WANTED: EDITOR — THE RIGHT EDITOR

When seeking an editor, find someone who is a good writer, understands the content of your message, and is positive and encouraging. You will find editors in various facets of your life. Here are a few candidates with the pros and cons of each.

Friends

You’re probably not about to invite a few friends over for a beer and a writing critique. But you may have a friend at work or one who is particularly good at writing who may volunteer feedback now and then. Most likely, you’ll approach this person when you have an especially demanding project, such as a pressing proposal you bring home for the weekend or a brochure for your start-up business.

The best and the worst aspects of having friends edit your work are the same: they like you. The upside is they won’t slander you or bruise your ego. Their comments will be largely positive; even the negative ones will be carefully and discreetly worded. The downside is that they may hedge a bit, avoiding telling you that a piece doesn’t work.
Significant others

Significant others, or SO’s as they’re commonly called, tend to excel in the honesty arena — sometimes they excel too much. Sure, your SO may provide some very candid and helpful information, but you may feel like sleeping in a separate bed for a week or so.

The problem involves more than your feelings; it involves your SO’s feelings, too. Say, for instance, that your significant other recommends you rewrite a press release because the message about your new product wouldn’t interest even your mother. But you like the press release, and you’ll implement a few of the suggested changes, but you won’t implement them all. This could cause trouble when you bring the final rewrite home the next night. After all, you did ask your SO’s advice. And your SO did spend quite a lot of time reading your press release and developing comments.

So, how can you get useful feedback from your significant other, aside from signing up for couples’ counseling classes? First, make an agreement that you’ll listen to your partner’s comments, consider and value them, but only use the ones that make most sense to you. You, meanwhile, won’t interrupt, grow defensive, or mention those comments later when, for example, you’re fighting. Your significant other must agree to provide comments in the most open and positive way possible.

Coworkers

They sit two cubicles down the hall or two floors up. They understand the material you’re writing about and will know when you’ve misrepresented it, since they write similar documents for similar audiences every week. They probably know or share your boss. And certainly they’re sympathetic, especially when you go rushing by their desks throwing down that troublesome letter or report with a quick plea to please, please help.

On the other hand, coworkers can also be competitors. After all, companies have fewer positions the higher up you go, and you might compete for one of them. Your business may even foster competition. Such a relationship will certainly stymie a positive editorial association. In addition, coworkers may be as caught up in the company jargon as you are. Their suggestions and alternatives might just drag your writing deep into the muck of tired language.

The best suggestion when searching for a coworker-editor: choose carefully. You’re hunting for sweet Concord grapes, not lemons.

Bosses

The boss — the most difficult and sometimes impossible kind of editor. The most common type of feedback from bosses is the unaskedfor variety: whatever changes your boss wants, you make. Also, with your boss as editor you must face the old let’s-not-discuss-this, let’sget-it-out, and we’ve-always-written-it-this-way approaches.

A boss as editor can be anxiety provoking. Your boss is the one who writes your evaluations, recommends you for promotions and raises, and shapes your future. Show the boss a weak letter or send a confusing report, and you don’t get mere feedback. You get a black mark next to your name that may show up in your next evaluation.

Finally — and perhaps this is the biggest problem of all — bosses think they can write simply because they’re bosses. Your boss makes more money than you do, right? And your boss has had more lunches with the president than you have, right? Perhaps your boss is the president. The fact that someone is your boss or can afford two houses while you have only one says nothing about that personas writing ability. Except, of course, that you must give in.

Having a boss as editor has pluses, too. For one, your boss certainly understands the product, service, or situation yo’re discussing and can give useful advice. Your boss can anticipate subtle but real problems your writing may create — whether a false promise that could cause legal problems or a tone that could stir customer wrath.

In addition, your boss has a stake in your success. What makes you look good, makes him or her look good, too. Finally, your boss has probably reviewed many documents like yours and may have a stronger sense of what works and what doesn’t. Take notes. By understanding what your boss wants, youll save yourself revision time later.
In-house writers and editors
If your organization has professional writers and editors, they probably can provide invaluable feedback rooted in basic writing principles and wrapped in objective language. However, there is adownside to professional writers as editors. They may be incrediblybusy, scrambling harder than anyone else to make deadlines, perfectcopy, and please anywhere from two to twenty people with one draftalone. A second, surprising consideration is that even professionalwriters may have serious writing problems, making their advicemore offbeat than anyone else’s.
Teachers
Okay, you’re ready to enter the big leagues of feedback — writingclasses. If you live near a large city — or even in some towns — youhave two choices:
1. . Classes at adult-education centers, churches, high schools, oreven private living rooms. These classes are usually inexpensive and small enough so you get plenty of feedback. Teachersrange from exceptional, seasoned professionals who teach forthe love of teaching, to novices who need a few extra bucks, tosmall business owners trying to drum up business. Participants tend to be a mixture of high school grads opting for selfimprovement, businesspeople trying to upgrade their skills,bored retirees looking for entertainment, and single peoplesearching for dates.
2. . Evening college courses. Teachers of evening classes are frequently professors by day as well, although an occasionalrookie will slip in undaunted by the weird hours or low pay. Participants are a blend of ages and backgrounds, although class makeup tends to be a bit more homogeneous than in the adult education counterparts. On the downside, college evening classes cost a bundle.

Whichever option you choose, take advantage of your teacher. Ask if you can show some of your at-work material. Always write down your teacher’s most consistent comments and return to those each time you edit yourself.