Writing is re-writing. If you’re a writer and you haven’t heard that before, let it sink in. If you have heard it before, good, we’re on the same page.
No one sits down at their computer (or picks up their pen) and bangs out an error-free, perfectly flowing, no-changes-necessary final text. Hence the word “draft.” (I got curious and looked up the word’s actual meaning: “a preliminary sketch, outline, or version,” according to Merriam-Webster.)
So, how do we get from the rough draft to a polished final version? Editing, of course. Often many, many rounds of editing. Every writer edits their own work—that’s pretty much a given. Whether working on an op-ed or a novel, some writers prefer to edit as they go while others get the whole thing down and then go back through. Most do some combination of both. So what’s the point of a professional editor then?
A professional editor has 1) experience and 2) distance from your project.
Writing friends make excellent beta readers, but the quality of feedback they provide can vary wildly. With a professional editor, you know you’ll get advice you can actually use from someone who knows their way around grammar, style, structure, etc. Aside from having a practiced eye for spotting missing periods and dangling modifiers, editors know what makes writing sing. A writing friend may tell you your wording is awkward, but an editor will identify why and offer solutions for solving the problem.
As for distance, you’ve read your text approximately 846 times, and now when you’re “editing” you’re actually just reciting the words from memory as opposed to reading the text on the page (that’s a good time for the old change the font trick, btw). But an editor is not only a pair of fresh eyes for catching that double period on page three. An editor also has the emotional distance to tell you that your main character’s emotional arc falls flat or that the description of the city in chapter four that you slaved over is a snoozefest. (Ouch, that hurts, I know. Blog post on accepting feedback in the works.) Despite the pain, those changes will ultimately make your writing stronger.
For a new writer, an editor can act as a guiding hand. For an experienced writer, an editor is often a peer who speaks your language and will geek out over a particularly excellent sentence with you. Working with experienced writers is a more collaborative effort, where author and editor put their heads together to take an already great text to a new level. After all, two heads are better than one.
What are your biggest editing challenges? Comment below!
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