Hmmm, so if I pulled a few papers together over time, they may or may not be taken well is the sense I'm gathering here.
It's frustrating because, yes, a lot of the time the issues are as simple as the ones you outline above. Or the stompy boots of the exposition fairy, or the neck-cracking reversals of the Character Inconsistency Fairy (erm, I could explain, but it's easier to take it as read that I've gone a bit mad through years of sleep deprivation and time-zone changes). All these things are issues that people can be trained out of.
Bad characterisation is a lot harder, though. I agree with you that it's probably the first thing to break trust between a writer and a reader.
And yes, editing is my lot in life, or at least has been on and off, and solidly for the last 10 years or so. From homewares mags to news rooms, fantasy novels to gardening journals ... and people wonder why I simultaneously am the Goddess of Trivial Pursuit and have no idea where I left my other shoe. Brain full. Keep up the greelancing, it's a great source of leads for other jobs when you need a change, and a bit of money never hurts. And some of my best friends are sports journos!
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It's frustrating because, yes, a lot of the time the issues are as simple as the ones you outline above. Or the stompy boots of the exposition fairy, or the neck-cracking reversals of the Character Inconsistency Fairy (erm, I could explain, but it's easier to take it as read that I've gone a bit mad through years of sleep deprivation and time-zone changes). All these things are issues that people can be trained out of.
Bad characterisation is a lot harder, though. I agree with you that it's probably the first thing to break trust between a writer and a reader.
And yes, editing is my lot in life, or at least has been on and off, and solidly for the last 10 years or so. From homewares mags to news rooms, fantasy novels to gardening journals ... and people wonder why I simultaneously am the Goddess of Trivial Pursuit and have no idea where I left my other shoe. Brain full. Keep up the greelancing, it's a great source of leads for other jobs when you need a change, and a bit of money never hurts. And some of my best friends are sports journos!