I can’t speak for every editor, but I can speak from my experience. And I’ll tell you what I’ve heard about the experiences of other editors who work in a different context from me.
It took me awhile to be comfortable with my new professional identity. But now I shout it from the rooftops of the world. It has become my barbaric yawp.
I AM AN EDITOR!
Here are the different stages of editing I have come to expect when working with writers , including myself. These are not necessarily chronological:
- crafting an editorial vision for a work, publication, or imprint
- making specific assignments to fulfill that vision
- reviewing a draft for structural revisions (I think of this as a coaching role)
- editing a draft for style, clarity, and pacing (I think of this as intense editing or line editing)
- editing a draft for conventional grammar and usage (I think of this as basic editing or proofing)
- editing the appearance, layout, headings of a draft
Who knows. Maybe I’ll develop each of these bullets into a post. Or an entire series.
In case you are wondering…
Unofficially, I’ve been an editor since I graduated from Texas A&M. I taught public school English for ten years, and I was never able simply to assess the students’ writing. I had to give them editorial advice about how to revise. No one ever told me not to do this. (Oh, they said don’t mark every grammar mistake, don’t proof in other words. But never don’t edit.)
If you are a teacher, don’t make that mistake. Sure, you need to edit and revise some work with your students. But if you edit everything, you are sunk. Holistic assessment is the only way to go, and even that is tough.
Officially, I am the Research and Content Editor for the H. E. Butt Foundation. This means that I have my hands in nearly everything that comes out of the communications department. From development letters to articles for our websites.
Most of the time, I develop content with writers for Laity Lodge’s TheHighCalling.org and Christianity Today’s FaithInTheWorkplace.com.
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