What do editors secretly want writers to know, besides the guidelines of the publication? This article will give you a glimpse into what goes on inside an editor’s mind in different situations that occur in the online world of writing, editing and publishing. Let’s delve right into it:
1. Your punishments are hilarious
When we reject one of your pieces of writing (for good reasons) and you decide to never submit to us again as a form of “punishment”, we find it hilarious. Not only does this prove you have a gigantic ego, it also shows you lack the desire to improve as a writer.
2. We know what you said, even if you delete the PM
Oh, we see your bitter responses, don’t worry! We get an email whenever somebody private messages us, so don’t think for a second that we don’t know what you said before you deleted that nasty PM and sent a nicer one. You may think you’re skillful at being sly, but you’re not.
3. You still have to credit your pictures
We’re fully aware of the fact that the winner of the grand prize on Medium didn’t credit the picture and still won. That’s fantastic! Yet, if you’ve been on the platform for a long time, you know that’s not really how things work. Give credit where credit is due, not only out of respect for that photographer, but also to make your article more appealing and increase your chances of having it chosen for further distribution.
4. We know you like to complain
If we edit your article without informing you, you’ll complain. If we inform you that it needs changing, you’ll complain that the exchange of messages takes too long and you want your article up within the next few minutes. If we take too long to publish because of different time zones, you’ll complain that we didn’t schedule the article. If we schedule it, you’ll complain we didn’t clap and highlight it. How dare we not wake up at 4 a.m just to do that??
Which brings me to the last point…
5. You’re not entitled to anything
I don’t know if anyone else can relate, but I was once accused that I didn’t highlight an article and that I would be reported to Medium for discrimination.
Quick reality check: claps and highlights are a bonus. In reality, no editor owes you anything, and the fact that some editors genuinely read your article and meaningfully engage is a choice, not a MUST, so stop acting like a spoiled brat and a victim.
Fortunately, most editors are reasonable and can put up with a lot of nonsense without taking anything personally or being assholes (even though some people deserve a smack in the face). But we know what you’re doing. We observe everyone and notice everything. We want to maintain a healthy relationship with our writers and not make things awkward, but we know.
And you should know that we know.
Originally published on Medium.
Thanks, Diana for writing this!!! If I could highlight this, I would have done this a million times.