HP Editors vs. Authors vs. Google vs. 'snips'...endless frustration!

1. 75

   DzyMsLizzyposted 7 years ago

   I have been working on edits like a mad dog the last week or two, and I am so frustrated I could spit nails!
   
   1)  No matter HOW carefully I edit for grammar, lack of typos, flow, content, references, proper use of capsules, anchor text links instead of link capsules, it seems there is always a new email indicating a 'snip' or edit of some kind!  I will get an email saying along the lines of, "your article looks great, but..."  always the but!  (Hubby has a saying, "whatever comes after 'but' is sh**.")
   
   2)  Is Google really all that picky about title case?  I thought they were more interested in content!
   
   3)  Even when using the recommended title case website, (https://capitalizemytitle.com/#) I still find edits to my titles!!!  This is frustrating in the extreme!  Please make up your minds!
   
   If someone on staff could please address this, I'd appreciate it very much.  Thank you.

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2. 96

   AliciaCposted 7 years ago

   I'm sorry that you're feeling so frustrated, MsLizzy. I have to say that I'm not very impressed with the capitalize my title site. Even when I make sure that I choose the "Title Case" and "APA" settings, it doesn't capitalize my titles correctly according to the APA style rules.

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3. 61

   paradigmsearchposted 7 years ago

   As long as what an editor does or demands is not SEO destructive, I'm generally fine with it.

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4. 87

   Robinposted 7 years ago

   I know it can be frustrating to have edits done, and I'm sorry if you are upset.  The truth is that even if authors edit their articles multiple times, there are still going to be mistakes that aren't caught.  It may help if you can think of us as your helping hand that is catching those errors rather than a stick that is criticizing you.  That is our goal—to have a great working relationship with our authors to help content do its very best and attract the most readers. Keep in mind, we have 8 new editors working for us and they are all collaborating and calibrating to make sure that we are editing similarly.  I'm sure we will make some mistakes, but we spent three weeks training to try to mitigate any big mistakes.  Please feel free to email me with specific concerns, and I can try my best to explain our reasonings or make changes on our end if needed. 
   
   As far as APA guidelines go, capitalizemytitle.com seems to work pretty well—except sometimes it doesn't capitalize four letter words.  When it makes that mistake, we fix it.  Our reasoning is to have consistency across our domains on title case; e.g., some authors don't capitalize at all and this format does not look professional.

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   1. 75

      DzyMsLizzyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you, Robin.
      
      Yes, I realize we are a 'team' between authors and editors.  It's just frustrating to have worked so hard only to find that some pesky detail or other is still not 'up to snuff.'
      
      When I was in school (I know--back in the dark ages), we were taught that words with 3-letters and fewer never got capitalized.  Period.  (Unless it was a proper name.)
      
      Teaching old dogs new tricks is not impossible, but it sure takes longer!

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      1. 87

         Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         So, are they asking you to make a change, or are they just letting you know they've made a snip?
         
         If they've done the snip, you don't have to do anything, so you can just chill.

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         1. 75

            DzyMsLizzyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            They're just letting me know, and I realize I don't need to do anything further; it's just frustrating to find these 'corrections' after I worked my tail off to get it all absolutely correct and in line with the requirements....particularly when there is inconsistency about how those requirements are applied.

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            1. 87

               Marisa Wrightposted 7 years agoin reply to this

               The editors are human.  I often get corrrections which I feel are purely a matter of opinion.   Sometimes I leave them be, sometimes I put them back the way I had them.  They never get changed back again, proving that it was indeed just the editor suggesting something they liked better.

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               1. 83

                  theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

                  Yep, I just had a title snipped. I'll leave it for a couple of days. If traffic is affected, I'll put it back the way it was.

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5. 69

   daydreamsposted 7 years ago

   The title case thing annoys me too, it is the exact opposite of what I have been taught, and what I do in my job.
   I have decided I might as well not worry about it though- I usually try and remember to do the capitals (which is hard because I do the opposite at my work), but the fact that the Hubpage editors will sometimes do this "correction" for me is helpful.
   
   Generally, I think the editing a really helpful service, and usually, the edits to my articles are improvements, and it is always harder to review your own work, so having someone else read it and notice things is valuable. I am far better at proofing other people's work than my own.

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6. 79

   Natalie Frankposted 7 years ago

   I understand how frustrated you are.  I am generally fine with things that don't change the meaning of what I am saying or make something sound different than I'd like.  I am wondering if the new editors are re-editing all the articles as suddenly I am getting notifications about edits to my articles that seem to largely involve adding oxford commas everywhere.  I was taught not to use an Oxford comma and to only use a comma before an and if what comes after the and is a complete sentence.  So it looks wrong to me but again it doesn't change meaning so whoever is doing can knock themselves out adding them if they so choose.  But other edits although minor, change something I do not want changed and it is taking time to go through the edited articles and change those things back.  But all in all I think most of the edits on my articles are necessary, address errors I missed or make the article stronger.

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7. 73

   Gregory DeVictorposted 7 years ago

   I always keep a copy of the CMS close at hand for those grammar emergencies.

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8. 77

   NessMovieReviewsposted 7 years ago

   I used to get all 'snippy' (pun intended) about it too but then I noticed, in the scheme of things, it didn't really matter.
   What I've noticed now though is that my writing has become one with the editing over time with practice and now I'm barely being edited at all.
   I think of Hubpages as my publishing boss, bosses aren't perfect and aren't always right but as long as my stuff is featured and raised to niche I'm happy.

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   1. 75

      DzyMsLizzyposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      I'm not trying to be snippy; just venting frustration, that try and try as I might, I never manage to bat 100.
      I guess this old dog takes a while to master new tricks.

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9. 83

   Kenna McHughposted 7 years ago

   I am writer and love to write. Editing is a whole different process.  As long as the editor doesn't rewrite my stuff, I am happy.  I understand the editor is there to help the article fit the publication or website. I appreciate the edits.

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10. 73

    Gregory DeVictorposted 7 years ago

    OK, they snipped the title of my latest hub and told me to use another one, which they suggested. I complied. I know that if I had refused to change the title, the hub would not have been moved to ToughNickel.

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