Howdy Jim! I just received Issue #35 of LotFP and would like to respond to this quote:
Ive had a grammar lesson sent to me before, but why doesnt anyone pick my shit apart like this and point out the icky peanuts?
(Just to preface this for all of you who dont know what I do for a living: Im a Secondary English teacher (high school, that is) who possesses a B.A. in English with a writing concentration; Im 18 credits into my Reading Specialist Masters Degree and, with any amount of luck at all, I will soon be working towards my Masters Degree in English as well. Ive acted as an editor on one book The Vinyl Chapter by Fred Perri and continue to work with him on all of his writing undertakings. At heart, Im a poet and lover of the written and spoken word. Mainly, I listen to metal with all of its various flora and fauna and, with no small effort, am trying to break into music journalism. I hope that does it! With the following response, Im attempting to be as succinct as I can while still communicating a fully thought-out rationale; this is, by no means, the be-all and end-all of my opinion, though.)
Well, I do have some answers for you, but some of them just arent pretty. Lets back up first, though, before I make my not-so-revelatory revelations. Way back when, when Id sent off that sample of my editorial skills (in request of an editors position for which Ill be requesting again by this letters end), it wasnt just your grammar I was addressing. If you remember, included with the actual sample was a brief introduction where I had specifically stated that I was only going to examine your written form, not your written content.
I will forever make a distinction between the two because the confluence of these parts form what we know as writing, but are, by themselves, quite different. Form is an authors grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc. Content is what the author, regardless of how its presented, is trying to say. Both halves need each other or else wed have either perfectly presented gobbledygook or beauty and wisdom set in a chaos of words.
Having asserted the differences in accurate, albeit simple, terms, it was relatively quick and easy for me to edit your copy, that is, your form; however, editing your content would have taken me much longer and would have been much more subjective, thus possibly antagonizing you (perhaps even more than my sample did!). I made a point of saying this in my introduction because I didnt want you to think that I didnt comprehend the necessity of critiquing and/or correcting the substance, the body of ones work. Style is very difficult for most peoplenot me, of courseto deal with because what one person finds particularly confusing, another might find just as straightforward. What one person considers distasteful or verbose, another might consider just as imaginative or direct.
Please note that I take great pride in my literary abilities and so I reserve the right to flaunt a little. These are not empty boasts, though, as youve already experienced. Anyway, onto the answers to your question of why more subscribers of LotFP dont submit more input regarding your weekly, stylized creations.
Most people, I assume, just dont have the time to invest into such an endeavor; or people dont have the know-how to correct or edit nuanced writing; or people just enjoy your weekly ranting/raving and are more than willing to overlook the flubs, grammatically speaking and content-wise. The truth of the matter is you just dont have the time to closely re-read your work, as youve previously told me, and I completely understand your situation.
In order to change things, if youre really interested, youd need to push the deadline up a week, so as to have more time to pick and choose submitted articles and columns14 days is still current, especially when you compare your publishing schedule with that of Unrestrained! and Metal Maniacs. Your publication would still be weekly, just deferred enough to ensure a quality product. If Im going to propose changes, I might as well go all the way and make good on my promise to proffer my services as editor once more, too. What the heck, right?
As Eek the Cat would so eloquently put it, It never hurts to help! But if Im just completely off base or youd like to chew me out, tell me Im ludicrous, whathaveyou, just e-mail!
Your listener of Opeth boombox mp3s,
garth
(Just to preface this for all of you who dont know what I do for a living: Im a Secondary English teacher (high school, that is) who possesses a B.A. in English with a writing concentration; Im 18 credits into my Reading Specialist Masters Degree and, with any amount of luck at all, I will soon be working towards my Masters Degree in English as well. Ive acted as an editor on one book The Vinyl Chapter by Fred Perri and continue to work with him on all of his writing undertakings. At heart, Im a poet and lover of the written and spoken word. Mainly, I listen to metal with all of its various flora and fauna and, with no small effort, am trying to break into music journalism. I hope that does it! With the following response, Im attempting to be as succinct as I can while still communicating a fully thought-out rationale; this is, by no means, the be-all and end-all of my opinion, though.)
Well, I do have some answers for you, but some of them just arent pretty. Lets back up first, though, before I make my not-so-revelatory revelations. Way back when, when Id sent off that sample of my editorial skills (in request of an editors position for which Ill be requesting again by this letters end), it wasnt just your grammar I was addressing. If you remember, included with the actual sample was a brief introduction where I had specifically stated that I was only going to examine your written form, not your written content.
I will forever make a distinction between the two because the confluence of these parts form what we know as writing, but are, by themselves, quite different. Form is an authors grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, etc. Content is what the author, regardless of how its presented, is trying to say. Both halves need each other or else wed have either perfectly presented gobbledygook or beauty and wisdom set in a chaos of words.
Having asserted the differences in accurate, albeit simple, terms, it was relatively quick and easy for me to edit your copy, that is, your form; however, editing your content would have taken me much longer and would have been much more subjective, thus possibly antagonizing you (perhaps even more than my sample did!). I made a point of saying this in my introduction because I didnt want you to think that I didnt comprehend the necessity of critiquing and/or correcting the substance, the body of ones work. Style is very difficult for most peoplenot me, of courseto deal with because what one person finds particularly confusing, another might find just as straightforward. What one person considers distasteful or verbose, another might consider just as imaginative or direct.
Please note that I take great pride in my literary abilities and so I reserve the right to flaunt a little. These are not empty boasts, though, as youve already experienced. Anyway, onto the answers to your question of why more subscribers of LotFP dont submit more input regarding your weekly, stylized creations.
Most people, I assume, just dont have the time to invest into such an endeavor; or people dont have the know-how to correct or edit nuanced writing; or people just enjoy your weekly ranting/raving and are more than willing to overlook the flubs, grammatically speaking and content-wise. The truth of the matter is you just dont have the time to closely re-read your work, as youve previously told me, and I completely understand your situation.
In order to change things, if youre really interested, youd need to push the deadline up a week, so as to have more time to pick and choose submitted articles and columns14 days is still current, especially when you compare your publishing schedule with that of Unrestrained! and Metal Maniacs. Your publication would still be weekly, just deferred enough to ensure a quality product. If Im going to propose changes, I might as well go all the way and make good on my promise to proffer my services as editor once more, too. What the heck, right?
As Eek the Cat would so eloquently put it, It never hurts to help! But if Im just completely off base or youd like to chew me out, tell me Im ludicrous, whathaveyou, just e-mail!
Your listener of Opeth boombox mp3s,
garth
