[Ipg-smz] A question for everyone, particularly Esther Schindler

[Mac McCarthy]

Brilliant example, Alan.

On Thu, Feb 7, 2019 at 3:44 PM Alan Zeichick <alan at zeichick.org> wrote:

> Carol, I share your sorrow. I think the advice you’ve been given is sound.
>
> My version of this — some of you know this story: Back in the 1980s, I
> wrote an article, I can’t even remember what it was about, or even the name
> of the publication.
>
> The lede contained a sentence like, “I love hamburgers….” and from there,
> went on with a brilliant transition that made a lot of sense in context.
> Clearly my best work ever. <smile>
>
> The editor changed the lede to say, “I love cheeseburgers.”
>
> I didn’t find out until seeing it in print.
>
> That is not only false (cheeseburgers are not kosher, and I’ve never eaten
> one), but also personally humiliating. I literally prayed that nobody I
> knew would see that article.
>
> And I’ve used that example, when training staff and contractors, and when
> teaching editorial subjects at events like Folio:, about why an editor
> should never, never, ever put words in a writer’s mouth. (You can see what
> I did there.)
>
> An editor might think a change is trivial, but it may not be.
>
> -A
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>
-- 

Mac McCarthy


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