As an Editor, When Do You Stop Editing?
As an editor, you know that it is a big responsibility to be handed someone’s writing. And while editing is essential, there are still limits to what it can and cannot do.
.
Here are the four signs that tell you when an editor should stop editing:
When you find yourself acting like the author
As an editor, remember that you’re not given absolute ownership of the story or any piece you’re working on. Just because you’re the editor doesn’t mean you can change everything to your liking. You are a steward and a shepherd of words whose main goal is to bring out the best and clearest message out of someone’s writing.
It’s tempting to change some crucial parts of the story, especially when we ourselves are already invested in it. But we don’t have that kind of authority over the real author. We can suggest, but not lord over someone’s work altogether. The goal is to balance polishing and authorship.
When you cannot see any substantial mistakes any longer
That word “substantial” has to be highlighted. At times, we just want to put our own opinions that even when there are no errors in the sentence, we still want to make some changes. If there is really nothing wrong with the sentence, let it be.
When perfectionism makes you obsessed and almost miss the deadline
Editors tend to be perfectionists. And we understand that. But if you spend hours and hours going over the manuscript that you tend to miss your deadline, it’s time to take a deep breath and trust that you’ve already done enough.
When you’ve already met your goal
Before working on a piece, make sure you’re aligned with the task you’re getting into. Are you supposed to do line editing, copy edit, or just proofread? These are the levels of the editing phase that an editor can do. And each has limits as to the depth of work that must be done. So know that first so that you don’t go overboard or underperform.
If you’re an author reading this, we also know that you may tend to revise your piece many times than you can count. Just one piece of advice: You need to make yourself stop at some point. You’ve written your story and reached the denouement. Now, it’s time for you to entrust it to a professional editing team.
At The Manuscript Editor, we can help you polish your draft according to its needs.
We can help you with:
Line editing to smooth out and strengthen your prose.
Copyediting to make your message crystal clear and consistent with your voice
Proofreading to finalize your manuscript before publication
Submit your draft to us today. We can give you a free 800-word sample edit so you can experience the kind of editing we provide.
Comments