There are no good writers, only good editors
By: Mukti Masih
Tags: Writing Advice, Writing Life, Content Writing, Writing Tips, Editing Tips

Did that hurt? A story of a bitter pill and a lot of rejections.

I was 26 years old navigating my way into the world of freelance writing. My previous jobs included a two-year stint with The Times of India with five successful editorial projects and an independent translation contract with a leading Children’s Bible Translation Society.

So yeah, my writer’s ego took a massive shock that day. The editor was Anita Joseph who was heading the team of Family Ethos — a magazine in Bangalore. This must have been my second article that was returned to me in a word document with numerous red marks. Anita’s process was simple. She would first do her own set of edits in your article, then return the ‘markup copy’ and a list of suggestions at the bottom of the document. You had to read and understand, notice the corrections, make yours if needed, and then mentally prepare yourself for her final comments over a phone call.

But boy those phone calls — they used to be eye-opening. It was one such phone call when this bitter truth was revealed to me like the matter of the fact — straight and simple.

There are no good writers at all in this world, only good editors.

Like someone just dropped a bomb on me.

What about Ruskin Bond then?

Or J K Rowling?

Or Agatha Christie or…..

Did their genius amount to nothing?

They were successful only because of their editors?

Before I could ask any of these questions, Anita said in her usual calmer-than-Dal-lake voice -

The best writers in the world knew how to edit their pieces. They knew what to take out, how much to say, what’s not needed. They were great editors, hence great writers.

Phew! If her previous statement was a bomb, this was a missile. Okay, which one is heavier? Umm, that’s not the point, you got the drift right?

This principle was the reason I took a huge risk in my life. I knew I was a lousy editor, hence a lousy writer.

The only way to learn swimming was to jump.

Shortly after, I left my town and freelancing career and joined a full-time job as a Chief Sub Editor in an English daily in Pune.

A year later when I returned, I knew.

I knew the transformation my writing had undergone in just a span of 11 months.

Did you hear some footnotes in Anita’s advice?

You should be the biggest critic of your writing.

When practiced well, editing becomes part of your writing.

Good editing also prepares you for rejections.

Editing skills keep you grounded.

And so I wrote happily ever after.

I wish that were true.

Human skill is the product of practice. You lose the practice, you lose the skill.

More than 10 years since that amazing writing advice (yes, it’s still a piece of writing advice), I have gone on and off. Recently, I had a brush with some reality about my own writing when I forgot this advice.

I had been trying to get published in the amazing Thought Catalog magazine for two years. In the middle of 2019, I finally had the nerve of asking a contributing writer to guide me through the process of publication. She aptly did. Apparently the whole world was trying to get published there. Then in January 2020, someone told me to remind the editors via a private Facebook group. I did and got approved within 10 days of reminding. Yay!

The real test of course in Thought Catalog is whether your piece would suit their timing and style at all. I submitted my first piece — 22 Matter-of-facts for singles on Valentine’s Day — on the night of 13th February 2020. Bravo! I was so confident that my piece was a genius that I didn’t think ahead, wrote the piece in a jiffy, and hit ‘Submit’.

On the morning of February 14th, I knew I was late.

The reply from the editors came 10 days later-

Sorry, your piece was one of the many we received on Valentine’s Day. We didn’t have space for it. Try again later.

I was ecstatic. They didn’t reject me based on writing, they rejected me based on timing. That’s when a writer’s conceit began to cloud my judgment, slowly yet surely.

I have to admit, when I submitted my second piece, I was full of ego. I had shown that piece to a friend and she had readily given me a ‘heads up’. Besides, I had sat on that piece for weeks before finally sending it for publication. So my thoughts were -

now that’s enough procrastination, let’s just hit ‘Submit.

After 20 days of waiting, the reply finally came. And ouch-

That was what Thought Catalog sent me

This isn’t a final draft? A few little errors?

It was like dear old Anita Joseph was alive in my mind again. It hit me hard. How could I forget? How could I forget to edit? My heart raced and my mind was just so angry at my pride.

I then went on to editing my piece again. This time, I edited not only the errors but also unnecessary lines of thoughts — thoughts that didn’t add to the overall story. I worked seriously on the analogies. For the first time since I wrote it, I saw that piece like a reader.

Checking it thrice for any more errors, I re-submitted my piece.

A week later, I got this -

Yay!

Yay! I shouted out to the whole world. A piece based on my personal experience and was rejected once made it out to the universe for all to read.

But let me remind you, before that win, my dashboard looked like this -

Not a great portfolio, isn’t it?

Two rejections, one acceptance.

Rejections are good

When I revisited the golden rule of writing, I found success again. Also, the rejections are good. They are good for your professional attitude but most of all for your soul.

My dear fellow writer, don’t shy away from editing and rejections.

If editing helps you improve your craft, rejections make you aware.

If editing polishes your writing, rejections polish your attitude.

Nothing will further your skill more than these two.

Happy Writing!!!!

PS: This was the article that went live -

Since I cannot see you now.

And this is how my writer’s profile looks like -

Ooh!

Originally published on Linked-In.

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Also, check out other inspirational pieces I have written earlier here-