What’s amazing to me is that many of you think nothing of standing at the podium before hundreds of people – bright lights and cameras blazing -- yet freeze up at the keyboard when it’s just you alone with your thoughts.
The written word
comes naturally to some of you, but for others, starting a grocery list from
scratch is daunting, let alone a blog post, an article or heaven forbid a book
chapter. At the same time, once someone else has put down their words on a
page, you slow-starters become eagle-eyed editors with red pen (or track
changes) flying with revisions. Meanwhile those of you whose prose flows easily
get the cold sweats when it comes time to condensing your words into the narrow
confines of a blog post, short article or presentation. Oh, it’s so painful leaving
your brilliant prose on the cutting-room floor, right?
Editor vs.
writer
To get to the
next level of content proficiency, I’ve found it helpful to know whether you’re
more of a writer or an editor. Most people have elements of both skills in
their DNA, but it’s good to know where you fall on the spectrum. See helpful
quiz below.
A writer is
typically charged with the creative task of putting words on a blank page,
whether for the purpose of informing, persuading or entertaining. An editor may
be slightly more analytical, as he or she must review, manage and guide a
particular work or series of works to successful publication. Writers create, using the right side of the brain.
Editors analyze, utilizing the left side of the brain. But again, most
of you have developed both sides of the brain in your work with clients. Why
not in your writing?
Editor as coach
Writer-editor relationships are deeply personal and the editor must walk
a fine line between mentoring, coaching and psychoanalyzing. To work well, the
writer-editor relationship must be built on mutual respect. The writer must
trust the editor’s fresh eyes and insight. The editor must trust the writer’s
voice on a deadline and acknowledge the writer, not the editor, is the true
subject matter expert.
Many of you played competitive
sports growing up. I’ve found the writer-editor relationship similar to the
athlete-coach relationship. I’m sure you had a special coach who made a big impact
on your life. An editor/coach’s job is to help the writer/athlete get the very
best out of themselves with burning them out or constantly berating them. At
the same time, writers can get better if they have a thin skin or simply aren’t
coachable.
Whether it’s a blog post on a
website or a novel, most of the published written products that people
encounter in their daily lives have been polished by an editor. The editor is
the last line of defense in determining that the writer’s words are ready to be
published or made public. Just what makes the words publish-ready depends in
part on the format — for instance, a blog post might rely on short sentences
and to-the-point language while a novel might use longer sentences and more
descriptive, flowery speech. Deciding what is appropriate based on the media
format, its audience, and its purpose is also part of the editor’s job. These
experts don’t just proofread for errors in spelling or grammar but also make
decisions on content (what to include and what to cut) and style.
Are you more of
a writer or an editor?
Here’s a helpful quiz adapted from Gray Grant
communications:
WRITER TENDENCIES
- Do you tend to leave your work-in-progress in the bottom of your
desk drawer for weeks at a time, hoping the editing
fairies will work on it while you’re living the rest of your life?
- Even if you have a hard time getting started writing, do you find
that time always slips away while you write?
- If given the choice between editing something you’ve written OR
reading an incredibly boring book, would you always choose the reading?
- When writing, do you naturally focus on telling stories? Stories make writing more interesting – not just
for the reader but for the writer as well.
- Do you never worry about what your readers are going to think of
your writing ability? While others fret about the quality of their
prose, you’re still able to write as though it’s no more difficult than
typing.
- Do you naturally use similes and metaphors? Persuasive
writers understand that writing becomes more interesting if they can work
in lots of intriguing comparisons.
- When Microsoft Word puts a red squiggly line underneath a
spelling error you’ve made, are you able to ignore it until you’ve
finished writing the piece?
- Does it take you 10 times longer to edit that you had
anticipated? Perfectionists are terrible
at gauging the time a job will take.
SCORE: How many of these traits above sound like you? If you scored 6 or
above, you’re most likely a natural
editor more than a writer.
EDITOR TENDENCIES
- Do you have a reflexive urge to edit just about every sentence as
soon as you’ve written it? This is called editing while you
write.
- Do you procrastinate when it comes time to writing? Would you
rather vacuum behind the refrigerator, have a colonoscopy or work on your
income taxes than write a first draft?
- Do you spend time doing so much research you feel you could
produce an encyclopedia on the topic…but hate to start summarizing?
- Do you usually read your own writing out loud when
you edit it? Good editors naturally read their
writing out loud. This is one of the best possible ways to
learn what you need to fix.
- Does it take you 10 times longer to write than you had
anticipate? Perfectionists are terrible at gauging the time a job
will take.
- Do you obsess on structure, certain that if you could only divine
the right organization, your work-in-progress would more or less write
itself? Ah, the promise of a magic bullet.
SCORE: How many of these traits above
sound like you? If you scored 5 or above, you’re most likely a natural editor more than a writer.
Conclusion
Whether you’re more of an editor or a writer, don’t ever tell me you
cannot write or you didn’t have time to write. You didn’t get to your current
level of success without being able to communicate effectively. So, like it or
note you need to be a writer. Here are 8 keys to finding your inner
voice.
What’s your
take? I’d love to hear from you.
#writervseditor, #contentcreation,
#persuasivewriting
