Management 101
October 21, 2010 11:59 PM Subscribe
How do I encourage people I'm working on a magazine with to do better and work harder without being a dick?
Me and some friends of mine are starting a magazine. I'm really excited to turn out a great well-thought-out product. Everyone is working together to produce articles. We post them on an online board where everyone can read them. We also meet weekly with everyone (and more than that between me and couple of other people who have been there since day 1).
As it turns out, I keep finding myself in the position of thinking that the articles could be better. At times, I am the only one voicing that opinion. On one hand, I'm not the kind of person to stir up trouble. But this magazine is something that I'm really hopeful for, and I really want the magazine to sound polished and professional.
I've been interested in journalism for the last 2 years, and the possibility of all of that study and interest finally turning into something feels really great. I've read tons of books and blogs about journalism writing, and such, but no formal training.
On one hand I feel like this gives me some insight into whether the articles are good quality or not, but on the other hand I don't feel as if I have any legs to stand on as to why my opinion should matter. However, I have usually found it helpful to just give my reasons for my thoughts rather than relying on "oh, I've been studying this in my spare time for a while now" which I don't think sounds all that credulous. But sometimes I can't exactly narrow down what it is that seems "off" about the article, and I feel like when I say "I don't like it, but I don't know why, it just doesn't seem professional" I seem like kind of a jerk. I don't want to seem like this.
tl;dr Working with a team of friends creating a magazine, I'd like to figure out how to best encourage them to do better, but I'm not sure if it's even my place to do so... any advice or resources welcome. I'm thinking anything ranging from "journalism 101" to "working with a team 101".
Thanks in advance,
Me and some friends of mine are starting a magazine. I'm really excited to turn out a great well-thought-out product. Everyone is working together to produce articles. We post them on an online board where everyone can read them. We also meet weekly with everyone (and more than that between me and couple of other people who have been there since day 1).
As it turns out, I keep finding myself in the position of thinking that the articles could be better. At times, I am the only one voicing that opinion. On one hand, I'm not the kind of person to stir up trouble. But this magazine is something that I'm really hopeful for, and I really want the magazine to sound polished and professional.
I've been interested in journalism for the last 2 years, and the possibility of all of that study and interest finally turning into something feels really great. I've read tons of books and blogs about journalism writing, and such, but no formal training.
On one hand I feel like this gives me some insight into whether the articles are good quality or not, but on the other hand I don't feel as if I have any legs to stand on as to why my opinion should matter. However, I have usually found it helpful to just give my reasons for my thoughts rather than relying on "oh, I've been studying this in my spare time for a while now" which I don't think sounds all that credulous. But sometimes I can't exactly narrow down what it is that seems "off" about the article, and I feel like when I say "I don't like it, but I don't know why, it just doesn't seem professional" I seem like kind of a jerk. I don't want to seem like this.
tl;dr Working with a team of friends creating a magazine, I'd like to figure out how to best encourage them to do better, but I'm not sure if it's even my place to do so... any advice or resources welcome. I'm thinking anything ranging from "journalism 101" to "working with a team 101".
Thanks in advance,
You can't say "This is wrong because I read a book about journalism and you didn't." You need to provide real reasons and maybe be able to cite some supporting literature. They may think you're no better than them because, unfortunately, you're all friends, but they won't as easily disagree with writing and journalism text books saying the same things. Maybe put together a style guide based on accepted practices?
And you could use an outsider who can give you and everyone else a relatively objective opinion. Someone who knows what they're talking about but knows none of you (preferably not even what you look like) should read closely and critique brutally. If nothing else, make the board semi-public and invite people (us?) to read and critique things.
You also ought to rethink your staffing methods. Creating something great might require kicking a few friends off the team and bring in a few unfriends. Is it a hobby? A lark? Just something to puff your CVs with? Or are you planning on this thing still being read in a few years and even making enough money to support itself?
posted by pracowity at 3:58 AM on October 22, 2010
And you could use an outsider who can give you and everyone else a relatively objective opinion. Someone who knows what they're talking about but knows none of you (preferably not even what you look like) should read closely and critique brutally. If nothing else, make the board semi-public and invite people (us?) to read and critique things.
You also ought to rethink your staffing methods. Creating something great might require kicking a few friends off the team and bring in a few unfriends. Is it a hobby? A lark? Just something to puff your CVs with? Or are you planning on this thing still being read in a few years and even making enough money to support itself?
posted by pracowity at 3:58 AM on October 22, 2010
What's wrong with the articles? Are they potentially good, interesting pieces of work, but poorly written? Or are they complete non-starters?
If it's the former, then edit the everliving shit out of them. Read it closer than you've ever read anything before. Change every single thing that you think is bad into something that you think is good, even if it looks like a different article at the end of it. Rip out paragraphs. Rewrite whole sections. Turn the conclusion into the introduction. Do whatever you need to do to make it something that you would be happy putting into your magazine. Then sit down with the writer and explain everything that you did, and why you did it – it's super important that they know what they did wrong, so they won't do it next time. "You see here, where you're describing what the guy did with the machete and the seven foot high jell-o? You're trying to make this bit engaging and exciting, but you went into the passive voice, which tends to really slow stuff down." Etc, etc.
I think you'll probably have a much better idea of what went wrong in the first place once you've fixed it. Articles that make you say "Eh, it just doesn't feel right" tend to have a large number of small problems, rather than one big thing you can rub out.
Be encouraging, and don't be rude, but don't spare the criticism. If a person can't deal with their work being torn to shreds, and isn't prepared to learn from an editor, then they will never be a good writer and they are nothing but a drain on your publication.
If a writer consistently pitches or submits articles that don't even seem like they could be good, then you're going to have to cut them. Move them to a different position – teach them InDesign, or get them chasing adverts. They're your friends, so it seems brutal, but there's already far too many bad magazines in the world.
Reading your post, I'm not sure if you're an editor, or even if there's an editorial hierarchy. Shit like this is why you need an editor. Someone needs to be the asshole.
posted by dudekiller at 4:39 AM on October 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
If it's the former, then edit the everliving shit out of them. Read it closer than you've ever read anything before. Change every single thing that you think is bad into something that you think is good, even if it looks like a different article at the end of it. Rip out paragraphs. Rewrite whole sections. Turn the conclusion into the introduction. Do whatever you need to do to make it something that you would be happy putting into your magazine. Then sit down with the writer and explain everything that you did, and why you did it – it's super important that they know what they did wrong, so they won't do it next time. "You see here, where you're describing what the guy did with the machete and the seven foot high jell-o? You're trying to make this bit engaging and exciting, but you went into the passive voice, which tends to really slow stuff down." Etc, etc.
I think you'll probably have a much better idea of what went wrong in the first place once you've fixed it. Articles that make you say "Eh, it just doesn't feel right" tend to have a large number of small problems, rather than one big thing you can rub out.
Be encouraging, and don't be rude, but don't spare the criticism. If a person can't deal with their work being torn to shreds, and isn't prepared to learn from an editor, then they will never be a good writer and they are nothing but a drain on your publication.
If a writer consistently pitches or submits articles that don't even seem like they could be good, then you're going to have to cut them. Move them to a different position – teach them InDesign, or get them chasing adverts. They're your friends, so it seems brutal, but there's already far too many bad magazines in the world.
Reading your post, I'm not sure if you're an editor, or even if there's an editorial hierarchy. Shit like this is why you need an editor. Someone needs to be the asshole.
posted by dudekiller at 4:39 AM on October 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
Not particularly related to magazines, but two points that will help you convince others to do better are to (1) offer solid, constructive criticism in a polite, non-aggersive manner and (2) work harder than everybody else. In particular, help people do the extra work you criticism creates for them.
posted by Dr Dracator at 5:15 AM on October 22, 2010
posted by Dr Dracator at 5:15 AM on October 22, 2010
I have been in your shoes. dudekiller has some great advice.
Sounds like you have higher standards than your colleagues for what articles should look like. Or at least different standards.
If you want the magazine to head in that direction, you have to articulate your vision. You have to describe your aspirations for the magazine to your co-workers, in terms they can understand and buy into.
I'll assume you're all working for free or for small money. Mainly for the experience, and the love of what you're doing. That was the situation on my college magazine.
Your most effective lobbying tool with your colleagues will probably be finished pieces. Not just the text and headline, but all the elements that gives great stories impact - photos or illustrations, cover design, maybe a multimedia package for the web site. You might have to do all the work yourself, learn new skills. It'll be worth it.
Show editorial people something pretty cool and say, "Let's be like this," and see what they do.
All writers are squeamish about being edited hard, line by line. The ones who thrive can set aside their defensiveness, admit they are fundamentally beginners, and recognize good advice that made their story better.
Then really learn from it - and go out next time aiming to pull it off themselves. Good editing can make good writers from floundering beginners. Nothing sharpened my reporting skills like getting verbally pummeled by editors whenever I could not answer a question about whatever situation I was trying to explore for our readers.
It's hard to tell friends their work should be better. But I submit that you do them no kindness by letting them off with second-rate efforts, especially if you can show them specifically what sort of potential lies in the story subject. Rewrite their leads and nut grafs, show them the holes in their reporting, and I expect most aspiring writers would thank you.
posted by Andrew Galarneau at 5:59 AM on October 22, 2010
Sounds like you have higher standards than your colleagues for what articles should look like. Or at least different standards.
If you want the magazine to head in that direction, you have to articulate your vision. You have to describe your aspirations for the magazine to your co-workers, in terms they can understand and buy into.
I'll assume you're all working for free or for small money. Mainly for the experience, and the love of what you're doing. That was the situation on my college magazine.
Your most effective lobbying tool with your colleagues will probably be finished pieces. Not just the text and headline, but all the elements that gives great stories impact - photos or illustrations, cover design, maybe a multimedia package for the web site. You might have to do all the work yourself, learn new skills. It'll be worth it.
Show editorial people something pretty cool and say, "Let's be like this," and see what they do.
All writers are squeamish about being edited hard, line by line. The ones who thrive can set aside their defensiveness, admit they are fundamentally beginners, and recognize good advice that made their story better.
Then really learn from it - and go out next time aiming to pull it off themselves. Good editing can make good writers from floundering beginners. Nothing sharpened my reporting skills like getting verbally pummeled by editors whenever I could not answer a question about whatever situation I was trying to explore for our readers.
It's hard to tell friends their work should be better. But I submit that you do them no kindness by letting them off with second-rate efforts, especially if you can show them specifically what sort of potential lies in the story subject. Rewrite their leads and nut grafs, show them the holes in their reporting, and I expect most aspiring writers would thank you.
posted by Andrew Galarneau at 5:59 AM on October 22, 2010
First decide what dictionary and style guide you want to use. If you choose Merriam-Webster, for instance, it's mostly available for free online. If you have $25, purchase a year's AP Stylebook Online subscription. That way, even if your writers don't always use those references, you have something concrete to back you up on spelling and grammar.
Someone needs to be the asshole.
Yep. Then find yourself a good freelance copy editor (you'll need a small budget for this). Ask the copy editor for heavy edits on your stuff. S/he should have no qualms about ripping into it (in a constructive way) and fixing what needs to be fixed.
Also, so you know, something I've realized after many years of copy editing is that even good writers have tics and bad habits—and even after you've edited their stuff month after month after month and pointed out what they're doing ("No, every set of quotation marks doesn't require a comma at the end!"), they still may not get it. The degree to which any given person can wrap his or her brain around new habits widely varies.
For my part, I was enthusiastic about the "teaching role" of copy editing when I started doing this, but I've started to become convinced that the real job of copy editors is to temporarily hold back the tide of bad writing. Too many people—perhaps your friends included, though I hope not—are incapable of changing (or simply unwilling to change) their writing habits.
posted by limeonaire at 6:19 AM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
Someone needs to be the asshole.
Yep. Then find yourself a good freelance copy editor (you'll need a small budget for this). Ask the copy editor for heavy edits on your stuff. S/he should have no qualms about ripping into it (in a constructive way) and fixing what needs to be fixed.
Also, so you know, something I've realized after many years of copy editing is that even good writers have tics and bad habits—and even after you've edited their stuff month after month after month and pointed out what they're doing ("No, every set of quotation marks doesn't require a comma at the end!"), they still may not get it. The degree to which any given person can wrap his or her brain around new habits widely varies.
For my part, I was enthusiastic about the "teaching role" of copy editing when I started doing this, but I've started to become convinced that the real job of copy editors is to temporarily hold back the tide of bad writing. Too many people—perhaps your friends included, though I hope not—are incapable of changing (or simply unwilling to change) their writing habits.
posted by limeonaire at 6:19 AM on October 22, 2010 [1 favorite]
I feel like when I say "I don't like it, but I don't know why, it just doesn't seem professional" I seem like kind of a jerk. I don't want to seem like this.
It's not just unprofessional. It's generally pointless. The writer doesn't know what's wrong, either, otherwise he would have fixed the problem when he was writing the article. So if you don't know and he doesn't know, what's the point of bringing it up?
I sympathize, because my job (as a theatre director) is to respond to what I see and fix problems. Often, my spider sense tells me there's a problem -- something doesn't feel quite right -- but I don't know how to fix it. My rule at those times is to say nothing. It sucks to think that a problem might remain, but I've learned that if I have nothing constructive to offer, I'll probably make things worse. The problem will still be there plus there will be a lot of needless frustration from people now keenly aware of a vague problem with no solution.
But I don't just forget about it. I make a list of all these problem areas and work on them in my own time. I pretend they are my problems and try to solve them. In your shoes, I would pretend I'd written those passages and experiment with rewriting them in various ways. That may lead to some insight about what's actually wrong with the original.
Every once in a great while -- when a problem is vague but really serious -- I DO bring it up. I start by apologizing. "Hey, I know it sucks to bring up a problem when I don't have a solution for it and I'm not even sure what the problem is, but I keep feeling there's something wrong with this bit. I just can't put my finger on it. Maybe we can look at it together." I ask the writer (or in my case actor) for help, treating him as the expert. And sometimes this works really well. Sometimes he'll say, "Hm. Let me go away and tinker with it for a while," and he surprises me by coming up with something wonderful.
Also, I know you've heard this before, but make sure you're giving positive feedback, too. I used to forget to do this. I'd say "this is a problem and that is a problem," and I'd assume that the person knew that, since I wasn't critiquing the rest, I thought it was fine. But that's not generally how people receive criticism. If you only talk about problems, your staff will feel like you think their work sucks.
And, when giving positive feedback, try to stay away from "What I like about your work is this and this ... BUT ...." That formula gets old really fast, and people start to hear the positive stuff as just polite remarks that inevitably lead to negatives. So get into the habit of praising people when you're NOT about to give negative feedback. If your general tone is praisefull and encouraging, people will be able to swallow the negatives much more easily.
Make sure that your praise is as specific as your criticism. "I really like it, but there are four mistakes on the first page" doesn't cut it. In what way do you really like it? Again, if I heard that, I'd assume you were just being polite with the "I really like it" part.
posted by grumblebee at 6:20 AM on October 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
It's not just unprofessional. It's generally pointless. The writer doesn't know what's wrong, either, otherwise he would have fixed the problem when he was writing the article. So if you don't know and he doesn't know, what's the point of bringing it up?
I sympathize, because my job (as a theatre director) is to respond to what I see and fix problems. Often, my spider sense tells me there's a problem -- something doesn't feel quite right -- but I don't know how to fix it. My rule at those times is to say nothing. It sucks to think that a problem might remain, but I've learned that if I have nothing constructive to offer, I'll probably make things worse. The problem will still be there plus there will be a lot of needless frustration from people now keenly aware of a vague problem with no solution.
But I don't just forget about it. I make a list of all these problem areas and work on them in my own time. I pretend they are my problems and try to solve them. In your shoes, I would pretend I'd written those passages and experiment with rewriting them in various ways. That may lead to some insight about what's actually wrong with the original.
Every once in a great while -- when a problem is vague but really serious -- I DO bring it up. I start by apologizing. "Hey, I know it sucks to bring up a problem when I don't have a solution for it and I'm not even sure what the problem is, but I keep feeling there's something wrong with this bit. I just can't put my finger on it. Maybe we can look at it together." I ask the writer (or in my case actor) for help, treating him as the expert. And sometimes this works really well. Sometimes he'll say, "Hm. Let me go away and tinker with it for a while," and he surprises me by coming up with something wonderful.
Also, I know you've heard this before, but make sure you're giving positive feedback, too. I used to forget to do this. I'd say "this is a problem and that is a problem," and I'd assume that the person knew that, since I wasn't critiquing the rest, I thought it was fine. But that's not generally how people receive criticism. If you only talk about problems, your staff will feel like you think their work sucks.
And, when giving positive feedback, try to stay away from "What I like about your work is this and this ... BUT ...." That formula gets old really fast, and people start to hear the positive stuff as just polite remarks that inevitably lead to negatives. So get into the habit of praising people when you're NOT about to give negative feedback. If your general tone is praisefull and encouraging, people will be able to swallow the negatives much more easily.
Make sure that your praise is as specific as your criticism. "I really like it, but there are four mistakes on the first page" doesn't cut it. In what way do you really like it? Again, if I heard that, I'd assume you were just being polite with the "I really like it" part.
posted by grumblebee at 6:20 AM on October 22, 2010 [2 favorites]
Then find yourself a good freelance copy editor (you'll need a small budget for this).
Also, if you're a student publication, you may be able to find some sucker—presumably one not quite as cynical as I am—willing to do this for free, for the teaching/volunteer value.
posted by limeonaire at 6:22 AM on October 22, 2010
Also, if you're a student publication, you may be able to find some sucker—presumably one not quite as cynical as I am—willing to do this for free, for the teaching/volunteer value.
posted by limeonaire at 6:22 AM on October 22, 2010
It sounds like you feel looped out of the editorial workflow.
Why don't you suggest a process whereby the writers' work is circulated amongst the team pre-publication, and editorial notes are offered? (Shared Google docs, where they're property of the team for a week or a day or such.)
And in that process you cannot say "something seems off," obviously. You have to get up in that piece and mark it up.
When you say "polished" and "professional" I'm wondering a bit about what you mean. That could be either slightly shakily written stuff by people without a lot of experience or it could just mean badly copyedited.
With experience, you'll be able to rapidly pinpoint what "seems off." As an editor who handles massive amounts of pre-publication copy, I now almost always know what's bugging me on the first read. I know about the ten fastest fixes to a piece that's almost great; I know my house rules inside and out that, when applied, help a piece read better to me.
And one thing that would help your project is if your co-workers understood that the process of editing is good and worthwhile! Very rarely it annoys writers, but most frequently, having a considerate and caring reader is appreciated by a writer! There are always unelaborated threads, dropped ideas, hard-to-express thoughts that an editor can bring out. Everyone wins, is the point.
At publications where editing is considered "interference" or whatever, the writing--and the reading--suffers.
(If you want to talk further about this with specifics, please contact me.)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 7:06 AM on October 22, 2010 [3 favorites]
Why don't you suggest a process whereby the writers' work is circulated amongst the team pre-publication, and editorial notes are offered? (Shared Google docs, where they're property of the team for a week or a day or such.)
And in that process you cannot say "something seems off," obviously. You have to get up in that piece and mark it up.
When you say "polished" and "professional" I'm wondering a bit about what you mean. That could be either slightly shakily written stuff by people without a lot of experience or it could just mean badly copyedited.
With experience, you'll be able to rapidly pinpoint what "seems off." As an editor who handles massive amounts of pre-publication copy, I now almost always know what's bugging me on the first read. I know about the ten fastest fixes to a piece that's almost great; I know my house rules inside and out that, when applied, help a piece read better to me.
And one thing that would help your project is if your co-workers understood that the process of editing is good and worthwhile! Very rarely it annoys writers, but most frequently, having a considerate and caring reader is appreciated by a writer! There are always unelaborated threads, dropped ideas, hard-to-express thoughts that an editor can bring out. Everyone wins, is the point.
At publications where editing is considered "interference" or whatever, the writing--and the reading--suffers.
(If you want to talk further about this with specifics, please contact me.)
posted by RJ Reynolds at 7:06 AM on October 22, 2010 [3 favorites]
Me and some friends of mine are starting a magazine
Okay, I hate to do this to you — but if not here, where? No. You don't say "me is starting a magazine," so, likewise, you don't say "me and some friends of mine are starting a magazine." If you are making mistakes like this, you are not going to be in a great position to edit the work of other writers — and every writer needs an editor, even if they don't realize it! Your group needs at least one or two editors. You need one to clean up bad spelling, grammar, syntax, and police for stylebook conformity and fact accuracy, for sure. And you ought to have one who shapes the pieces, makes things more elegant, dynamic, focused, and cohesive, someone who has the "big picture" in mind (what is the purpose, direction and tone of our publication? Does this fit? Why/why not? What elements work/don't work?) and can work with the writers on approaches and ideas, sending back for revision if necessary, and polishing the final product. This person will/may also be the one to be concerned with legality and bias issues. At any rate, someone needs to be checking for that. Even if it's solely a literary publication, you need to someone to keep an eye out for plagiarism and other possible legal complications.
I know that it's not easy to establish all these things, but this is why so few indie magazines make it. Everyone loves the idea of a magazine, and everyone loves the idea of being a writer, but this is only the tip of the journalistic iceberg; it takes strong underpinnings and strong direction and control to pull it/hold it all together and keep things on track. Ninety-nine percent perspiration, and all that. I think you probably need to find at least a couple more people who are into your project and love editing. Plus a great designer, if you don't have that covered (...and people who are in love with managing/marketing/selling, if you're lucky enough to get that far). Think of yourself as the publisher; you know what you want to do, and you know when things aren't up to par. You need to somehow find and acquire the people to fill in the blanks, I think. And then you need to spend every waking second trying to them all from killing each other. :p
posted by taz at 9:09 AM on October 22, 2010 [5 favorites]
Okay, I hate to do this to you — but if not here, where? No. You don't say "me is starting a magazine," so, likewise, you don't say "me and some friends of mine are starting a magazine." If you are making mistakes like this, you are not going to be in a great position to edit the work of other writers — and every writer needs an editor, even if they don't realize it! Your group needs at least one or two editors. You need one to clean up bad spelling, grammar, syntax, and police for stylebook conformity and fact accuracy, for sure. And you ought to have one who shapes the pieces, makes things more elegant, dynamic, focused, and cohesive, someone who has the "big picture" in mind (what is the purpose, direction and tone of our publication? Does this fit? Why/why not? What elements work/don't work?) and can work with the writers on approaches and ideas, sending back for revision if necessary, and polishing the final product. This person will/may also be the one to be concerned with legality and bias issues. At any rate, someone needs to be checking for that. Even if it's solely a literary publication, you need to someone to keep an eye out for plagiarism and other possible legal complications.
I know that it's not easy to establish all these things, but this is why so few indie magazines make it. Everyone loves the idea of a magazine, and everyone loves the idea of being a writer, but this is only the tip of the journalistic iceberg; it takes strong underpinnings and strong direction and control to pull it/hold it all together and keep things on track. Ninety-nine percent perspiration, and all that. I think you probably need to find at least a couple more people who are into your project and love editing. Plus a great designer, if you don't have that covered (...and people who are in love with managing/marketing/selling, if you're lucky enough to get that far). Think of yourself as the publisher; you know what you want to do, and you know when things aren't up to par. You need to somehow find and acquire the people to fill in the blanks, I think. And then you need to spend every waking second trying to them all from killing each other. :p
posted by taz at 9:09 AM on October 22, 2010 [5 favorites]
keep them all from killing each other. An editor would have caught that!
posted by taz at 9:16 AM on October 22, 2010
posted by taz at 9:16 AM on October 22, 2010
"There's something wrong here but I can't tell you what or how to fix it it's just a hunch utterly without the backing of any professional training or experience?" That's what you want to bring to the table? Seriously?
Your main concern shouldn't be 'how can I say this without sounding like a dick'; it should be 'why the hell do I think I'm even remotely qualified to make this judgment, especially given that I can't even express it?' Opinions are like assholes - everybody has one, but I don't want to hear yours unless there's something special about it.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:31 AM on October 23, 2010
Your main concern shouldn't be 'how can I say this without sounding like a dick'; it should be 'why the hell do I think I'm even remotely qualified to make this judgment, especially given that I can't even express it?' Opinions are like assholes - everybody has one, but I don't want to hear yours unless there's something special about it.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:31 AM on October 23, 2010
If you're organizing a magazine, doesn't that make you.... the editor? Maybe you should do some editing. If you don't have the training or experience to articulate how to make their articles better, find someone who does and make them the editor. It seems like you're worried about "sounding like a dick", which to me means you have no idea how to make improvements to anything so you can't come up with a way to communicate these issues to the people you work with that aren't "this sucks, you suck".
Basically, you are the absolute worst kind of client: you don't know what you want, but you'll know it when you see it. Don't be that guy.
I contribute to magazines, and my honest advice if you want "polished and professional" work is to pay for it. Without your contributors you have no magazine, after all.
posted by bradbane at 7:04 PM on October 24, 2010
Basically, you are the absolute worst kind of client: you don't know what you want, but you'll know it when you see it. Don't be that guy.
I contribute to magazines, and my honest advice if you want "polished and professional" work is to pay for it. Without your contributors you have no magazine, after all.
posted by bradbane at 7:04 PM on October 24, 2010
This thread is closed to new comments.
It doesn't have to be someone who's a Professional Editor and does this for a living--though it certainly could be--but bring in someone else who has some experience and ask them to critique what you're posting.
You could do this a few ways. The cheapest and maybe the easiest would be to solicit friends who were English majors, or people who are particularly well-read in whatever your magazine's about. Pull them in and either ask them to critique what you've already posted, and then use that critique to push your co-authors to greater heights.
Another option would be to go hit something like fiverr.com and browse their offerings--there are loads of people who are up for critique or editorial services, and I'm sure you could find a few to look either at individual articles or the site as a whole. It can be a bit of a crapshoot over there, as you're more likely to get a high school student as you are someone with ten years of experience as [whatever], but I know a couple of professional editors who offer services there, so it's not impossible to find someone. (If you go this route, I'd suggest hiring at least two or three people so that you have a variety of opinions, since the quality of feedback you'll get can vary wildly. Still, even with half a dozen people, you're only out $30, which is a damn fine deal, imo.)
The third--and most expensive--option would be to hire someone to act as a consultant. Look for someone who does developmental editorial services and see if they'd be willing to take on a project like this. They wouldn't have to do it indefinitely, but could just read over what's been posted and maybe a few pending articles, then offer feedback on what you've accomplished so far and where you should be looking to improve.
This sort of thing gives you an easy way to present it to your friends without stepping on any toes--you're not saying that they need to up their game, it's that editor, you know? It could also give you a chance to voice specific concerns--you could be the contact person for the editor/whatever, and you'd have the opportunity to say you'd particularly like their thoughts on Writer X's articles, or the overall quality of the articles, or if they feel that any particular author needs to be brought up to speed with the rest of the crew, or whatever. It could also serve as a reality check for you--maybe you're really judging people too harshly, or maybe you're not as in tune with the market as you think you are. Or maybe you're totally right. Either way, I think that having an uninvolved party provide feedback is the path of least resistance here.
posted by MeghanC at 1:06 AM on October 22, 2010 [5 favorites]