What To Do When Your Writers Turn In Bad Posts

What To Do When Your Writers Turn In Bad Posts A few years ago, I had a side job moonlighting as an editor for a fairly successful app review and Apple rumors website. I was one of several editors, and I had about 10 freelance authors assigned to me. The skill levels of the various writers ranged widely, but one particular author stood out. Well call him Mike. The good thing I can say about Mike is that he was consistent. Unfortunately, the thing he was most consistent at was being a terrible writer. As if that wasnt enough, he was a prolific writer. Sometimes, Id step away from the computer to return an hour later to 3 or 4 more terrible posts marked as ready for review. The best way I can describe Mikes writing is with a word picture. Imagine the awful, awkward wailing sound that would assault your earholes if you were to steamroll a pile of bagpipes. It was like that, but for the eyes. Rules of basic grammar, spelling, logic, punctuation, and even common sense were all left bleeding on the floor with mortal wounds with every post he turned in. I probably would have felt sorry for Mike if I hadnt felt like he was torturing me. How to Handle the Mikes On your team, you may have your own Mike, but if the truth be told, sometimes we all have our Mike moments. If youre an editor, you are already well aware of this. So what should you do when someone on your team submits a real stinker? Here are a few tips. Be Gracious Some authors take their work more seriously than others and may require different handling, but you should always strive to be a gracious editor, slow to dole out a harsh word and quick to patience. If the post is terrible, it is important to ask yourself if this is a pattern with this author. If the answer is no, dont worry about it too much and just follow the advice below. But if it is a pattern, it may be time to reassess the value that author brings to your team. Is he creating more work for your editors? At one point, 85% of my time each night was spent on Mike. A bad author is like a plane flying with the landing gear down. Its just extra drag. Look for Silver Linings Believe me. I know that when a post is bad, its hard to focus on much else. But youre well-served to try to note the things the author did well before you launch into the negative. Note that this is not the same as patronizing or being insincere. In fact, if you genuinely cant find anything positive about the bad post, its better to move on than to make something up. What did the author do well? Was it an interesting idea that was just poorly put together? Was the intro or ending good, but just weak in the middle? Try to find the silver linings and you may be surprised to find how much more receptive the author is to hear your feedback. Be Honest I once heard an analogy about giving criticism. Its like throwing a brick because criticism is kind of heavy and no one really likes receiving it. Some people go out of their way to throw bricks because they just like to smash peoples feelings. On the other hand, some people hate giving criticism and their critique is just too mushy to be useful, which is more like throwing velvet. The happy medium is to throw the velvet brick. You want the criticism to be truthful, but easier to receive. So just as you should look for the silver linings (the velvet), you must also be honest. After all, as the editor, you are ultimately responsible for the content on your site. If something isnt working, and especially if it is part of a pattern, you owe it to your readers and even your brand to level with your author to let them know. You want your editorial criticism to be truthful, but easy to receive.Educate I have friends who constantly misuse then and than. For example, Red is better then green. Youve probably also noticed abuse of the word your and youre, as in Your going to regret that. The internet is full of these grammar abuses, and there is no shortage of grammar police who feel like these abusers evidently enjoy the word-equivalent of nails on a chalkboard. But most of the time, these are just honest mistakes. People forget grammar rules they learned in the 5th grade and just need a refresher. Be willing to carefully and constructively educate your authors who make these mistakes, especially the common ones. If they are good team members, they will want to help make your job easier. Educate them to self-edit, and they will do just that. Reevaluate Your Team Even though my mom didnt like when B.A. Baracus used the word fool, I used to love watching the 80s TV show, The A-Team when I was a kid. I liked the theme music, but I also kind of liked the idea that everyone on the team was a specialist at something. Hannibal was the brains and leader, Face was good with disguise, Murdock, though loopy, was a great pilot, and B.A. was the brute force because sometimes things just needed to be smashed. I attended a conference a couple of years ago where Dave Ramsey spoke on the importance of hiring a good team. He emphasized the importance of evaluating people thoroughly, even for the seemingly unimportant roles. His point was that everyone has a job to do, and you want to make sure you have the people on your team who have the skills to help get you there and not be a drag. We kept Mike for far too long. He wrote awful posts, and he came with a lot of drama that sucked down a lot of our time. It wasnt my call then, but we should have just let him go at the first signs of his resistance to be taught and improve himself. If you have an author that has a pattern of less-than-excellence, and honest criticism and education have not helped, its time to reevaluate. You probably have a C-member on your A-Team.