Editors

There are some good editors on here, based on some of the posts.
I would like to read your suggestions on ways to come up with story ideas.
Thanks.

 

If you have a beat, talk to secretaries, trainers, bench players. They usually know the good stuff and it comes bubbling out of them.

Sometimes you have to be perceptive, though. They may not say, Johhny Stud was suspended for hitting coach. They may point out that Johnny Stud isn't around and nod at the coach's black eye and you take it from there.

Look for national trends and see how it may relate to your high school/college.

Look for kids/coaches with unusual backgrounds.

Think to yourself that if you write one more gamer or advance you're going to explode and find something new out of desperation.

 

damn, i'm totally opposite. on this beat, i always feel like there are too many great stories and too little time.

hell with thinking there's nothing to keep you motivated with ideas. sit and watch a game for 40 minutes and you get all kinds of ideas.

 

if you're waiting for an editor to make you a better writer you could be in for a long wait. why do you think editors are editors? hint: it's not because they were good writers. and that's not a knock on editors - they do other things that have to be done.

study good writers and push yourself on reporting and writing - try new approaches - tackle more difficult stories.

 

buck,

shouldn't you be busy doing the other things that need to be done? emptying trash cans and such, perhaps?

 

You know, for maybe a reason or no reason, I have to mention this...

My SE, a longtime vet who swings quite a large bat and has won many battles, can every now and then be seen emptying trash cans or fixing faulty chairs in our department.

Which I happen to think is as first class as it gets.

 

Why do you think I fax my resume daily?

 

OK, I've been sitting back observing but have a few thoughts.

I'm in a lucky spot now, with all veteran writers who actually like editing and feedback, and whenever we have a conversation these days, it's between people who have done it on both sides, and I don't think I've had a cross word with somebody over editing in ages. That's a VERY unusual situation, obviously.

But I've been where MindlessBayless is, and I've been where spnited is, and while I don't know the size of his department, here's the thing:

Many sports editors who are any good would love to be golden-hearted mentors who could spend idyllic hours talking with writers about the "craft" and turning them all into Tom Wolfe or whoever.

But let's say you've got a sports editor at a fairly big metro. And he's got a writing staff of 20, and a fairly good-sized desk, and two assistant sports editors.

Here's what that person's in charge of: Budgets, including merit raises, story budgets, hiriing, space allocation and fitting all this shit into the paper, managing up, meetings, figuring out how this damn internet thing fits in all of this, interacting with other departments, getting his or assistants to do all the other things he or she doesn't have the time to do.

Yeah, that person's going to have time to help each and every one of those 20 writers grow as a writer.

You get down to the assistants, but if one manages the writers, he's got 20 of them, and that includes story planning and maybe front-line editing of everything that goes into the paper. The other one is the Sunday editor, plus does special sections, plus manages the desk.

If all of this sounds like making excuses, I understand. But even in a relatively calm situation, I still don't have as much time to work with the young editors here as I'd like. Part of that is because they're damn busy from the time they sit down. Nobody has time for a seminar.

I wish this were not the case. Nothing has frustrated me more than not being able to work with less experienced people and impart some of what I was taught coming up.

But a lot of that was learned, on the fly, by yelling editors who simply told me how it should be done, and once I did it wrong a few times, I got the hang of it. Or I got a loud critique of what I screwed up the next day. It's a process. And the better and more driven the writer, the more they're going to take it upon themselves to learn on their own.

I'm sorry, I'm as Pollyanna as they come when it comes to working with writers. But the idea that a department head or top editor "isn't doing his or her job" if they're not helping them "grow" on a daily basis simply doesn't take take into account the practical aspects of pulling off the daily miracle on a regular basis.

Finally, spnited might have taken the "in your face" a little too literally. If you really want some feedback, ask somebody. If the department head has time, fine. An assistant, fine. Another writer, fine. If you never ask, I guarantee you the editors in charge are not, in the midst of their busy days, regularly going to say, "Geez, I haven't given Bayless any feedback lately."

 

Good points, but are we really talking about fairly big metros? Who here started at fairly big metros? Not me.

By the time I got to a fairly big metro, it was easy for me to figure out which editors wanted great stuff as much as I did, and which ones were there for the pay check.

I'm at a fairly big metro now and the editing and attitude is wonderful. I'd take a bullet for my editors because they want quality as much as I do. I've been talking about the small papers all along.

 

Editors at smaller papers arguably have even more to do on a daily basis than an editor at a bigger paper. Even less time left for "coaching".

My advice on the topic: Learn how to learn. You really can't rely on other people to give you feedback and/or make you better.

 

SF -- Understood. I completely respect the job my editor has to do on a daily basis. Just struggling to find my way at this juncture and perhaps not moving as fast as I'd hoped. I'll get there in time, but thought I could raise some of these thoughts on this board to gain some insight. Thanks for your post.

 

Yeah, that's how I learned. But nowadays, and in certain work environments, the yelling thing is frowned upon. Too bad in a way. There was an SE on a mid-major who hounded the hell out of me when I was in my early 20s -- he often slotted stories -- and I hated him, but now we are e-mail pals because I appreciate all he taught me and I know it makes him feel good to hear it.

I don't think this is possible in an online environment like SF's because I'd guess your people are always on deadline, but on any decent-size newspaper the rim is going to have some downtime either early or midshift. Don't scoff. You might think you're the next Gary Smith, but learning the basics really well will never hurt you -- and besides, if it appears you give a shit about turning in clean copy, the desk is more likely to cut you some slack when you try to take a chance. Also, there are lots of very talented people rimming. Some of them were excellent writers and decided to go into editing. I worked with one guy who won an APSE for columns and became a rim guy six months later. I gave up an MLB beat to work the desk because I liked it more.

The desk guys will appreciate being approached if you do it when they aren't busy. I think the most flattering thing that happened to me in this business was years ago when the best young writer on that paper called me at home and said, "I know you're on vacation, but I really want you to look at this story." Of course I did.