Dear Editor: My Writers Are Idiots
by Joe Wallace
Dear Editor: My writers constantly turn in material that’s off the mark either with rampant errors or directions not followed. I’m starting to think I hired a staff full of idiots. Help!
There are many reasons why writers get it wrong when on assignment. Some of can be laziness, some of it is circumstantial, but the problem I want to concentrate on for this post is the one that originates with YOU, the editor.
Writers often fail because editors don’t give them complete instructions. Don’t assume a writer automatically knows what to do, especially if you’re assigning a project they might not have done before. One great example–I once assigned a writer to cover a news story about military airplane mechanics. My writer had never covered that type of story before, and I had.
She came back with an excellent piece because I explained to her what she could expect when she got down to the repair bay. I told her who would be best to speak to, the most knowledgeable person on the floor based on positional authority and etc. I also warned her about a couple of pitfalls that could interfere with covering the story.
Most reporters won’t know (the first time) that when recording an interview in a military aircraft repair area, you’re often dealing with a lot of aircraft traffic and you should grab your interview when it’s quiet (usually when you first show up for some reason) as it might be a long wait once the planes start moving out to the runway. Armed with that seemingly insignificant information, the entire story gets done in a much shorter amount of time.
But editors, if you don’t give your writers complete information–as complete as you know at the time–it’s tough for the writers to figure out what’s on your mind. In this particular case, I told my writer that I wanted a story about where the repair crews felt they fit into the overall mission–and how specifically they operate in that capacity. (Without the repair crews, there basically is no mission–once the plane breaks, the repair guys are more important than the pilots.)
Now think about that one for a second. If I had just told the writer to go down and “Get me a story about airplane mechanics,” while chomping my cigar, I’d never get what I’m after. New editors, sometimes detailed instructions are best.
I’ve been blessed with some excellent editors and some not-so-excellent editors and you’ve hit one of the big differences right square on the head. Thanks!
I’ve been on both sides of the desk, and while I agree that it’s hard to “hit the mark” without good directions, that doesn’t account for the rampant errors. As an editor, I’ve seen a tendency in younger writers to not check facts, expecting the editor to do that, or to plagiarize. Often, having grown up cutting and pasting for school reports, they don’t realize that doesn’t cut it in the “real world.” Also, they often write what sounds correct, but without checking it — as in the story I received once that had Mikhail Baryshnikov as the president of Russia. Sounded good to the writer.
So yes, tell editors to give good directions, but also warn writers — check all your facts (and most of your words), and cut and paste are not writing.