“That’s lower case ‘m’, lower case ‘o’, lower case ‘e’, period.”

The other day, one of my Facebook friends and former editors of the music magazine Goldmine, Wayne Youngblood, went on a screed about the use of two spaces after a period.  He was editing his latest magazine, a stamp collecting guide called Topical Time, and posted this:

Time to vent: Typographically speaking, two spaces before the start of a new sentence is absolutely, unequivocally wrong. EVERY single modern typographer and every major style book agrees. Double-space? Just stop it! I get tired of taking them out.

Oh, geez,   Not this again.

Later on, he made another comment, which sort of qualified as a “writers need good editors” post.

A byline doesn’t justify creating a cacophany of styles and inconsistencies.Very few writers know to be consistent within their own pieces, much less that of a publication.Truly good writers understand that writing is not an unchangeable art. Writing is a craft that is sharpened and shaped, with a good editor helping a writer communicate more clearly, while maintaining his or her “voice.” That’s what I do. That’s what I expect to be done with my writing (although it’s not always done).

Before I continue this article, let me say this.  I enjoyed working with Wayne Youngblood during my tenure with Goldmine; heck, some of my favorite cover pieces (interviewing James Brown, interviewing Alan Parsons, etc.) were during his time as editor of the publication.

Well, that brings me back to a time when a different editor completely missed the ball.

Let me explain.

Years ago, I wrote a Goldmine article about a man who resurrected the technology for recording on 19th-century wax cylinders.  He actually rebuilt and recreated the formula for stearine cylinders, and as a “proof of concept,” he recorded voice and music upon them, which could be played back at decent analogue fidelity on old Edison Blue Amberol cylinder machines.  This is impressive, and for a tech-head like me, it’s also kinda fascinating.

One of the people working with him on the project was a member of the jam band moe., who even transferred one of their songs to a cylinder recording –

You saw what I did there, didn’t you?

Yep.  I referenced the band moe. in the article.

When the article was published in Goldmine, there were no issues in referencing the band moe.’s name.  Probably because the music magazine understood that the band’s name was moe. and the band name’s typography was part of the group’s identity.

Hey, look, be thankful I didn’t write an article about or discuss the collective works of , okay?

The article turned out well.

One year later, I was repurposing antique and collectibles articles for the Brimfield Antiques Guide, a small newsletter that gets distributed throughout the three weeks of the legendary Brimfield antiques show in Massachusetts.  I thought that the publication might find the idea of resurrecting and reusing old technology in new concepts fascinating, so I rewrote and updated the piece for the antiques guide.

Then I realized.  If this thing gets published, the editor – who might not know of the band moe. – might think that my article was full of typographical errors.  “What a Philistine,” the editor might have thought.  “Doesn’t this clown know that you don’t start a sentence with a lower case word?  And what’s this with the periods in the middle of the sentence, he’s not referencing a doctor or the like… I’ll fix this, don’t you worry.”

Yeah.  Didn’t want that.

So when I submitted the article to the Brimfield Antiques Guide, I added an “Editor’s Note” at the beginning of the piece.

To The Editor: Please note that in the submitted article, there are references to the music group moe., who spell their name as a lower case m, lower case o, lower case e, period throughout.  I know this may cause some issues with formatting, but this is the band’s trademarked name and spelling and they prefer seeing it this way.  I hope you understand.  Thank you.  Chuck Miller.

And sure enough, on the day I went to Brimfield and picked up my free copy of the Brimfield Antiques Guide, there was the article about the cylinder recordings and technology of same.

And sure enough, all the references to moe. in the piece were properly spelled and formatted, just as the band would want.

And sure enough, the editor made sure to print the “TO THE EDITOR” notice at the top of the article, as if it was part of the article itself.  Clear as day.

Face, meet palm.

Wow.  I don’t know if the editor simply pasted my full article into the publication without even looking, or if someone at the copy desk thought that my preface was part of the text.

Didn’t matter.  That was the last time I sent any of my writings to that publication.  Heck, what would have happened had I slipped in a few bars of “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” in the next piece and they got published?

So as much as my old Goldmine editor wants to gnash teeth and wring fists about two-space periods and Oxford commas (yeah, he’s not a big fan of those), and adding that good writers need better editors…

Verily I say unto thee, that it is more important that good editors not nitpick the writers, lest they miss something that truly demands their attention.