4 Reasons a Professional Editor is Essential When Publishing
People often imagine writers sitting at their desks with a cup of coffee, diligently churning out their incredible work without so much as a drop of help. But the best writers know—their work wouldn’t be nearly as good without the support and expertise of their professional editor.
When we write, we instinctively write in the way that makes the most sense to ourselves. But, with only our own minds to guide us, we have a surprisingly limited perspective into how our words sound to others. Everyone is unique, and the written language is so contextual that the same unedited sentence can mean surprisingly different things to different people. The connections that seem self-evident in our own minds might not be the same for others. On our own, even the best ideas might not get the response they deserve, let alone be understood at all.
That’s where an editor comes in. An editor’s job is to help you clarify your writing so that a diverse group of readers can truly hear it and appreciate the full value of what you are saying. An editor helps you to smooth and adapt your writing to be clear and meaningful to those beyond yourself.
But, in many cases you don’t just need anyone editing your work. If you’re writing to publish your work for others, you’ll benefit the most from a professional editor. Here’s why:
1. Although your friends can definitely look over your work for mistakes and major confusions, there’s a level of training that comes with professional editing that they won’t have. Your friend-editor can often help you identify areas of confusion, but they may not be able to help you improve your writing beyond making it make sense to them. Although this will likely broaden your reach a bit, it still won’t reach everyone. A professional editor is trained to help you write in a way that can reach your whole audience.
2. Secondly, a professional editor understands what’s most important in clear, effective writing and starts there when editing. A friend may try to fix your commas or misspellings when a professional editor would see that something more important like the structure or tone needs to be fixed before bothering with something as minor as a comma. After all, who cares about a misplaced comma if the entire paragraph needs to be overhauled because it doesn’t meaningfully contribute to the message?
3. Third, if you’re trying to write something to publish, your friends won’t catch everything you need them to. English grammar rules are notoriously absurd at times, and unless they have had particular training in spotting grammar, logic, punctuation and style mistakes, it’s very possible that your friend won’t notice some of the mistakes in your work. In almost every case, you will need a professional editor to ensure your manuscript lives up to the hard work you’ve put into it. This ensures your published work is clear and professional in its presentation.
4. The fourth reason to get a professional editor is that they are entirely on your side. Writing can be an isolating, confusing experience. “Am I making sense? Am I saying something worthwhile? Does this structure seem okay?” Questions like these are ones that only the most patient of friends could answer for you. They’ll have to trudge with you through every iteration of your manuscript, know what they’re talking about, and, most importantly, being entirely honest with you. Kind, but honest. It won’t do your written work any good to have friends who are too easily pleased with everything you’ve written. You need someone to help you cultivate the best writing you can, helping you to grow in the long-haul, even if it’s not as affirming and easy in the short term. A professional editor balances all of that in a way your friends are unlikely to be able to. And in all likelihood, they’ll help you end up with an exponentially better finished product than you could have achieved with just the help of your friends.
There are more reasons, but these are our top four! Overall, we’ll leave you with this: your written work is too important to not invest in.
Chances are, if you are feeling compelled to write, you have something important to say. Don’t let it fall on deaf ears. A professional editor can help you communicate with the broadest audience—and will ultimately help your message and your words shine in a way that you could not have made them on your own.
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