Dear Editor, Do You Have The Urge To Change Writer’s Content?

Here’s where you should draw a line.

Yesterday, I had a first time experience of this kind over Medium.

What I’ve experienced

I joined a new publication as its subjects — mindfulness, self, spirituality — resonated with me a lot. I got added as a writer, submitted my fresh draft and it also got published on the same day. The draft was my personal free-writing piece — journaling, part of my public ‘Journaling Challenge’ that I am now doing for 15 days. However, here’s what happened to my article.

My content (not the grammar nor formatting), got edited to the extent that made me feel dizzy. My phrases were changed the way they got a different meaning to what I wanted to say. My questions, emotions expressed (e.i. good edited to great), even wordings as expressions that characterize me were all affected. The parts I highlighted on purpose as they were important for me — kept in bold, italic or paraphrased were removed and kept as a simple text. On another hand, the parts I’ve not highlighted got highlighted.

I was confused — hurt, speechless and zapped.

It made me feel that my voice and expression can’t be accepted as it is. The more painful it was that it’s been a journaling piece. The one where we write as we feel without thinking. Precisely as our subconsious guides us.

I thought it’d have been better if they’d have just rejected the piece rather than changing my voice and expression into something else.

Here’s how it looked like

My initial title, subtitle: Take Manifestation to a Whole New Level, Journaling Challenge — Day 6

Edited: I Took Manifestation to a New Level, Here’s what happened on my 6-day journaling challenge

(See, it is not even 6-day journaling challenge, but the 6th day of it…)

I kept the main parts that got edited in bold so it’s easier for you to see. Everything I wrote had a purpose. Obviously, right? Down here, where I transcripted what my soul told me, it was something specific, I couldn’t comprehend why would anyone change even that?

Initial: This experience inspired me to take my creativity and power to create ‘something’ on a journey. In my innocent attempt to connect with the energy of manifestation myself and to see where it could take me, I involved my intuition. Allowing it to wander and going with the first intention it comes up with. It came surprisingly fast as it whispered — ‘’journal, Lucy’’.

Edited: It inspired me to take my creativity and power to create something on my journey. In my attempt to connect with the energy of manifestation and to see where it could take me, I allowed my intuition wander and go with the first intention it comes up with. It whispered “journaling”.

Here’s how some parts got omitted.

Initial: I engaged my mind in the process, thinking ‘What could be a better way to find out than by journaling?’ What came out of it was an idea to journal for 15 days sharp. That’s how my self-designed 15 Day Journaling Challenge was born.

Edited: What could be a better way to find out than journaling? What came out of it was an idea to journal for 15 days. That’s how my self-designed 15 Day Journaling Challenge was born.

Here’s how my expression got edited completely and got a different meaning. Plus, changed from paraphrased to plain text.

Initial: Suddenly, multiple topics that were long stored in my brain as challenges got resolved as the information fitted together and everything clicked. As if it just took some shift of energy for the click to happen.

I understood that what made this new inspiration come was a shift caused by me stepping into new energy. More specifically, it was me believing that I have the capability to attract new positive things into my life that encouraged this shift. And my excitement about it.

Edited: Suddenly, everything made sense. Something shifted. I understood that it was a shift caused by me stepping into new energy. That’s where the inspiration came from. It was me believing that I can attract positive things into my life that encouraged this shift.

And the last example just for the heck of it.

Initial: The energy is in the motion guys and we can all create magic with it. So let’s do it well — mindfully and consciously and really focus on what we want to see in our lives.

Edited: Energy is in the motion and we can all create magic with it. Live mindfully and consciously and focus on what you want to see in your life.

(I meant let’s create — manifest mindfully and consciously, so this ‘live’ mindfully didn’t make any sense to my initial statement.)

Do you get what I mean?

First of all — I couldn’t understand why would an editor do this? I mean, why would you go to the extent of interfering in the writer’s language and authentic voice this way to replace it with your own suggestions? Why?

I kept asking myself this while feeling sad and frustrated (even angry) about the whole thing. The way I never had to feel before when my articles got published, it always made me feel truly happy!

And it made me feel happy because I felt heard, accepted and respected. As I speak, for who I am and what I write. In my own way.

Here’s where it goes wrong

This whole idea of proof-reading and editing author’s work to make it flow and sound better makes total sense. Here’s what doesn’t make sense.

1. Pushing your opinions/ perceptions into somebody else’s work (and thinking that’s helping the writer)

This editor, although I know she meant well — wanted to help and thought that she’s actually helping me by addressing my message in a way she thought readers look for and would appreciate more.

She thought — based on her perception, that readers look for answers quickly and so rather than keeping them ‘waiting’ until I make my point, she provides them with it right there. Well, this was her opinion. Not what the readers think, want and look for because nobody asked them.

2. Changing, disturbing and diminishing the author’s voice

In my case, this editor didn’t realize what she was doing. I mean, she wasn’t aware that by interfering with the content of my writing to this extent, she’s actually changing the essence of the message, its authenticity and my unique way of expression. My voice. And the energy of the article that was written certain way for a reason.

Journaling is channelling of the soul.

That’s why it comes so raw.

For the reference, most editors (including the one from my story) are copywriters, content writers and proof-readers by profession. That means they get to work with clients who expect and pay them to edit their texts for the better — grammar, structure and content-wise. Expecting an error-free, correctly formatted, structurally well divided, grammar checked, clear, captivating and easy to follow content.

However, there they have an up-front consent to interfere in the writing materials provided as that’s the nature of their job!

So I can get where the professional deformation (as Recruiters would call it) comes from. However, Medium and writer’s content editing is NOT a place to use the same concept!

After my experience, I advise all editors this.

Don’t make edits into your writer’s content without their approval. You may not see why they speak the way they do and miss the essential part of their writing, their hidden messages and signs. In doing so, you may change the message into something else and sabotage the foundation of the whole article.

Believe me that there’s always a reason why writers select specific writing style, wording, expressions, even complementary images.

You may know better words and even better ways to express something but this is not your place to implement unsolicited changes as this article isn’t yours — you don’t own the rights to it.

Unless you provide valid suggestions to the author that they agree to and approve your edits up front. Also worth a thought,

What if they’d want to read the piece years from now? How will they remember it? Should they remember what they actually wrote based on how they felt or what you wrote based on how you felt about it?

3. Confusing and deflecting the reader — Need to control?

Before you get to change someone’s content, ask yourself why do you feel the urge to edit it in the first place. Does the piece feel incomplete to you? Does it truly need editing or is this a question of your preference? Do you feel a need to control something? What are you trying to control? The content or the outcome? Why?

Often, when there’s an urge to change something, there’s an urge to control. An urge to control someone’s creative work is a reflection of our own insecurities or a need to control the outcome rather than our best intention.

By changing and disturbing author’s voice, you’re subconsciously pushing your perception to the writing and a reader. Writers write in a certain way for a reason. Their way is precisely what makes them find a niche readership as readers choose them exactly for who they are as they resonate with their voice as it is.

Because of writers being themselves, their pieces appeal to a certain audience.

We shouldn't try to change someone’s voice to resemble ours but to do the opposite — embrace our differences.

You are not helping the writer by changing their identity to yours. You’d only confuse the piece and the reader. And interfere with the article’s energy. Then it’s not their work anymore, but yours.

I am a copy and a content writer too, currently writing a lot of technical stuff for two businesses. And I know what they expect from me (and pay me for) — to deliver a sharp and crisp content that supports their brand, makes it grow and triggers sales.

However, I am also an editor. (I used to be a magazine editor since high-school to university. Only that I moved from free-writing to professional writing about politics.) As an editor, my writers respect me for respecting their voices as they speak. I won’t change anything in their text without their permission.

Drawing a healthy line in content editing

There have to be healthy boundaries when it comes to the level of editorial involvement.

Here we talk about the writers as creatives on Medium and free expression. Especially in free-writing (like mine above), journaling, writing personal stories and essays.

This is a completely different space and a concept compared to professional writing such as content or copywriting. So, we shouldn’t use the same principle as we would in editing scientific, technical and other professional work.

I appreciate it might get a little confusing and easy to get drifted away — trust me. I am a Consultant and a Coach at the same time and the two can’t differ more. As a Consultant, I am expected to follow a specific process, advise and lead. As a Coach, there’s a completely different approach (much less strict, holistic, based on intuition, not rationalizing) and the last thing I should do is give advice. (If I’d push my suggestions and solutions, I’d deviate the client from the desired place of their authentic centre to my center which ain’t a space they should identify with unless they’re like me.) I may only facilitate the process for them and guide them gently to go their own direction.

See, two roles with similar goals but completely different approach and principles! The same applies to content editing.

When we’re dealing with writers who write from the depths of their soul, whether they journal, write personal stories or express their experience and perspective in a unique way. We have to respect them and their voices as they are. We need to learn to accept what’s different from us and be more tolerant and open-minded towards different viewpoints of others.

In the end, it’s all about authenticity and honesty of our voices that makes writing an art. So let’s keep the writer’s creative expression as inact as possible. Accepting each other’s work as it is — in its own form. That’s what makes us grow as creatives.

To summarize

1. If you’re changing someone’s writing, you’re changing the essence of their story. You’re changing their voice. You're changing who they are as a person who’s expressing themselves. And you should know this.

Writing is an expression of who that person is. If you change that expression, you change a part of that person.

I advise you ask yourself before editing whether it’s really necessary and helpful and what really triggers you to wanting to do so?

Be aware that if you change the content, you’ll also change the audience who the writer would naturally attract to a readership that you attracted. By that, you’ll change the energy and the course the article takes.

Be conscious and mindful about this before editing someone’s content.

2. We should accept writers, their unique voices, styles and pieces of writing as they are.

Unless you’ve got valid points that can improve the flow of the content and the story to become more clear and captivating, don’t act on someone’s behalf and don’t experiment with unsolicited edits.

If we’ve got valid suggestions, then we should suggest changes to the writer rather than make it ourselves without their consent.

What you’re risking if you surpass the writer is that you sabotage their message unknowingly because you’ve not checked with them and asked. By wanting to help you may actually cause more harm than the good.

Surpassing means that you've not accepted the writer as they speak. It also means that you’re taking that authentic experience away from the reader who’s the only person who gets to choose what they’re really looking to receive.

3. You don’t need to like all you read, but you should accept it

The issue is when we think that everything has to be our way and that everyone has to think, feel and work like us. Or that everyone has to be like us. The fact is that everyone is unique — feels, acts and thinks in their own way.

If we just look at how many different personality profiles there are, we come across 16 main categories by MBTI. Sixteen categories that further split into more specific ones with an even broader categorisation. Plus,

if we take into consideration what all shapes us — our cultures, different societal environment, nationality, political or religious views etc. we realize how many different worldviews and perspectives there are. And outlines our necessity to become tolerant and accept those of different views and opinions.

If you don’t fully resonate with the writer’s voice, that’s fine. Because you get to choose who you get to like and what’s your favourite content and author. You get to choose who you prefer. You don’t need to resonate with everything that you read and love it. But you can accept it. And shouldn’t try to change it.

And that’s the whole point. There’s often a big lesson in that what we usually have a low tolerance for. In the end, it’s about being able to appreciate our differences and learn from each other.

We still need to learn to accept each other as we are and as we speak. And allow others to speak.

Learn to appreciate the authenticity and honesty of others that speak a different language, in a different voice and tone that sounds different from ours.

This teaches us acceptance and appreciation of that which is different.

That’s a big lesson for all of us to learn. Especially when it comes to tolerance on the collective level.

We should empower each other’s freedom of speech and expression. It's our right as writers and responsibility as editors. That’s how we become better creatives — writers, better editors and better humans.

If we take a holistic approach, we can learn and grow a lot in this process.

Needless to say that we should aspire to be appreciated for who we are in our writing and outside of it, not for who others think we could or should be.

Here’s what I do when I am not contemplating writing on Medium. Feel free to connect with me for a personal conversation over here through comments or at [email protected]