When it’s time to dole out high fives and pats on the back for an article well done, the writer typically gets the accolades. Rarely does anyone ask, “Who edited that piece? They worked the hell out of that dangling modifier.”
And yet it’s the expertise of editors that makes stories the poignant examples of journalism that they become. So, it’s quite natural for a writer to want to venture to the other side to see what that life’s really like. In fact, it’s almost expected in some circles as a next-level progression for someone with a fascination with words. From the perspectives of three editors who write (or writers who edit, depending on who you ask), here’s how to know if you’re truly cut out for the job.
1. You’re comfortable being ringmaster of the whole circus.
As a writer, you’re master of your own domain, and you execute due diligence for each story: the research, the interview, the writing and, if necessary, the rewriting. Editing, on the other hand, requires a deft ability to manage multiple projects and personalities, the latter often being demanding, standoffish, insecure or just downright crazy.
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Jayson Rodriguez earned daily newsroom experience as a senior writer for MTV News before assuming his current role as executive editor of monthly hip-hop glossy XXL. Today, he juggles photo shoots and celebrity management teams as much as he rallies freelancers.
“When you’re a writer, it’s a very singular experience, but here,” he compared, “I’m in touch with the art team; I’m in touch with the research department; I’m trying to make sure things can align on the front end as fast as they can so they have appropriate time on the back end. I’m thinking in terms of the whole product instead of just one story. In a lot of ways, it’s like you’re an ambassador of the process.”
| “You have to use a different part of your brain to be an editor.” |
Ebony contributing lifestyle editor Karen Good-Marable said the constant multitasking is what she loves most about the gig. “You have to use a different part of your brain to be an editor,” said Good-Marable, who was also a Vibe writer-at-large and Honey editor-at-large. “You’re managing sections, you’re managing words on a page, and you’re making it all make sense together in a larger framework. You’re almost like a curator.”
2. You’re a grammar czar and can spot a typo two football fields away.
Asking for a copy of Strunk & White for your birthday, correcting those love letters from your significant other, or offering to rewrite a panhandler’s sign won’t necessarily make you the life of the party or the belle of the next happy hour, but it darn sure is a hallmark of a fantastic editor. And if you can easily craft three ways to describe something as “fast” (speedy, quick, at a lightning pace), even better. But your technical wordplay shouldn’t just stop there; you should also be able to spot a gaping hole in a storyline and pick out the snafus that will make readers stop reading or click off the page.
Furthermore, a good editor has to keep the story on track and know when to push for more. It also helps to be a whiz at witty turns of phrases, the kind that make for great display copy, headlines, captions and deks. Since the editor is the last person to see the piece before it ships to the printer or gets published to the Web, there’s no one to pass these tasks off to. The spotlight (or consequences of any unfortunate errors) is all on you.
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3. You have a writer’s sensibilities but an editor’s instincts.
Being heavy-handed and slash-happy with copy does not necessarily make an astute editor. Maintaining an appreciation for a writer’s perspective, on the other hand, does. “I think I’m pretty good about edits and critiques, because I know how personal the work is,” explained Kweli Wright, Juicy contributing editor who cut her teeth at a local paper in her native Staten Island before landing at the Village Voice.
“I try to challenge what the writer has put down so it makes people feel the emotion of what they’ve written, but I also have the mind of an editor so I can pull at an intellectual and emotional angle of a story,” she said. She suggests anyone with an eye on the masthead sharpen his creativity. It’s not necessarily the first quality to come to mind when you think of the position, she said, but it’s a must when dealing with reams of text day in and day out.
4. You’re a lean, mean, idea machine.
It’s a known fact that writers hate pitching… so they don’t. That means that, as an editor, it’s your job to come up with winning ideas when others are (sorry, freelancers) too lazy to generate anything more than a lame “Hey, how about something on Derek Jeter?” query. Natural inquisitiveness goes a long way in developing an editorial calendar full of relevant, salable content ideas. So, if you know how to reinvigorate evergreen themes or can whip up a deliciously sticky slideshow based on just a tiny gem, you might make a fabulous editor. But if you’re the type of writer who balks at the thought of pitching and would rather kick back and wait for assignments, um, yeah, probably not.
| “Editors are the midwives. They’re guiding a writer and reminding them why they’re writing the story.” |
5. You have a gift for finding the “so what?” in a story.
There are some writers, bless their hearts, with a knack for cutting to the chase and others with a tendency to be flowery and indulgent. (Guilty as charged.) A fantastic editor, says Good-Marable, can corral those renegade concepts and sentences. “Writers have a lot of different thoughts, or maybe we’re focusing on the wrong thing, but I think editors are the midwives. They’re guiding a writer and reminding them why they’re writing the story so they can pull the story out of them.”
“One of the things I can do really well is I can see a story in my mind before it’s written. When you’re writing, it’s all about getting the ideas out. It’s more emotional,” Wright offered. “When you’re editing, you have to think like a writer but also think like a reader and make sure that the beginning, middle, conclusion and quotes make sense to make the story come alive.”
You may think you’re destined for editing, because you can spot comma splices and sentence fragments — and indeed, that is important — but you also need to be able to pull out the important elements of a story so readers don’t end up feeling like they just squandered their last five or so minutes. Great editors think an extra level up from the writing.
Of course, straddling both worlds may be the formula for longevity in the industry. “I think it’s healthy to go from writer to editor, editor to writer because it keeps you sane,” Rodriguez joked. “Transitioning from one position to another doesn’t mean you forget where you came from. In fact, bringing those skills across the border will only make you a stronger editor.”
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Janelle Harris is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C. She documents her editorial adventures at www.thewriteordiechick.com.
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