10 January 2008

Extreme Editing

So this guy's stories were heavily edited to the point that his widow wants them republished, uncut. I haven't read either version, but this story makes me think of all the times I wanted to cut, cut, cut something I'm reading until it's good. If the guy didn't like how his stories were edited, wouldn't he have said something while he was still alive? I remember talking about the different kinds of authors in my editing class--there's the kind who doesn't care what the heck you do to their writing as long as you do it, the kind who gulps up all your suggestions and makes the changes, the kind who takes some suggestions and leaves others, the kind who doesn't like to hear their work criticized, and the kind who don't want anyone to even look at their text. Personally, I'm the kind of editor who likes the first kind best.

1 comment:

  1. I've read lots of Raymond Carver and really liked his writing, so I'd be curious to read the uncut versions. Still, he probably signed off on the edits in the first place, so I'd bet he likes the edited versions better.

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