Rules of Grammar Are Made to Be Broken--Sometimes

This post is inspired by a post by Jessica Faust on her BookEnds LLC blog. I remember laughing at the audacity of this English teacher questioning Jessica on how in the world she could have become a book editor if she had not done so well in her grammar class. I loved Jessica's response, because there is so much more than grammar to consider when editing a love story or a self-help book that has to continue to engage readers. Editing is not as simple as enforcing the rules of grammar you learned in high school or your college freshmen comp class. They do provide a foundation, yes, but rules are not meant to box you in.

I am grateful to have been copyeditor and now a developmental editor. It gives me an eye and argument for both sides of the literary aisle--grammar rules vs. flow, creativity, and voice. I wanted to repost my answer here to help reiterate or "revoice" the importance of a team effort in book editorial and the ever-so-delicate balance between technical merit and readability and impact. I remember being so fired up by the end of Jessica's blog, that I just wrote and wrote in her comments section. The whole time I was writing my response, I felt bad because my answer was long enough to be it's own blog post. So check it out.

I've found that even in copyediting one must be flexible with grammar and style based on the genre and audience. If you can't edit within that context, don't do it. Grammar is suppose to encourage and protect readability and relatability, not sterilize it and make it sound too different than the way the intended audience communicates. 

Grammar rules provide boundaries; yet, they are not concrete. An editor can ruin a beautiful narrative or dialogue trying to stick strictly to grammar rules.

I often leave notes in the manuscript for the copy editors to let them know when something should be left as is for effect, tone, or voice of the author. I don't want to make a manuscript suite my personal tastes and preferences. I want to make it standout as coming from this particular author.

And then, even the most stringent copy editor makes mistakes or misses something. So a little fluidity when applying and promoting grammar rules can enhance teamwork and reduce irritation (and judgmentalism) between editor and writer.

I always like to create a team environment around the projects I edit: writer, editor, copy editor, and even production. We can go so much further with respecting each one's position and expertise. Even more, the editor is there to serve the writer and propel his/her message to the widest audience and in the way the best represents the author. Grammar is only one element in all this.

Now tell me, what have you experienced in writing or even editing that contradicts what you learned in your high school grammar or college composition class?