Friday, November 04, 2011

Censorship Stings

Something happened to me to day that's never happened before. The publisher for the paper that I've written for since 2006 (I think) rejected one of my columns. He said it was too racy for the newspaper reading public.
It was one of the funniest pieces I've ever written and it's about typos and how embarrassing they can be.
I saw a post on Facebook by a woman who'd recently gotten a really big promotion. She is a neat lady who happens to be a Christian. When one of her friends congratulated her on the promotion, she responded as she often does -- All things are possible through Christ....or at least that's what she intended to write. What she actually typed was all thongs are possible through Christ. 
Call it the devil in me, but that struck me funny and I laughed so hard I snorted coffee up my nose. There was another funny incident involving a typo that happened years ago and these two stories were the heart of my column. They were written in good taste and the point was how embarrassing typos can be.
The rejection bothered me more than it should have but rather than complain, I knocked out another column that wasn't nearly as good. 
Here's the deal -- I've built up a following in the place where I live. I feel I have a responsibility to the people who read my column. I would never intentionally write something that would jeopardize the equity I've earned with my readers. 
There are several other papers that I write for, and I have a feeling that one of them would love to run this column. I've decided to put it in my next book that will come out late this year or early next year.
Y'all have a great weekend.

17 comments:

  1. I think the thong typo is hilarious. My kids and I laugh at Autocorrects too. Some are pretty racy and hilarious.

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  2. OH POO...I would have loved to have read that one...sad day when a sense of humor is lost...

    Good Luck with your home team tomorrow...or not, lol!

    Hugs~

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  3. I am sure it was very disappointing to be censored...and a shame...but you handled it with grace. Post it here! :)

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  4. Well Bummer!
    I bet people would have enjoyed the article. Who doesn't like to laugh??!!
    Hey, check out this blog post I wrote - talk about embarassing typo/autocorrection!!

    http://lagirlsweetea.blogspot.com/2011/04/my-bad.html

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  5. Anonymous11:07 PM

    It seems childish to me that soemone rejects column because of that.Well never too old to learn.You would think if you write for them so long people at the newspapers would know by now what kind of person you are.
    Who cares lifes go on.For a writer to have to loose the freedom to write and sometimes muse over things in life is the worst thing so I would say :Don't give in.

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  6. Anonymous11:09 PM

    Almost forgot very important:Our school still leading !!!!Yupiiiii

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  7. I'm very curious about what you had to say that was silenced. :)

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  8. Don't take it personally. The editor is probably just overly cautious and possibly a little on the prudish side. We would all love to read your article!

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  9. Anonymous5:43 AM

    I think you handled it very well. It is their paper and their choice what they print. A good article can never go amiss and you will be able to use it elsewhere as you say. Now you know how far you can go with them so it is a valuable lesson learned.

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  10. Meh, that sucks. At least you have a chance to place it somewhere else.

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  11. The thong typo sounds quite funny to me too - I must be racier than I'd realised!

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  12. well, you know we all have to be so politically correct these days. Heaven forbid you offend anyone's delicate sensibilities.

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  13. I'd like to think that Christ would have laughed out loud too.

    Take care
    x

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  14. some dayz if ti weren't for typos I'd never get anithing written. I like your response to the situation...thanks for sharing.

    I'll root for Alabama today since I have no ties to LSU.

    Have a good day, Terry the Scribe

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  15. I think it's very funny and not racy in the least. How ridiculous to be rejected for something so innocuous.

    Love,
    Lola

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  16. Thanks for your support. I've decided to post the column Saturday night.
    @Seriously the autocorrects can be really funny.
    @Sush I've got my game face on tonight. I hope both teams make it through without injuries, that's really the main thing and may the best team win.
    Again, thanks y'all.

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