Monday, 11th May 2020
I haven’t had chance to read it yet but a fifty-page document to make your message clearer seems a little oxymoronic to me.
If your message is so complicated that it cannot be told succinctly and in brief and easy to understand messages, I fear that your message needs a rethink.
In editing, if the key message is not made clear, I would make suggestions to the author that their manuscript needs looking at. Perhaps their structure is not helping or there are too many plot points. Maybe there is unnecessary information, too much detail in inappropriate places or there is missing information that is causing confusion.
What we need right now, as we face the possibility of release from lockdown, is clarity. We need a consistent message to be delivered in a way that is easy to understand. If, when I give advice and guidance to authors, it reaches fifty pages, I’d feel concerned that my own message was confused.
Am I allowed to meet someone? If so, where, when, for how long and at what distance?
Can the bookshop open if it follows distancing protocols? Why are only certain year groups allowed back to school and why, speaking as a former teacher, Year 1?
It looks like I’m going to have a lot of bedtime reading tonight!
