Editor Interviews
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Read all the editors' answers to Duotrope's interview question: How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication? Learn more.
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Here is a small sampling from our recent Editor Interviews. We have interviewed over 2,225 editors.
Q: How much do you edit an accepted piece prior to publication?
A: For the most part, we provide line editing and copy editing to ensure the accepted stories and essays are free of any glaring mistakes and reads smoothly. On occasion, we do provide substantive editing through structural edits where we believe the piece could work harder at addressing its theme or thesis, but these edits are done in collaboration with the author. Final edits are approved by the editor-in-chief.
A: If a piece that is being eyed for publication requires a very small number of mechanical or structural edits, the author will be made aware of the suggested edits and given the opportunity to either accept or contest them. If any of the edits are contested, we’ll work with the author to find a solution that preserves their style and voice. Suggested edits may be presented in the body of an email or in 7th-Circle Pyrite’s pre-publication edit form depending on the edits’ complexity. If more substantive editing is needed, the author may receive a declination email that contains an invitation to revise/rewrite and resubmit the same piece.
A: We provide line and copy editing, with occasional substantive edits (for example, deleting off a few extra paragraphs from the ending of the work). The author must approve edits, and for line or substantive edits, we take the author's rejections without argument. We may force a copy edit through, but for the definitively artistic decisions we defer to the author.
A: I copy edit each piece and then proofread again before publication. I find substantive editing with creative writers to not always be that successful, so if a piece needs a lot of work and looks like an early draft to me, I will decline it rather than embark on editing.
A: I edit around a third of the work we publish. I collaborate with writers and leave final approval to them.
A: It depends on the piece. We will reach out to the author and work closely to arrive at a version that works for us and them.
A: Minimally, generally, unless I have a big vision for how to drastically improve it. I've yet to have one of those suggestions rejected by an author.
A: We don't do a ton of editing. We prefer to stick to a basic copy edit and proofreading. We reserve the right to make these non-substantial edits without author approval. No one should fault us for adding in a missed comma.
A: For the most part, we don't like to change the writer's text, but if it's clearly a typo, we'll probably fix it.
A: Sometimes we provide intense editing sometimes no editing at all, maybe just proofreading. Always, always an author is given final approval of edits.
A: Not much
A: We may edit typos or make small corrections related to commas, spelling, and grammar. However, with poems, we typically assume that each choice was made intentionally so we are much less likely to assume a piece needs a correction unless the writer confirms that.