You ought to be an editor if ...

by Edie Melson


I love editing.

To me, it’s the process of bringing order to chaos. It’s not just my own words that I want to make sing, it’s the words of others. I get as much joy when an author I edited succeeds as when I do.

I’ve discovered this isn’t a universal gift. Some would even argue that it's a curse. But you know you ought to be an editor if . . .



1. Grammar jokes never fail to crack you up—because they’re funny, right?

2. The misuse of quotation marks sends you into a five minute tirade.

3. You mark the mistakes you find—in red pen—in the books you read.

4. You listen to grammar podcasts. After all, those tips and tricks come in handy, right?

5. You could talk for hours about comma usage.

6. You’re constantly clarifying what someone says, because in general, people should be more precise.

7. When you receive handouts in a meeting or workshop, you find yourself marking typos and rewording sentences to tighten it up.

8. You collect pictures of grammar mistakes.

9. Your critique group has nick-named you the Grammar Snob.

10. You know how to use the edit feature on Facebook.

Now it's your turn to add to the list. Be sure to leave your comments in the section below.

TWEETABLES



Edie has graciously offered our readers an autographed copy of her book, Connections: Social Media and Networking Techniques for Writers. All you need to do is leave a comment below for the opportunity to win. The winner will be chosen by random drawing on Sunday, June 14th and announced on next week's blog post. 


Edie Melson is the author of numerous books, as well as a freelance writer and editor. Her blog, The Write Conversation, reaches thousands each month. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference and the Social Media Mentor at My Book Therapy. She’s also the Military Family Blogger at Guideposts. Com, Social Media Director for Southern Writers Magazine and the Senior Editor for NovelRocket.com. Connect with her on Twitter and Facebook.

Comments

  1. You know you might be an editor when the overuse (and misuse) of the word "literally" literally bothers you. :) I love editing too and especially your phrase: "bringing order to chaos."

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    1. Hi Katy! You are the winner of Edie Melson's book. Please send me your mailing address at alywmorales (at) gmail (dot) com. Thanks!

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  2. I love editing, but was horrified when I found myself mentally red-penning one of the gospels. It seems that one of the disciples (who shall be nameless) overuses the filler word "that." Just sayin'.

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