I’ve often read with interest how writers deal with their work being censored by editors. I’m talking about the small scale stuff here, where the editor doesn’t like the language used, or feels the story has too much inference to delinquent behaviour, drink and drugs and the like.

And, of course, I’m talking about stories and books written for kids.

From what I’ve read, writers have different reactions and approaches to censorship. Some fight to retain every word, preferring to withdraw their work than change it. Others acquiesce, not wanting to ruin any future relationships with that publisher or editor. I suppose it comes down to a few things, like whether or not you’re already published and can pick and choose, how strongly you feel about changing your story, and how desperate you are to get your name in print.

I think I fall into the desperate category!

I just heard from an editor in the education market who had accepted one of my short stories a few months ago. It has now been re-read by a committee of millions, by the sound of it, and they have some concerns. Could I either address these, or would I like them to do it?

I shouldn’t have been shocked by the elements that gave rise to concern, as I’ve heard other writers mention similar things that have raised eyebrows in the education market. But still, it did amaze me.

Firstly, they were worried about the “violence” between my brother and sister character and how disingenuous the brother is towards his little sister. My characters have a bit of a rough and tumble, instigated by the sister, and the brother insinuates that he’d rather not have a sister. Now that’s pretty normal stuff, I’d reckon. Siblings fight, right? Kids wouldn’t be shocked by that, would they? How many siblings get on really well when they’re young?

My story is a humourous one, where this brother is so naive that he helps a burglar nick stuff from the family home. Now that’s a big concern for the publisher. It’s not right that the burglar wins. So I have to rewrite the ending so that the family don’t lose out.

Maybe I’m naive. After all, look at the Brady Bunch. Weren’t they all lovey-dovey? Nothing bad happened to them, did it?

So what am I doing? Well, the rewrites, of course. After all, they’ve paid me, and I don’t want to give the money back. And I want the work to be my own, not a composite of their words and mine.

When I’m a well-published writer, I’ll fight for my characters and my ideas. But right now, I just want to get my foot in the door and keep it there.

Back to the keyboard. My burglar is about to come to a sticky end. Ooops, that would be violent, wouldn’t it?

As a writer for children, I’m always listening to what kids say, absorbing everything about them, their mannerisms, personalities, peculiar quirks.

And as a speaker, I love addressing school groups, especially primary school kids, because they give so much and can produce pearls of wisdom.

One of my friends in my writing network sent an email that touched my heart. She had collected a list of quotes from four to eight year olds about the meaning of love. This is what Billy, a four year old, said about love:

‘When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.’

An editor won’t even get past page one of your manuscript if there’s no gripping hook, the writing is dull and peppered with adverbs and adjectives, and if the main character’s personality doesn’t instantly leap off the page.

Despite what I wrote in my recent post Catching The Editor’s Eye where I broke some rules and yet got a promise of being published, I still stuck solidly to what really matters when writing a story: having a main character who the reader can relate to; and using hooks, snappy language and dialogue and action to move the story along, ie the show don’t tell rule.

But sometimes - or is it often - sloppy writing gets published and sells millions of books. The question is why?

I belong to a network of authors - most of whom write for kids - and we regularly exchange thoughts and advice via email. One of the group commented on ‘The Shadow Thief’, written by 14-year-old Alexandra Adornetto.

Apparently, ‘The Shadow Thief’ is an exciting tale, but has three glaring writer no no’s that would have an editor chucking it into the reject pile very quickly. They are:

• an omniscient author who talks to the reader inbetween scenes;
• heaps of adverbs, especially the ones ending in ‘ly that if the rest of us mere authors dare to pen would result in an electric shock; and
• plenty of tell, not show.

The belief of this group member is that Alexandra got published because of her age. Being only 14 years old is a fantastic selling point. We all know that one of the considerations publishers take into account when assessing manuscripts is the saleability of a book.

It is depressing that this can happen, and we’re fully aware that it does. As my colleague said, if ‘The Shadow Thief’ was written by a 40-year-old housewife, would it have been published?

But I’ll stick to the rules I follow, because I know how turned off I get when I read badly written novels. I’d rather attract discerning readers than sell millions.