Editing, Collaboration and Curiosity

Creative collaboration can be a mutually beneficial process, but how can you ensure you’re on the same page?

“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”– Albert Einstein

Much has been said and written about the need for editors to be adaptable. At the least, editorial success relies on particular technical skills. It might also hinge on negotiating the personalities, competencies and productiveness of a team of people. At the heart of editorial success is the more intangible notion of collaboration, but what does a successful collaboration look like? While collaboration is a necessarily dynamic and evolving process, there are some key approaches that will always be valuable. I recently worked on two narrative photo books, and while my style was adapted to each of the photographers and their projects, there were some common insights that informed my approach.

The narrative photo books. Photograph Emily Anderson.

Care about the product

The impact of collaboration between an editor and a photographer is particularly pronounced. The nature of creative pursuits often requires a level of attachment to the work where other industries are able to foster a layer of professional disassociation. Successful collaboration for an editor certainly requires a keen eye for detail, but it also involves a deep engagement with the product. How can you look for ways to add value and improve something if you don’t see the intrinsic value in the outcome?

It is not expected that you would have the same passion for each project you edit. The likelihood of working on projects that always align with your own interests is slim — particularly when freelancing. However, passion for the process is what an editor can bring to each and every job.

Be curious and keep communicating

Keep communicating. Even if communicating is not your client’s forte, it is most assuredly yours — so use it. Do it. Keep doing it. Try different techniques and modes. And be persistent. There is always more research to be done; stumbling blocks to be pre-empted; or text to be drafted for use as writing prompts — so that when connection does happen, you will have some value to add.

Ask yourself, is everyone on the project working towards the same goal? This might seem obvious, but often there are nuances within this agenda. An editor might not be happy to write content. A photographer might not feel confident interviewing people. A writer might not be happy submitting their text until they’ve seen the photographs. The photographer might not feel happy submitting their photographs until they’ve finalised their edit. And on and on. The stated goal of each of these people might have been to ‘make a great product’ but it is clear that each of these subtle imperatives might have an effect on the final outcome. This is where communication becomes important.

Communication, and particularly curiosity, must extend to the project too. Continue to interrogate it. Continue to ask it questions. Why is this photograph in this sequence? Why does this one have a caption, and this one not? Often this curiosity leads to a firmer resolution in the project — literally, with questions being answered and facts being checked, but also figuratively, with the reconciliation of the logic or flow of the project and how it is operating as a whole.

Earlier drafts of the manuscript included a caption on this photograph, which at a later point was deemed unnecessary. Photograph Justin Westwood The Sketchy Barber

Be respectful

As editors, it is important to feel some ownership over the work that we do. This is necessary if we want to feel invested in the outcome — which we should. But ultimately the framework that we operate within is not ours. One of my projects was about a couture fashion house and the other was about a tattooed barber and illustrator. Although I was equally invested in the projects, and they both required different approaches, the creative control was firmly with the photographers. Curiosity is vital, but it is important to be measured and considered in what you ask of the people you work with. Having a genuine understanding of the logic of the projects you work on helps to tailor and inform the ways you might communicate with your collaborators. Ultimately, we are advocates for the reader as well as for language, grammar and syntax. It is on their behalf that we collaborate.

I was keen to understand what the women in this photograph might have been discussing and/or what stage of the dress-making process they were at. These questions help to inform the narrative as well as discern where exposition might be needed. Photograph Annabel White CON ILIO.

It is a deeply rewarding experience to help someone achieve their creative vision. The inherently collaborative nature of working as an editor means that you’re exposed to a variety of work opportunities. No two people are the same, and therefore no two jobs are the same. It is the personal connection between the editor and creator that is the foundation of a successful collaboration. This relationship is more likely to succeed if you can nurture your passion for each of the projects you engage with and to continue to actively communicate and be respectful. It is an insatiable curiosity in people and the world that ultimately makes a successful editor. And it is this quality that they can bring to each collaborative project.

I’d like to thank Justin Westwood and Annabel White for having me along for the ride, and to congratulate them on their impressive books.