Dear Geist,
A good mag (that pays writers!) is interested in my interview with Rob, a teenager who has patented three new miniature rose varieties. I’ve already edited the transcript but the mag editor wants me to cut out a third of the text by “streamlining” Rob’s words. Is that ethical?

Dear Wondering,
Yes, and it is expected. Unless Rob is a great orator, he doesn’t want his spoken words to be written down verbatim. Word for word, on paper, even our intelligent talk looks illiterate and is hard to read. Your objective is to represent Rob and his story accurately. So trim excess verbiage (“um,” “you know,” “sort of,” “like”) and stitch things together clearly and logically, in words and phrases that he would use, presenting a written version of the interview that is as clear, concise and fair as possible.