“We pluck the lemons; you get the plums.” — Volkswagen, “Lemon”
I’ve always loved the early Volkswagen ads. Their simplicity and wry sense of humor captivate. I understand in a few lines that Volkswagen cares about quality and doesn’t mind fighting the “bigger guys.” (Literally. Cars tended to be more like boats in the 1950s and 1960s.)
The “Lemon” ad, though, causes me to think of another creative endeavor: writing and editing. As an editor, I “pluck the lemons” from people’s work and my own so that readers “get the plums.” I help authors see problems within the work, which can be as simple as filler words like “really” or “just” or as complex as leaps in logic or chronology.
My job, perhaps my duty, is to keep those lemons out of the books and off the shelves. I notice the blemished chrome strip on the glove compartment and call for a halt. “Work is needed here,” I say, “if you want to put this book out in public.”
I don’t say the words to be cruel or to turn the writer away from their talent. Rather, I say them because I know what the work could be and who the writer could become if a bit more time and effort were put in. The writer will grow. The work will expand and become more beautiful and sweet.
It will become a plum. The lemons disappear, and all that remains are the words—words that delight and speak to the reader’s heart and mind. That is my responsibility as an editor. I pluck the lemons; the reader gets the plums.
Image: Ksayer1 (Creative Commons)