Re: Editing issues

**F*@aol.com**

I've been fortunate in magazine writing in that the two editors I write for 
most often are good writers themselves. When they make suggestions or changes, 
I've learned to listen. Only once has one of them changed a word and thereby a 
meaning. This hasn't always been the case; a very well-known trade mag once 
mangled my story so thoroughly, I barely recognized it.
Newspapers are a very different creature. I turn in 2 to 5 newspaper pieces 
(not on gardening) per week, and there's a lot of pressure on the editors to 
fit everything into the "news hole" -- the space left for news after the ads are 
laid out. When they need to compress, sometimes the results aren't pretty.
When home computers came to rule local journalism, writers became unpaid 
typesetters and proofreaders. It's up to us to make sure the story is clear, 
accurate and sized to the available space. Otherwise, someone will grind it down 
until it fits.
Still, I don't think this addresses the issues Fran raises. A "well-know 
writer" (sorry, couldn't resist) may have enough clout that editors fear to tweak 
their precious prose. 
JF
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