How to Deal with Bad Editors

I've been writing professionally for three years now, and I love it. I love creating articles, and fictional worlds with words. However, one of the downsides to being a professional writer are the editors who seem to think that their job is to weed out writers and get them to quit writing. As someone who is both a writer and a senior editor for one organization, I completely understand the need for and I respect editors. In fact, most of the time I adore editors because they help me improve my writing skills, but there are a few out there that well, honestly there are days I'm hard pressed not to really lose my temper, and not just on my behalf either, but on the behalf of other writers. The fact is there are good editors and there are lousy editors. In my mind, a good editor is an editor who wants to help you improve your writing, who is courteous when pointing out what needs to be improved, and who uses constructive criticism rather than put downs when making suggestions. So, what do you do when you get an editor of the other variety? The kind that couldn't type a positive piece of constructive criticism if it killed him?

1. Don't lose your temper. This can be hard sometimes, but losing your temper and telling off a bad editor is just going to let that editor win, and it makes you look bad too.

2. Consider going above the editor's head and stating your case as to why you disagree with the editor, or if you just really take exception to how the editor spoke to you, then to lodge a formal complaint. Use this tip very judiciously because it can come back and bite you on the backside later. Only use it if the editor is just totally, completely out of line and impossible to deal with.

3. Keep in mind that editors have bad days too, and they may have said something they wished they hadn't later. If you think this might be the case, contact the editor and give them an opportunity to clarify what they've said. Act as though you aren't sure what they want, and be courteous when asking. You might be surprised at the response you get.

4. Consider making the changes asked for even if you disagree with them. Then write a nice little note to the editor thanking them for their advice and comments. I actually love to use this one, and often I make additional changes to the ones they mentioned to improve the piece even more when possible. Sometimes being nice is the best revenge and will make a lousy editor think twice before going after you again.

5. If the situation you are in with a client is such that you can simply refuse to make the changes so as not to have a rejection count against you, then consider doing that. One of my clients has an editor who I swear is out to get me, she will pop in about once every two weeks and edit one of my articles, and then first insult me by saying I don't know what I'm doing as a writer, and yes she uses that type of terminology, and then says she wants the entire article rewritten from scratch before she will okay it for payment. In these cases I refuse to do the rewrites because experience has taught me that even when I make all the changes this editor asks for, she will reject the article out of spite. I figured this out after having her reject three of my articles. This is even when her boss has told her that she is wrong and should not be talking to writers that way, nor rejecting my articles. Sometimes, it's better to take the loss in pay for the occasional article than to have a rejection on your record. It also makes a point because editors get paid for editing and if you don't do the rewrite they don't get paid in some cases.

Editors are an important part of the freelance writing business, and they can be a really great part. However, and it is unfortunate, but there are some editors out there who have no business being editors. They get seniority at their company, or their bosses are afraid to fire them, or whatever, and then writers like you and me get stuck having to deal with them. Keeping these tips in mind will help you to navigate the universe of terrible editors.