First Time Editors: Big Realisations
As an aspiring editor, I recently undertook what was arguably my first real editing gig. It was working on a student photobook about sustainable fashion — a topic and a medium that I am not at all familiar with. Daunting and exciting as it was, the process was challenging and rewarding in equal measure, and in the end both the author and I survived — and, more importantly, were very happy with the result.
However, I came out of the whole process with my eyes opened, and with insights I wish I’d had going into it. Big realisations that would have helped better prepare me had I known beforehand, and that I hope will help any new editors jumping into their first projects. Here are just a few of them.
1. Listen Carefully
As much as we editors are always ready to get our hands dirty, and have a thousand ideas for improvement bubbling away in the back of our minds, your first step when stepping onto a project is to listen. Listen not just for the potential of the project, but for what the author wants from it and you. Does the author have high ambitions for this project? How invested are they? Is this project close to them? How much time are they willing to put in? Do they want you as an editor to take a back seat and simply proofread? Or do they want a heavier editorial hand and input from the get-go? Do they need you to push them to get the work done? Do they want a pull-no-punches approach when it comes to your feedback? Or do they need a bit more hand holding?
Some of these things your author might tell you outright, but most of them will be in the subtext of what they say about the project and how they respond to you. A good editor will stay alert to what is unspoken, and will adjust accordingly.
After all, editing is not just about chopping and changing, polishing and perfecting. It is, above all else, realising someone else’s vision.
2. Keep Yourself Accountable
Sending a project off to the publishers is not the only deadline you, as an editor, will have. There are many stages to a project, and one round of edits may not be enough.
Set yourself deadlines and goals throughout the editing process. This is important, not just for you but for your author. You cannot be fixing structural issues at the last minute, and neither can your author implement substantial corrections and suggestions the night before going to press.
Editing is a two-way street. You need to hold yourself accountable for getting edits back in a timely manner, just as you hope your author will do the same.
3. You Must Adapt
This is key. You must be willing to adapt your suggestions for the project as it evolves. Your first ideas might have been great, but not necessarily what is best for the project as it develops from concept to polished work.
Do not rigidly stick to your initial suggestions just because they were ‘good’. Sometimes a better path reveals itself a little further down the line, and you have to be willing to take it.
4. Let Go
Just as being able to adapt your ambitions for a project is a must, you equally have to be able to let go of unrealistic ambitions altogether.
Maybe your ideal vision for the project would need more people involved. Maybe it would need more effort than you are capable of putting in.
Maybe the best outcome is not possible because the author’s motivation is not in line with that goal. Maybe because the author’s capabilities are not quite at the level necessary to reach it.
Maybe you just do not have the time to achieve what you set out to. Maybe events beyond your control interrupt the process for either you or your author. The list goes on.
It does not do the project, or you, any good to hold fast to expectations that are unrealistic. It can be disappointing, but do not drive yourself crazy aiming for an unreachable target. Adapt, and figure out what is achievable.
A thousand different things can impact the direction of a project, you have to be willing to take a few hits.
Some of the things on this list may be obvious, or go without saying, but trust me when I say that, when it comes down to it, these things can be harder to put into place than you might think. Just as authors put their hearts and souls into their writing, we editors invest a lot too. Getting carried away is not hard to do, but if you keep this checklist in mind, you will ultimately do what is best by you and the project.
Happy editing.
