Why You Need an Editor

Everybody needs an editor. Even trained editors need an editor for their own writing. It takes an independent eye to catch the lapses in logic, the places where the thoughts in your head haven’t made it onto the paper, as well as the errors large and small, inadvertent or unknowing, that will distract the reader from your message. Most people remember very little of the grammar they learned in school—and it is my experience that most people weren’t taught much grammar to start with.

Writing is hard enough. Few reluctant writers are willing to take the time to check a dictionary or style manual, may not own one or know where to find a reputable one on-line. The real problem is that too often you don’t know that you don’t know—you never learned the rule or you remember it incorrectly or you don’t know how or when to apply it. Natural writers, those who enjoy writing, who love to tell a story and can make the words sing, will also benefit from an editorial eye. After all, they’re writers, not grammarians.

If you just want to get where you’re going, you don’t need to learn how to fly the plane. When you know you will have the services of a good editor, you can concentrate on the writing and let the editor tidy things up. (If you want to learn how to fly the plane, hire me as your Writing Coach.)

For cautionary examples of what happens when the editor is left out of the loop, check out my blog, Crotchets.