The business of editing
A look into the world of copy writing: No two work days are the same for Mick Dyer.
by MEGHAN DUERRE | Web editor
Mick Dyer is copy writer for RBC Wealth Management and has worked in copy writing since 1990. He is experienced in business-to-business and business-to-consumer copy writing in the financial industry and has also done copy writing in the medical, retail, legal, manufacturing and service industries.
I understand that you do some writing for RBC. Can you tell me what kind of editing goes along with that?
“I am one of the copy writers in our department. My job is to take complicated financial concepts and make them easy to read about and understand. My job is also to make the topics as interesting as possible and to help readers want to talk to their financial advisors about how to address the concepts.
“The copy is usually reviewed by a ‘subject matter expert,’ who is the person you interview to gather information. In marketing writing, the SME also helps confirm the accuracy and completeness of the information. So that is a form of editing. (fact checking)
“The copy is usually reviewed by the project manager responsible for the piece I am working on. For example, if we are doing a brochure for a fee-based product in your Mom’s business area, the project manager would review to help make sure we are asking/answering the right questions, focusing on the correct features/benefits of the product, and following best practices for persuasive writing. So that is a form of editing. (strategic and tactical direction)
“The copy is usually sent to an outside proofreading service. The proofreader checks for spelling, punctuation and grammar and offers suggestions for readability/clarity. So that is a form of editing. (mechanics of language)
“The copy is always sent to our compliance department. Sometimes it is also read by a lawyer. The compliance person and attorney looks at the information to make sure we are not breaking any regulatory requirements about what we can and cannot say, or get us sued. So this is a form of editing. (permission to distribute)
“All these forms of editing are important. I usually listen to the editing feedback and change the copy to take the issues raised into account. In a way the project manage and I serve as the “final editors” because the various forms of feedback from multiple reviewers sometimes can result in something that reads like it is written by a committee.”
What happens during a typical work day?
“A typical work day includes some meetings on projects and some time spent on writing/editing assignments related to the projects.
“While I am writing about financial services, I enjoy a variety of different projects (websites, brochures, videos, ads, mailings, etc.) for a variety of different issues (building, preserving and sharing wealth, saving for retirement and creating retirement income, investing for education, philanthropic goals, credit/lending and so on). I also work on special projects, like the DOL fiduciary rule that your mom is helping us get ready to follow.
“I came here 12 years ago from an advertising agency background and find that all the variety in my job keeps me excited and energized. It’s never the same day twice.”
What is your favorite part of your job? Least favorite?
“Favorite parts of my job are the wonderful people I work with every day and the sense of purpose I feel when helping clients/readers prepare financially for the future they want. Least favorite might be the bureaucracy. But you are going to run into that anywhere.”
"Write fast and edit slow.”
What is one editing horror story? Success story?
“The most common editing horror stories are misspelling someone’s name, giving the wrong person attribution or misstating what they said. These are also the easiest to avoid by taking careful notes and always double (triple) checking.
“I went to journalism school 30 years ago and learned to be a magazine writer/designer. My instructors gave the advice to “write fast and edit slow.” My first job out of college was as an entertainment reporter with the San Francisco Bay Guardian — an alternative newsweekly.
“My first day on the job I noticed all the beer bottles around the office. When I asked the managing editor, he said “it’s okay if you write drunk as long as you edit sober.
“The newsroom has changed a lot over the years. Write fast and edit slow is still great advice for success.”
If you weren’t at your current job, what kind of work would you want to be doing?
“I love what I do and the company I work for. I wake up and look forward to coming to RBC to see who I can help today. I truly cannot imagine being in a different line of work.”
“Do your best work — always.”
What kind of advice would you give to college students looking for internships and experience?
“Try lots of different things. Challenge your preconceptions about the career world and what you want to do. Be prepared for surprises and projects you might not expect/want. Do your best work — always. Be on time. Understand that everyone you meet can teach you something if you are paying attention. Have fun. Be patient.
“Also make friends wherever you go. Relationships matter and your “soft skills” are just as important as your hard skills. Maya Angelou said, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
Interviewing Dyer gave me a new perspective on all of the different careers and fields that editors can go into. It was encouraging to hear how much he loves his job and that even though he works in the finance industry, every day is interesting and rarely monotonous. Dyer also stressed the importance of having fun in work. If the copy writer/editor is excited about a project, then the finished project will almost always exceed expectations.
This interview has been edited and condensed
