Wednesday, September 16, 2009
In Need of an Editor
I've been told more than once that I need an editor. The first time was by a literary agent who read a draft of my first book. She also was quick to say that there were passages that made her laugh out loud, and that she almost never laughed out loud. She paid me this compliment just before telling me she would not represent me.
The most recent bearer of this information happens to be my wife. She should know. She has a degree in journalism from N.Y.U.
And so, I must admit- there will be those who read my humble column, sometimes written in a big hurry to make a self-imposed deadline, that will find typos and grammatical flubs. I did not do well in English class. I was always bored. I cannot diagram a sentence to save my life. I can't remember what a dangling participle is, probably because my English teachers were speaking in knockout drops, slipping me verbal mickeys, sending me to dreamland.
This was most recently brought to my attention by Jayne when she read several pieces that I had written and hit the 'publish post' button before she had a chance to make some blue pencil corrections. I received a finger wagging tonight about being in such a hurry, which initially irritated me. She laughed at my anger, which was primarily focused on myself, due to my lack of paying attention in English class and its toll on my writing.
"This is our 'scrunchy episode'!" I exclaimed, uttering a "Sex and the City" reference. Our relationship and conversations are filled with pop culture references from television not found on the Disney channel, film, and Rock & Roll.
And now if readers take a second look, they may notice some changes. There will be a few more changes still.
I don't need to run an ad for an editor. I'm already married to one. I just have to hold back before hitting the 'publish post' button and let her have a look first.
The most recent bearer of this information happens to be my wife. She should know. She has a degree in journalism from N.Y.U.
And so, I must admit- there will be those who read my humble column, sometimes written in a big hurry to make a self-imposed deadline, that will find typos and grammatical flubs. I did not do well in English class. I was always bored. I cannot diagram a sentence to save my life. I can't remember what a dangling participle is, probably because my English teachers were speaking in knockout drops, slipping me verbal mickeys, sending me to dreamland.
This was most recently brought to my attention by Jayne when she read several pieces that I had written and hit the 'publish post' button before she had a chance to make some blue pencil corrections. I received a finger wagging tonight about being in such a hurry, which initially irritated me. She laughed at my anger, which was primarily focused on myself, due to my lack of paying attention in English class and its toll on my writing.
"This is our 'scrunchy episode'!" I exclaimed, uttering a "Sex and the City" reference. Our relationship and conversations are filled with pop culture references from television not found on the Disney channel, film, and Rock & Roll.
And now if readers take a second look, they may notice some changes. There will be a few more changes still.
I don't need to run an ad for an editor. I'm already married to one. I just have to hold back before hitting the 'publish post' button and let her have a look first.
