Published writing gets revised and edited before a general audience ever sees it. So while you might feel like you get a peek into a writer’s private journal when you read a personal essay, the truth is that some or all of it probably got rewritten by one or more editors.
If you’re writing an article about wildlife, or a textbook chapter, or reporting on a cultural phenomenon, as a writer you might really appreciate a second pair of eyes on your work, to help you make your prose stronger and clearer.
But what if you submit a personal true story, and an editor rewrites it?
You might have a few feelings about that. I certainly do.
I’m not scared of edits, in general. I’ve felt completely fine and grateful to receive extensive edits on my articles that don’t talk about me much. But pretty much every time an editor revises a personal essay of mine, I feel enraged.
But I still publish personal essays occasionally. How do I do it?
