Toward the end of the editing process for “The Lurker,” a story I wrote for The Verge in 2023, we hit a snag. The piece was about a stalker targeting Asian American professors. This had been one of those interesting story ideas that a freelancer likes to receive from an editor. That editor, Kevin Nguyen, had initially spotted a post on Twitter from a professor complaining about her harasser, and asked if I wanted to check it out.
After months of reporting and editing—involving years of documentation gathered by one of the victims, who is also a lawyer—the time had finally come to reach out to the accused stalker for comments and fact-checking. I had already signed up for DeleteMe, a company that many journalists use, which wipes your personal information (like home addresses) from databases. But I worried. I am also an Asian American professor. Would I become a target, too? Obviously, my byline was always going to be on this story. But me reaching out directly could have further incensed this individual, potentially inviting harassment.
Nguyen decided an editor should be the one to reach out. But Nguyen has an obviously Asian last name. So did the other deputy features editor involved in the story, Sarah Jeong. They, too, could have become potential targets. Nguyen found a high-level editor with an ambiguous full name, who agreed to make contact instead.
There were other bumps along the road, as with every deep-dive story involving real lives, legal dramas, and personal stakes. Nguyen carefully maneuvered along with me through the twists and turns of the story. This is the kind of complicated work that goes on behind the scenes of a longform piece. Readers don’t see it, but it is a carefulness and thoughtfulness that makes narrative features rich, compelling, and fool-proof, and it involves trust and respect between an editor and writer.
Before the wildfires hit the LA area, I caught up with Nguyen. We talked about the life of an editor, and the ideal working relationship with a writer. We also geeked out a bit on stories, and he talked about writing his first novel, as well as his second work of fiction, which is coming out in April (he is also reporting a third book, which is non-fiction). And yes, he’s still taking pitches through it all. He also broke down what he looks for in a feature pitch.
I know some of you want to learn more about longform editing specifically, so in the spirit of sharing, I am linking to Nguyen’s top notes for me on the first draft of “The Lurker,” a piece that ended up being 7,751 words.
