Repost: Why Do I Need An Editor?

Enjoy a throwback to one of our previous blog posts!

An editor can be helpful for any number of projects that you might be working on personally, or that your business or organization might be taking on. Perhaps you are working on a novel or memoir? An editor can provide useful feedback on details of your project that you may have overlooked. Maybe your business or organization has promotional materials that are distributed throughout your community, like flyers or posters? An editor can provide a second look and ensure that you are putting your best foot forward with your content before you actually send it out there. Below are some questions you might ask about hiring an editor, as well as some benefits that an editor can offer you.

Do I really need an editor for this project?

If you are asking this question, a professional editor may be worthy of serious consideration. Editing is an incredibly important stage of the writing process, whether you are writing a book or writing an email. No matter how stellar your writing skills are, you will likely find that, at least once in a while, you will make mistakes in your written content. Perhaps they will be small typos, or maybe a sentence that you meant to be read one way will be taken very differently by another reader. Having someone else look over your project is always a good idea.

This is especially true for longer written works, such as essays, articles, manuals, and books. It is often tempting to get everything down on paper when first crafting these longer projects, because there is so much content to be created. However, in the rush to transfer your ideas from your brain to the written word, items can get lost in translation, the plot may not line up, and key points may not make quite the impact you were anticipating. The more you are writing, the easier it is for something to go wrong, which an editor can help fix.

What will my editor do?

That all depends on what you’re looking for! Some editors have certain specialties; one may look for formatting errors, one may review your project and tell you if your work as a whole makes sense, and one might just be looking for spelling and grammar issues.

At Wreath Writing and Marketing Services, we can do all of the above for your project, regardless of its length. In general, it is important to look for an editor who will cover the areas of editing you want for your work, and to agree on what they will do before they dive into editing your project.

What are the benefits of hiring an editor?

As mentioned above, your written work reflects on you and potentially on your business or organization. The most important benefit of having an editor review this work is to catch errors that may impact that reflection in a negative way. While typos may not be the end of the world in casual messaging, a spelling mistake or clunky sentence on a business website sends a message to the reader that no one at this business takes it seriously enough to catch mistakes. No business wants to send the message that they don’t care. An editor can prevent a situation like this from ever happening.

In addition to catching costly errors, an editor can sometimes offer a different perspective on your writing. Perhaps you’d like to rephrase a sentence, but you’re not sure how? An editor can provide some ideas, and sometimes offer outside perspectives that you might not have thought of. This is another major benefit of an editor: that they are an outside source. You may be well-versed on your products or subject, but not all your readers will be, and an editor can ensure that every reader is clear about your subject.

What are the downsides of hiring an editor?

Namely, the cost. Professional editing services come with a price, which not every business or individual might be able to afford. One way of trying to save some money is to ask friends or family to review your writing. However, take caution with this approach. Not only may your friend or relative lack the experience and knowledge to catch errors, but a volunteer may not put in as much time or effort as a paid professional. A friend may breeze through your work or comb through it meticulously, but a true professional editor will consistently spend the time and energy necessary to produce a strong finished product. Not only are they getting paid to do so, but a well-crafted final project reflects well on them as well.