Ten Tips to Impress an Editor after Acceptance
August 26, 2009 by Lillie
The last post covered ten tips to impress an acquisitions editor. Now, you have the assignment for a magazine article or your book has been accepted for publication. The following ten tips will help you impress the editor for the project.
- Meet deadlines—submitting work early is even better.
- Self-edit—give the editor the cleanest manuscript you can so she can focus on making a great work even better instead of correcting errors.
- Follow house style—your style preferences aren’t important; a consistent style is important to the publication.
- Share a common goal—you both want to produce an article or book that readers love.
- Accept critiques and advice gracefully—the editor sees your work from a different perspective; even if you don’t agree with everything she says, respect her position and opinion.
- Make revisions pleasantly—no writer likes to make changes, but all have to do it; being unpleasant only makes revisions more difficult.
- Stand up for your work when important—if you truly believe the change the editor asks for will make your story or article worse, politely and firmly explain your position and ask the editor to reconsider.
- Collaborate—work together with your editor to leverage your individual talents and skills to produce the best work possible.
- Say thanks—everyone likes to be appreciated.
- Remember, editors are people too!
I really like the tips here. I think far to often I am too focused on getting a job that once I get it I almost forget what my goal was in the first place. This is a really nice way to lay it out. Good stuff!
Tyler,
Sometimes we do tend to get tunnel vision and think getting the assignment is success, when we still have to do the work.
Also, we should send, maybe an E-card to the editor, during the important festivals. It shows our appreciation to the editor and give a great impression as well, Lillie!
.-= wilson´s last blog ..You Should Hug Your Baby More Often! =-.
Good suggestion, wilson. That comes under the “editors are people” tip. Everyone likes to be remembered when someone isn’t trying to get something (such as assignment) from us.
Great tips. It’s easy to procrastinate and hand stuff in last minute, but handing it in early will always impress.
.-= Daniel´s last blog ..Who Invented Television =-.
Daniel,
Most of us schedule our work so tightly that it’s hard to beat deadlines, but I really like to schedule to complete projects with some cushion. That way I can turn them in early or at least get them in on time if delays occur.
Good points, Lillie!
I think sharing a common goal is very important — both the editor and the contributing writer want the magazine to succeed, so why not demonstrate your interest publicly?
I frequently mention my major clients, passing along information to people so that they’ll visit their website, perhaps buying a subscription in the process.
.-= Matt Keegan´s last blog ..Write Often To Write Better =-.
Matt,
Mentioning your clients is a good tactic, providing useful information to readers and giving support to your clients.
Interesting as always. You’d think that meeting deadlines would be sort of clear for any writer, but it does get lost in the shuffle sometimes.
Mark,
I’m sure everyone has intentions of meeting deadlines but some writers don’t plan well enough. Inevitably, delays and interruptions occur, and if the writer is scheduled too tightly, they miss the deadline.
I am such a huge believer in submitting work early! That is what will set you apart from other average people, and I cannot stand it when people are flaky or behind. It is so important to have integrity in your deadlines.
C,
I’m a stickler for work deadlines, but sometimes I let other things fall behind. I try to enter the Middle Zone Musings groupwrite project each month, but sometimes client work gets in the way of blogging. I’ve missed the deadline a couple of time, but usually I make it—sometimes just barely, though.
But that’s an example of priorities. While I like to participate in the groupwrite project, it is not as important to me as commitments to clients so that lags behind. Sometimes writers put other things as higher priorities than meeting deadlines, which I find difficult to imagine when it comes to work.
Nice post. Thanks for sharing. I liked your 9 point most. There should be appreciation for good work.
.-= arinsblogcdyt@backlinks´s last blog ..All External Links Changed From Nofollow to Dofollow! =-.
arin,
You’re right. Everyone likes to be appreciated. Sometimes people don’t realize that even those who are in positions of authority or decision-making need appreciation, too.
Thank you for reminding all of us that editors are people and that we as writers have to work with that editor.
Very good advice.
Helen
Straight From Hel
.-= Helen Ginger@writer editor´s last blog ..Under the Covers =-.
Helen,
It may be a little easier for those—like you and me—who have dual roles of writer and editor. Or maybe not.
I love working against a deadline. I find myself working a lot more effectively when having a deadline; I tend to get a little slack when I can just use as much time as I like.. Kind of boring as well. I work as a translator, if you were wondering. =)
.-= Rachel@progesterone´s last blog ..Natpro progesterone deficiency cream – a review =-.
Rachel,
I never have time to get everything done.
My clients keep giving me more work and more deadlines, for which I am very grateful.
These all seem like really simple and logical advice, but it’s great to have them on one place. Hope I reach that step one day, when I’ll actually need them
.
Andrej,
I hope you need these tips someday soon, too.
very good article. I’ll say dont just meet deadlines but do it much before deadline. It leave a very good impression
.-= Azam@ science health´s last blog ..Swine flu | Latest Update of confirmed cases of H1N1 Swine flu =-.
Azam,
It’s like the advice to entrepreneurs: Under-promise and over-deliver. It’s good customer relations to give the client more than the expect or a job earlier than they expect it.
Very good post. All of the points were good. The 5th point is so important too. Most are not capable of doing this, and it is one reason they never get better. I am new to this blog, I love it. Thanks
Dave aka Mr.golf instruction
David,
Writers who don’t take advice well aren’t likely to succeed. None of us knows it all; all of us need help.
That was nice one – Editors are people too. In fact all the tips were great. Impressing people is hard but you can definitely give it a try.
Mark,
Editors are people, too could be Bosses are people, too. Or WhoeverYouAreTryingToImpress is a person, too.
Saying thank you is the most basic gestures of all. Unfortunately some writers feel ashamed to thank after their work has been edited or worse, the mistakes made right by the editor. Just saying thanks matters a lot.
Lola,
Perhaps some writers do feel bad after their work is edited. Editing is very subjective and most of the time editors make the work better. However, if the writer doesn’t agree with the changes, she should discuss them with the editor. Sometimes, the editor will agree with the writer; otherwise, at least the author understands why the revisions were made.
More excellent tips from you, Lillie! Glad I caught this blog post. By the by, may I use your quote on making revisions pleasant for my book, as a random quote? I’m always on the hunt for more quotes that have “revise/revising/revision” in them, as far as writing is concerned.
Take care.
.-= Dawn Colclasure´s last blog ..The Good, Bad and Ugly =-.
Thanks, Dawn. Of course, you may use the quote in the book.
I’m not a writer, but these ten tips can be applied perfectly to write content for my site. Somehow our visitors are also our editors.
Daniel,
Glad you found the tips useful for your blog.
This is very good for writers, but for a majority of us, we are just consumers and are very terrible at writing
Cillia,
Many of my readers are writers, but I hope much of the writing advice I give is helpful to those people who are “very terrible at writing.”
Writing is inherent, but it also requires passion and hard work. If you are willing to do everything to be a good English writer, you can succeed in this field. All you need to do is apply a bit of creativity and eventually, the words will flow.
.-= Ron@ Online Computer Science Degree´s last blog ..Working Hard to Earn Online Computer Science Degree =-.
Ron,
As long as you don’t define “success” as being on the New York Times Bestseller list.