Jamison 1 Chelsea Jamison Elang 350 Professor Kellems 3 December 2014 The Perspective of a Writer Refines the Editor I never planned to be an editor, but I have dreamed of being a writer my entire life. At the age of eight, I asked my father how to do dialogue for a story that was floating around in my head. From that point on I knew that grammar and punctuation breathed life into writing. Becoming an editor has helped me become a better writer. However, my desire to be an author grants me a unique edge as a future editor. Because I have been a writer who has worked with an editor, I understand how to work with writers and bring out the best in them and their stories. Last winter semester, I participated in a class that combined writers, editors, illustrators, and graphic designers to create children’s books. I wrote three children’s books and worked with two different editors. These different editors taught me what a good editor should do to help writers perform at their very best. One editor, who I worked with the most, helped me feel like we were a team. It was my material, but she was committed to making the story the very best it could be. When she went through the text, she left queries that said, “Let’s consider this…” or “we might want to try this...” Her suggestions always allowed me to make the last call, but she would explain the reasons behind why she thought something should change. This helped me not only see from the reader’s perspective, but also see how I could communicate more clearly. My editor made Amy Einsohn’s focus for editors her top priority. Einsohn says, “A copyeditor’s
Jamison 2 chief concern as compromising the ‘4Cs’—clarity, coherency, consistency, and correctness—in service of the ‘Cardinal C’: communication” (Einsohn 3). Another principle that I really appreciated from my first editor was her ability to maintain my style of writing. Oscar Wilde said, “In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing” (Williams 2). Style or voice is the writer’s stamp, and when an editor imposes on that voice, writers feel threatened and cannot produce their best work or even their own work if the editor is going to influence it too much. Therefore, to be an excellent editor, I need to maintain the writer’s voice and also establish an environment where the writer feels comfortable creating that voice. The experience with my second editor was very different, and it helped me appreciate the qualities of a good editor. My second editor went through my text and changed things without leaving them as suggestions, neither did she bother explaining why she felt like things needed to be changed. By her editing my paper this way, I did not feel like we were a team and therefore, I was more sensitive to critique and closed about her thoughts because I didn’t feel like she cared about me or my work. We did not communicate, which negatively affected our ability to work together and produce the best work possible. In contrast to this example, Gerald Gross explains the ideal relationship between a writer and an editor. He says, “the two parties should work together collegially, not adversely—symbolically, not parasitically. Put even more simply: each needs the other; each has much to offer the other….Writers must realize that editors are really necessary to inspire them, spur them, sometimes push to write at the top of their form” (Gross xvii). I feel that when the writer and the editor understand that they need
Jamison 3  each other, they can work as a team to build each other up and compromise in order to produce an amazing manuscript. Thanks to the experiences with these two editors, I now know what qualities I want in an editor for my writing, which gives me the opportunity to become that kind of an editor. However, there are several qualities that I have that will help me be an excellent editor that are based on skills or passions that I have developed throughout my life. The most important quality I have that will help me work effectively with writers is my love for people. I love to work with people and help them have confidence in themselves and their abilities. I think that working with writers will be an amazing experience because I will be able to be part of a team to refine and perfect a manuscript so that it achieves its full potential. I also love to communicate, and from experiences I’ve had with editors, I know that communication and trust define a successful or an unsuccessful relationship and project. I also have a strong moral foundation that I hope to share through the manuscripts I choose to work with. I love wholesome literature and hope to edit children’s books or books that will help lift and inspire readers. There is a lot of media that distorts the worth of people and changes their values. I want to help maintain an uplifting line of literature, which will allow me to build a name and reputation for myself among other editors, writers, and readers. My final quality that I believe will help me be successful as an editor is my desire for perfection in details. I want every piece of work that I do to be as perfect as I can possibly manage to make it. I know that there will be a lot of stresses on my time, but I
Jamison 4 believe it is so crucial to give 100% into everything I commit to. James O’Shea Wade, in an article he wrote about the ethical and moral dimensions of editing, states, “If you believe that the book represents the best that the author, with whatever help you have given, can achieve, then you have done your job” (Gross 75). I know that I have a lot to learn as an editor, but I do know that I will become more experienced with all the different demands of an editor. There are many important qualities for an editor to have in order to work well with writers and produce the best manuscripts possible. From the experiences I have had, a good editor is someone who becomes a team player and coach for the writer. An editor needs to be someone who the writer can trust to uplift, be honest, and help the writer improve. Suggestions of improvement need to be presented in a way that allows the writer to be excited about becoming better and not offended. I feel like this happens when there is a trusting relationship built between the reader and writer. Writers need to know that their editors are not there to overtake their work, but rather to bring out the natural brilliance already present. Though I have much to learn about the editing field, I feel that the experiences I have had as well as my love for people, wholesome literature, perfection (doing my best) will help me become an excellent editor.
Works Cited Einsohn, Amy. The Copyeditor’s Handbook. 3rd ed. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2011. Print. Gross,Gerald. “Preface: Reflections on a Lifetime of Editing.” Ed. Gerald Gross. 3rd ed. New York: Grove, 1993. 73-82. Print. Wade, James O'Shea. "Doing Good--And Doing It Right: The Ethical and Moral Dimensions of Editing." Editors on Editing. Ed. Gerald Gross. 3rd ed. New
Jamison 5 Â York: Grove, 1993. 73-82. Print. Williams, Joseph M. Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace. 11th ed. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2014. Print.