No sane person can argue with those facts. However, call it bad luck, the luck of the draw, whatever. But I've had more than my share of volunteer editors that didn't know what they were doing.
A few examples of some of the volunteer editors I've tried working with.
One wanted me to change the name of the female in my story because it was the same as his ex-wife. Another took all the periods out, said they broke up the flow, and changed them to commas (and God as my witness, I'm not making any of these up) Then there was the guy who wanted each and every paragraph modified to suit his needs and or wants. It soon became apparent he was writing his own story by proxy.
I've kept a list of usernames that I've contacted in the past. I have about seventy or so. I'd say, as most of you already know, the biggest problem is non-response. I can't count the times I've contacted a volunteer editor and heard nothing, or sent the file and waited and heard nothing. Again, I fully understand the concept of volunteer, but sometimes I wonder.
Should LIT have some sort of "Angie's list" for volunteer editors?
