Don’t take this personally, but… you really need an editor.
Whether you’ve got the soul of a poet in the body of a CMO or an MFA from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop on your CV, editing is something you need. And not just because there are typos that even the best spell checker can miss.
We’re not saying that a typo can cost you millions of dollars… okay, yes, we’re actually saying that’s possible. But even if the damage doesn’t run to seven figures, it’s still damage and your company is going to suffer the consequences. Fortunately, we have crackerjack editors who know how to elevate copy to its highest form. And here’s why you should be using them.
The three fallacies
Let’s be frank: An aversion to being edited is probably coded into humanity’s DNA. We’ve probably all bristled, at least a little, when faced with the idea that our work can be improved upon. When you get right down to it, such objections can usually be framed by one of three familiar fallacies:
1. My writing is good enough.
The point of editing isn’t to make sure your writing is good enough, it’s to make sure it’s better than. Better than you can make it by yourself. Better than industry standard copy. Better than anything your competition is putting forward. Achieving that requires distance between creation and revision, with a new perspective that will elevate copy to the highest standard. Editors provide that.
2. My writing is more than good enough.
We love the confidence here, but the fact is even the best writers benefit from editing. (Look at how often authors name-drop editors in the acknowledgements.) What’s more, this isn’t about your writing chops — it’s about achieving your goals. You have entire teams dedicated to creating products and services, analyzing performance, and hitting your KPIs. Wherever copy is involved in those processes, editors are a critical part of those teams.
3. I’m not writing, so I don’t need editing.
Plot twist: You need an editor even if what you’re doing isn’t writing! Granted, that person’s job title might not literally be “editor” but their function absolutely is — an extra set of eyes, plugged into a brain with relevant expertise, that can look over your work. Whether it’s code or a spreadsheet or an acquisition, the best practice is to let someone else review your work before it’s put in front of your audience. By any other name, an editor is essential.
Editing is about outcomes
Editing makes everything better, most especially outcomes. In a tightly competitive marketplace you cannot leave your copy to chance. Just as you have a quality control process for your products, you must have one for your copy — and editing is nothing if not quality control.
Perhaps most importantly, you must remember that editing isn’t personal. Not all drafts are created equal, and you can write copy that sings but still doesn’t serve the intended purpose. Editors exist to ensure that copy is improved, where “improvement” is defined as “accomplishes the stated goals.”
And nobody’s going to strike that sentiment out with a red pen.
