor Mark Kalan shouldn't be
too hard to please!).
Here's an editor's
page example from Endless Vacation Magazine (Jul/Aug'93)
The editor rambled
on about "Why I Write." He used the word "I", 31 times, and a combination of
"me," "my," and "myself", 18 times. Remember-- this is only one page!
It tells you
something about the editor's personality.
Here's a link
picked at random of an editor's page. It is from Industry Week Magazine.
The editor-in-chief,
Patricia Panchak is obviously an excellent writer herself, never-the-less gives us a good example of what might be acceptable
in offering your manuscript to the magazine. Her article was titled: "The Shape
of Manufacturing to Come."
First, she has
no qualms about long sentences. Four sentences examined were as follows; 65 words
with one dash; 52 words with two dashes; 59 words with no dashes; and 83 words with only commas. (An old-old yardstick suggested a maximum of 27 words per paragraph).
Ms. Panchak did
use contractions-- namely, "won't," "you're," "it's," "let's," and "we've."
Ms. Panchak is
heavy on the use of commas, (and well-placed), contrary to many mainstream editors.
I was taught
in elementary school to always use a comma before the words "and" "but" and "or."
Where we use dashes to introduce a new thought or accent a pause, we were taught to use semi-colons. My editor friend once told me, "Please don't give me any more semi-colons.
I have a whole drawer full of them in my desk that I've been saving for 20 years--and still haven't found a use for
them."
You could probably
get by using figures of speech, or catch phrases that seem to fit a sentence. Here
are two she used in her article: "One size fits all," and "What remains to be seen."
Another
slightly-noticed point is her personal hyphenated words, such as my use of "slightly-noticed."
You might be able to do likewise.
The article in
Industry Week Magazine was found at: http://www.industryweek.com/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=10284
It would seem
that the more you feel you "know" about the editor, the better your chances for consideration of your query letter or manuscript.
Study the magazine! But while you're at it, study the editor too!
###
Richard L. “Dick” Servis Jr. is the Publisher/Editor of The Beginning Writer
Magazine. His personal website is at: http://RichardServis.com