Is it Good to Complain When there's Really Nothing that can be Done?

[Fireball]

I'm confused. You wrote something and don't like the editing. Why did you hire them? Not trying be mean, I just don't understand that. I wouldn't allow anyone to edit any paper I wrote. Of course, few people are that interested in the topic of electromagnetic propagation and scattering. MSWORD grammar was the first thing I turned off when I got a new work computer. Their subject-verb agreement software is essentially backwards. Spelling was second to be emasculated. I absolutely detest "auto correct". I also had to add lots of words to the dictionary with every new computer.

When it is a large amount of writing you don't want to be the only editor. You could read over the same thing three times knowing what you wanted to say and not realizing that you didn't say it like that. We like to call it a fresh pair of eyes. I have a tendency to leave my work alone for months then go back and reread it as if I have never read it before just to find mistakes. The mind will read what it knows it should be reading not what it is reading.

Thanks, everyone. So I sent them an email that, as you suggested, was concise and polite, delineated what I found objectionable and included a precise call to action (refund or reassignment to a more knowledgeable editor).

Now we shall see what we shall see.

I think it is a great idea to ask for another editor. That way they have an option to still help you without losing you as a customer.

I also try to leave something I wrote alone so that I can forget some details. Then when I get back at it, some stuff is just nonsense, and I fix it. If I'm on a deadline, I'll bash it out fast and then get some knowledgeable people together and review it, making any corrections as needed. Sometimes I pretend someone I don't like wrote it and look to find anything to make them look bad.  One part of my old job was to write instructions to either build something I designed and/or to test it after it was built. We were allowed 1.5 errors in every 100 instruction steps. That error could be as simple as a typo. But when you're building or testing something that can cost millions, and you could break it with a mistake, the instructions had better be right. Even then, I've damaged some pretty spendy items. But I made the company even more money by far than what I damaged.

[CapnAwesome]

I'm pretty sure that most authors work with their editors. So no need to freak out, just change what you don't like of the editing job back and leave what you do like. I'm sure it won't be perfect, no matter who does it.

[vorlon13]

without complaining, regardless if it garners a refund or not, how's the editor to know he needs to find a new line of work ??

[Rhondazvous]

What I paid for was proofreading, which I think is more precise than general editing. But anyway, after a lot of ass covering, the contact person finally agreed to find another proofreader and give me a partial refund.

Dante was wrong. The hottest places in hell are reserved for proofreaders who spell ellipsis with an e instead of an i.

At this point, I usually try to see what lesson I can learn from a situation. But I can't think of one. I didn't find these people on Google. They were specifically endorsed in a book about marketing books. So I can't tell myself to be more careful. What happened was the person who would regularly do the proofreading had a family emergency, and I suspect that her office outsourced the job.

[Seraphina]

Good for you

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

-Teresa

[Rhondazvous]

Forget it. The proofreader sent me a personal note that told me what this is really all about:

I feel you need a warning for readers regarding the multiple instances of rape, other violence, religious prejudice, racial prejudice, and especially for the murder of the child near the end. While the rapes and violence may not be considered a trigger to you, it certainly triggered nightmares for me.

She then went on to suggest that I turn the novel over to her for editing to improve the quality. This, of course, would mean that I pay an additional fee. Anybody else smell a rat here? Unless you guys think it would be a really bad idea, I will respond with the following:

Whether proofreader of editor, this must be someone that I trust. I have very little confidence in a proofreader who spells ellipsis with an e instead of an i, and then claims to have years of experience. Neither would I put my work in the hands of an editor who sees racial prejudice when I describe the experiences of a women who was stolen from her African village, sold into slavery, and raped, brutalized and humiliated.  My descriptions of rape were not even graphic, but I left a lot up to the imagination. The fact that I still managed to give you nightmares, only shoes that I did my job as a writer.

If my novel is not politically correct enough for you, then you need to write your own.

The novel isn’t primarily about slavery. It’s about two women who struggle to fulfill their dreams despite society’s low expectations of them as women and as African Americans. One woman had great hopes for her life until she was kidnapped from her African village and sold into slavery. I admit she doesn't respond to her captors with what could be called an open mind and even refers to them as beasts.

I guess I should write my refund off as tuition. Something tells me they were planning to convince me r
to pay for more service all along.

[vorlon13]

you never know, maybe the editor has some Hawthorne Effect magic to wield, and complaining might at least feel unfutile

[Rhondazvous]

you never know, maybe the editor has some Hawthorne Effect magic to wield, and complaining might at least feel unfutile

Yes, she's done that already. I might not have anything to gain by responding to her. I certainly don't expect her to admit to anything. I guess I just want to say one thing and be done with her. Just like I do with Drippy and company.