Your content is important. You might have been drafting it for weeks. It might be based on months of research, or years of practical experience. You really don’t want somebody coming in at the eleventh hour and messing up your work under the guise of "dotting a few Is".
Trust me – editors really don’t want that either. The purpose of our working lives is to make your content shine. So how will our expertise with language work alongside your subject matter expertise?
Many editors do have specialised subject matter knowledge
The first thing we need to acknowledge is that many editors do develop a wealth of knowledge when they specialise in a subject. It may not match yours, but it can provide a solid base for considered and relevant editorial choices.
For example, I’ve seen:
a scientific editor spot a “backdraft” that should have been a “backwash”
a cookbook editor spot caramelising sugar that was about to be stirred into crystals
a technical editor spot inlets that were actually outlets on the diagram of a water tank (full disclosure: that one was me).
Had it not been for each editor's familiarity with their subject matter, these errors might have gone to print. And if nothing else, that could have been disastrous for crème caramels everywhere.
Editors will unearth the errors even you might miss
These examples show that even if you are the most expert of subject matter experts, you won't be immune to mistakes. When you're crafting your own work, you're often so focused on the high-level task of conveying content that little problems can sneak in unbidden. (This Wired article explores why.)
Luckily, editors are trained to read and analyse every single word you write, to make sure if fits in the context. We are taught to look at text from all sorts of angles and to question everything.
And when we add years of professional development and experience to our initial training, we end up with finely tuned antennae that start quivering at the merest hint a word is out of place.
What does that mean for you? If we find an unfamiliar word, an unusual usage or a fact that seems too good to be true, we'll pause to check it. We might jump over to an online dictionary or we might take a deep dive into your source material. Either way, we'll provide another layer of certainty that your content says exactly what it needs to say.
Editors are trained to consult and to query
Our editorial checks might play out in several ways in your draft. For example:
for an unfamiliar word – we might suggest you explain the word or use an alternative that will be more familiar to your audience
for an unusual usage – we might rephrase the text to align more with grammatical conventions
for a too-good fact – we might offer a possible correction based on the original source or query the fact with you.
Or we might be satisfied that nothing is awry and leave the text as it is.
Many of us work in tracked changes in MS Word or Google Docs, so you can follow all our edits. We then use the comment function to explain more nuanced changes or to ask you questions, so you can also follow our thinking.
Even if we don't use tracked changes (as can be the case for plain English edits, where the mark-up becomes too extensive to be useful), all editors understand the importance of consultation. So your draft may well return to you with a list of author queries. Or we may book in a time to resolve more complex issues.
We have no desire to introduce errors, so we'll check in with you when we need to. You'll remain in control of your content.
Editors are stand-ins for your readers
You need to stay in control because you are the expert in your subject. We recognise that and we won't undermine that position.
On the other hand, we're experts in language and communication. We know what readers want, what they expect and what will trip them up.
When we review your writing, we take the place of your readers. We're the first beta testers – there to iron out any wrinkles that will stop your communication being a success. Just as you wouldn't go live with an online product without testing, it would be unwise to publish content without an editor's input (and more extensive user testing, if you can manage it).
And that's all a very long-winded way of saying that you don't need to worry. Editors are on your side.
If you'd like Goldfinch on your side for your next project, please contact us.
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