Reflective piece.
Editors have the sometimes-challenging job of acting as an intermediary between the deadlines of the book and the quality of the text. Their mission is to make sure the final published book fulfills the vision determined at the start.
They look at the chapter from 10,000 feet and leave the details of grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure to our highly skilled copy editors. They the first line of defense regarding the quality of the book, and they look closely at the structure, content, tone, audience, formatting, and consistency.
Editors must therefore be able to make professional judgments about different kinds of books for different audiences. Editors sometimes negotiate with authors and agents for movie and reprint sales. They may also campaign to have a specific book selected by a book club. As part of their job, they must keep an eye on trends in reading.
It is a tricky job, and you have to be objective. The question I am left with as an author is:
How can this improve my writing?
Usually, I write way too much, then they have to reach in the muck and find the gems buried inside. Learning about editing, it has been refreshing to see others’ tics, because I can see how they disrupt the flow of the writing. I take mental notes for my own manuscript. The other great thing about editing is I can really see into the heart of the story and what needs to be done to bring the story to its highest level. Now, if I could only do this for my own manuscript. It is a lot harder to see the forest through the trees when it is your own writing.
However, there is a negative side to thinking like an editor and writer. When I read writing that still needs to be crafted, especially when editing a first draft, there is a chance of it rubbing off on me. I can get so stuck with editing, that I find I am not progressing from the first two chapters.
Do I feel I have improved my writing?
I have to say yes. Being both an editor and a writer does have its advantages and disadvantages, but I like stepping into both roles. I now am not afraid to kill my little darlings, so to speak. To really step outside the box and see my writing from an alternative angle. I look at the bigger picture, what about the voice, is it right?
How would my book fit into the market? I set my computer and check the spaces, and I feel satisfied that maybe I have made an editor’s job a little easier. I took the first three chapters of my children’s novel and looked at it from an editor’s viewpoint. I hope that it has improved the overall feeling of the book and cut out all the necessaries.
Born in the change 