Technical Editor Interview Question:

Explain me do you compliment your writers when editing? Or do you comment only on what needs to be improved?

Submitted by: Muhammad

_____Yes, I always compliment authors.
_____Yes, I usually compliment authors, but not always.
_____Sometimes I compliment authors and sometimes I comment only on what needs to be improved (50/50).
_____Yes, I occasionally compliment authors, but more often I only comment on what needs to be improved.
___X__No, I never compliment authors; I only comment on what needs to be improved.

As noted above, I rarely compliment authors. However, I will often insert suggestions on points of interest that I feel would be worthy of additional exploration, whether in the present manuscript or a future one. It's always a pleasure to see that future manuscript written, though it's not always because of my advice. As an author myself, I appreciate kind words from an editor (Avon Murphy is a master of the art), but given how heavily I edit, I find it hard to write an overt compliment that would not seem deceptive or pro forma. The risk of jeopardizing my relationship with an author by being seen as untrustworthy is too high for me to scatter random compliments just to ease the sting of being edited.
Submitted by: Muhammad