Professional, friendly and witty are words I use to describe Lori. I met her at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference last year through a mutual friend. Lori was part of the staff at BRMCWC and needed volunteers to do a mock Toastmasters meeting. Toastmasters is an international speaking organization. As a Toastmaster member, I volunteered. We became fast friends over e-mails and working together at the conference. I consider it an honor to have her as a guest on Write With You. I know we all will glean from her vast knowledge as a magazine editor.
How to Drive an Editor Crazy, Part 1
By Lori Hatcher
As the editor of a print magazine, I receive submissions from writers in every stage of their writing journey. Some have impressive portfolios, and others are just beginning. Wherever you are on the spectrum, the tips I’ll share in this two-part series will help you submit polished, professional work so you WON’T drive your editor crazy.
How to Drive an Editor Crazy
- Paraphrase Bible verses.
This is true confession time, friends. A book editor once threatened me with death and dismemberment when she double-checked the Scripture references in one of my devotional books and discovered I’d used the LHV (Lori Hatcher Version) of the Bible. Because I’d depended on my memory, which was a mishmash of the King James, New International, and Holman Christian Study versions, there was no way she could check my Scripture references for accuracy in punctuation and quotation. My carelessness and laziness caused her hours of extra work and slowed down the editing process considerably.
After a humiliating time of confession, repentance, and restitution (I sent her Trader Joe’s Chocolate Covered Almonds with Sea Salt and Caramel Cashew cookies by overnight mail), I had learned a valuable lesson. When quoting Scripture, choose a translation, then copy and paste EVERY Bible verse, with its appropriate reference, from your Bible software into your article. Even if it’s John 3:16, don’t rely on your memory.
- Lowercase the word Bible.
I’m always a tiny bit shocked when a writer fails to capitalize the B in Bible. Whether you revere or believe in the Bible is not the issue that determines this rule. All style manuals require a writer to capitalize any holy book, whether you’re citing the Qur’an, the Talmud, or the Bible. You should also capitalize common epithets for the Bible such as the Word and Scripture, but not adjectives indicating the Bible, like biblical or scriptural.
There are many rules governing the correct way to quote Scripture, capitalize books and parts of the Bible, and handle religious terminology. The Christian Writer’s Manual of Style is my go-to resource to keep it straight. It’s helpful, user-friendly, and relatively inexpensive. Whatever resource you choose, remember—NEVER quote a Bible verse from memory or fail to capitalize the Bible. If you do, you’ll drive your editor crazy.
Lori Hatcher is the editor of Reach Out, Columbia magazine and the author of the devotional book Hungry for God…Starving for Time, 5-Minute Devotions for Busy Women. A blogger, writing instructor, and women’s ministry speaker, her goal is to help women connect with God in the craziness of life. You’ll find her pondering the marvelous and the mundane on her blog, Hungry for God…Starving for Time. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter (@LoriHatcher2), or Pinterest (Hungry for God).
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4 Comments
Lori, Thank you for guest posting. I learned a lot from this post and I am looking forward to your next post.
Oh my. I’d never dream of paraphrasing Scripture (I KNOW my memory is so shaky due to my mixed use of the HCSB and the ESV), but I’ve always been a little confused about whether or not to capitalize “biblical.” I’ve thought about maybe trying to write a devotional of sorts, so this was very helpful. Thank you for sharing!
Ashley, Lori has great advice. So glad you stopped by. I am looking forward to Part 2 in January. Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I’m so glad you found something in my post helpful. Devotionals are a wonderful way to share spiritual stories that challenge and inspire. May God richly bless your writing!