The author-editor relationship is inherently filled with tension. You are, after all, telling them they're not perfect. By thinking about how you phrase your queries and how you approach the edit, you can show the author that you're making their hard work better, not destroying it.
Sue Burzynski Bullard teaches editing, reporting, ethics and multimedia classes at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. In 2014, the Society of Professional Journalists named her its Distinguished Educator of the Year. Before she moved to the...
In her 40-plus years as an editor (for The New York Times, Amazon Kindle Singles, countless students and many others), Merrill Perlman has been sworn at by Pulitzer Prize winners, screamed at by Erica Jong and called many varieties of names...