…how to say it

Oh, one more (important) thing I forgot: when you tell him, offer a solution. Never just complain. Always have a suggestion of how to fix it. Otherwise you're just whining and not helping.

Hi Spike. Thanks for taking the time to respond. It’s actually the first one. I am having a real conflict over this because I do write for the web but my position current puts me in the somewhat awkward position. In this position, my only job as far as the articles are concerned (and my current client) is minimal editing. Put some subheading, correct grammatical errors and fire it with an email. But I guess at the same time I am correcting grammatical errors, I might have changed the style and in my client’s own words ‘making too many edits’. It doesn’t help the fact that the English involved is Australian while I’m schooled in the American English and clients that I’m communicating to are US sites. I don’t have anything personal about the writers. But reading their long sentences might irk the US client and probably not accept (more trouble for me to sell it to another one). I tried to tell the client to please use short sentences and even gave a link for web writing. No such luck. And don’t even mention the titles –most of the writer’s titles are hardly related to the content and yes, they are long. I don’t want to know what their credentials are. I have given numerous tips and advice but I guess my client wants a different thing. I make too many edits (in his opinion and perhaps rewriting the whole thing) I get told. I kinda understand but I don’ want to be stuck with these articles. Sometimes, I just don’t want to care. If he wants no one to accept the articles because it’s hardly quality, it’s hardly my reputation and byline on the line. Frankly, I have been honest about this. I just don’t know if he cares enough. I told him to get an independent editor if he doesn’t want me making the edits. Personally, he has crappy content, I just don’t know if he realizes it. So in a sense, it’s like a cycle that never ends.

I think you should stop trying to improve your writers. It seems like you are banging your head on a wall. So why worry if you have already raised your opinion and no one is listening? If you are not in a position to influence, it will not happen. You need to find someone who agrees with you on this and is in a position to influence.