"To write means more than putting words on a page.
The act of writing is to share a part of your soul with the world."
~Anonymous
Frustrated feelings overwhelmed me. "Why did she edit this sentence?" I stubbornly thought. I looked at my submission and was angered at the choices the editor chose to correct. It felt like she was just looking for something. Trying to calm myself down, I told myself to accept the good corrections and throw away the rest. Struggling to understand why the editor wanted to change my style of writing, I tried to swallow my pride.
Can you edit the soul or author out of a piece?
In my last blog, I shared this example of frustration to illustrate the need to pause and reflect. After reflection, I felt like it was necessary to acquire Grammarly. In addition, this reflection brought up a new question to ponder. Can you edit the soul or author out of a piece?
What is the soul of a piece? I believe the soul of a piece is found in the author. What is the author's purpose in writing the piece? What is being communicated in the piece? What style does the author have? Who is the author? The answers to these questions determine the soul of the piece.
They may inadvertently steal the soul of a piece.
Editing should enhance a piece, not take away from it. Editing grammar, punctuation, and capitalization is the easy part. When content or voice needs to be edited, that becomes trickier. For the author, editing the content and voice is not as daunting as it is for someone who isn't the author. The author can decide to change content and voice since they are the ones communicating the soul of the piece. A second-party editor needs to exercise caution and accept that they are not writing the soul of the piece. It is not merely a correction for a second-party editor. If they correct too much, they may inadvertently steal the soul of the writing.
To avoid the burglary of the soul of writing, the questions stated above need to be asked. In addition to these questions, the editor should ask what is trying to be communicated? Does how the author writes add to the voice of the paper? Is their writing different than mine? Do I prefer it? Reflecting on this as an editor will help you edit better and be less biased. The editor should only edit what is necessary and not change the soul to what they would want it to be. In the end, the correction should be up to the author. They are in charge of the creation, and so they should have the final decision.
Second-party editors have one of the hardest tasks.
When reduced to mechanics, editing will give you a perfect, flawless piece. But is it perfect? Is it flawless? I would argue that editing too much can be a thief and steal its flawless perfection that already existed in its imperfections. Robbing the soul of the writing piece and replacing it with a counterfeit soul. That is why I think second-party editors have one of the hardest tasks. To edit in such a way that honors writing as a craft, but honors the soul of the piece found in the author. As writers, we should be patient with them.
Next Blog: Hope
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