When enough is enough.

As a writer, you have standards. Standards that relate to your rates, your personal contract on revisions, cut-off dates, publishing times, and standards regarding your work. But what is realistic?

Here's a big problem in today's industry: there is no degree relating to editing.

There are degrees for all styles of writing. One can earn a journalism degree, a creative writing degree, a screen-play writing degree, and so on and so forth. But there is no actual degree related to editing. So how do editors get their jobs? How do you earn experience as an editor?

Anyone with sufficient knowledge of the English language can qualify to be an editor. And therein lies the danger. There are far too many editors out there who have no business being in the position they are in, because they just don't "get" things.

One of my favorites was about 6 months ago when I had an editor tell me, in regards to one of my stories, "we cannot publish it because it hasn't figured out whether or not it's a comedy, a satire, or an action story. You need to pick one and stick with it."

My first response was to chuckle. Seriously. Ever heard of dramatic comedy? Action comedy? Comedic horror? These are all dual-purpose terms used to describe movies, television shows, scripts, and books, world-wide. And yes, there are those stories which strictly fit into one category or another. Movies like I am Sam, which is a 100% drama. Or movies like, say, 300, which are purely action-driven. Books like The Bourne series, which are specifically action/adventure books, or anything by H. P. Lovecraft, which is specifically horror.

You've all come across it. Movies or books that make you laugh, cry, and tense up at all the right spots. A good story will encompass the entire range of emotions that a human being is capable of, not just "pick one and stick with it".

There are some editors out there who do not deserve the title they have. Sure, they may have a grasp of how the language works, but do they "get" the target audience for their particular genre? Some of them do...they are the ones behind the best selling magazines. But others, in the lower-paying sector...well, it almost seems to me that they are power-tripping, using the position as a way to feel good about themselves while not actually having a clue about what they are doing. The results can be seen in the pathetic sales of their publications.

A story does not have to pick an emotion and stick to it. It can encompass as many emotions as the writer wants it to convey. And as a writer you sometimes have to learn which editors you can trust, and which ones you can tell to shove it. There is such a thing as enough is enough, and there's nothing wrong with walking away if a particular editor doesn't "get" your story. There are hundreds of thousands of successful authors out there who do it on a daily basis. We all do it in some way, shape, or form, in professional work and in our personal lives. Don't like the smell or look of a particular supermarket? You go to the one across the street, instead. Don't like the pair of shoes sold at this particular shoe store? Go to the mall across town and find another who sells the shoe you are looking for.

Life is about choices. You are not relegated to suffering under pretentious individuals. I feel sorry for a lot of writers out there who feel that they should be forced into re-writing a story 4 or 5 or 6 different times just so they can earn a publishing credit. If the editor likes your story enough to ask you for a revision in the first place, sure, ok, go for it. Discuss the "why" of it. If you feel that the editor in question is giving you advice that you feel comfortable following, then feel free to follow it. But if the editor is asking you to rip the soul out of your story and crush it underneath your heel just to mold it into the shape that he or she wants out of it, then walk away. There is no point in sullying your artistic work just to get a published story underneath your belt. Remember, there are thousands of e-zines and magazines around the entire world who are willing to publish your story, just as it is now. And there are thousands of other editors out there who will understand your story.

Sometimes enough is enough. Don't be afraid to walk away and find someone more suited to your personal needs as an author. After all, what's the point of writing if you can't feel proud about the stories you've written?