by Jennifer Brister

Created on: September 04, 2008   Last Updated: February 20, 2009

Those of us who write web content have, at one time or another, come into contact with one or more not so competent editors. Others are just plain rude or eager to find a mistake. While dealing with them can sometimes be a chore, remember that you want to treat the situation delicately, so as not to anger anyone in charge and risk losing your writing gig. Don't say anything so someone through email that you would not say to their face and try to keep your cool, no matter what.

If you find yourself consistently harassed or harangued by editors, you might want to review your writing style. We all have room for improvement and if you are constantly getting negative feedback from peers or editors, you might want to try a few of these fixes:

1. Avoid general adjectives such as fun, easy, really, and very. Remember, the thesaurus is your best friend. Keep one open in your browser at all times and use it liberally! Constantly using general adjectives will make you look like a beginner and/or a really exuberant teenager.

2. Avoid repetition. You might not view your article as repetitive, but using the same sentence structure over and over again is just as bad as using the same words over and over again, excluding, of course, my excessive use of the word over' in this sentence. Reading your article aloud will give you a much better idea of it's flow and will help you to notice when it's becoming repetitive.

3. Comply with the style guide given to the writers. Each site you write for may have a different style guide, which can be confusing. Review them every now and then to keep in mind what the editors are looking for.

4. Don't state the obvious. While editors might be seeking longer articles, stating what everyone already knows is overkill. A good test of this would be reading your article aloud to a teenager. If you get a lot of eye rolls or hear the statement, "well, duh" more than once, you are stating the obvious and should take another approach.

5. Be concise. Web readers apparently have a bizarre widespread case of ADD. Paragraphs should be short and articles should be divided into sections. Lists and charts are even better.

If your editor is being just plain belligerent, take the article and publish it elsewhere. Sites such as Associated Content and Helium would be glad to publish an article that you might just have thrown in the trash bin out of frustration.

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