The Editors’ Lot

For those of you who think that the job of the editorial team is merely correcting spelling and grammatical mistakes, besides looking after punctuations, let us narrate an anecdote. A writer sent in an article with a note: “Please insert the punctuation marks yourself.” He got a terse reply from the publisher, “Next time, please send only the punctuation marks. We’ll insert the words ourselves.” Yet another writer dispatched a poem titled ‘Why do I live?’ He received a polite reply from the editor: “You live, my dear Sir, because you sent the poem by post and did not bring it personally!”

Jokes apart, the task of the editorial team is much more than what is generally perceived. Besides struggling to meet deadlines (more so, when writers decide to send in ‘half-baked’ pieces at the last moment), the team has to reckon with issues like ‘word count’, ‘page count’ and ‘readability’. On several occasions, only the writer knows what he means.

If it were only innocuous spelling errors or typos, it would be okay. Of greater concern is the incorrect usage of terms and careless checking (or non-checking) of the final product before it is dispatched. Sample some of the bloomers which we have come across recently:

The Minister declared that he was committed to elevation of poverty.

(It may really be true! Ha…ha. But should this be conveyed so openly?)

Few students paid attention to the professor’s lecture

(This would suggest that no one was listening while the real intent of the writer was to say that ‘only some were paying attention’).

I have little regard for you

(This would suggest ‘I care two hoots for you!’ whereas the writer meant that he has ‘some regard for you’). Mr. _________ enlightening/lightening the lamp (caption of a picture at an inaugural function)

(As if, either education was being imparted to the lamp or a load was being lifted off the lamp)

Care should be taken to strengthen the bondage between the faculty members and the students

(Hinting that the system of slavery is still prevalent. ‘Bond’ and ‘Bondage’ mean very different things.)

Business Intelligence (BI) is going to be the bacon for companies.

(As if BI is something to be eaten. But this can be pardoned if it was just a typo for ‘beacon’).

Let us end by requesting the contributing writers to check the text more than once, for errors, before sending out their communication to INCAS Network for publishing. In the process, they can save a lot of our time and a lot of possible embarrassment for themselves and will ensure conveying what they actually mean.

                                                                                - JAR Moorty, Editorial Group