What Does An Editor Do?
Our top five examples
What does an editor do? One of the bugbears most editors have is with the argument that, as it’s only writing, everyone should be able to do it.
Years spent wrestling with the mysteries of the English language often don’t seem to count for much, usually because we’ve got used to ‘near enough’ being good enough - which is fine if you’re just slapping a note on the fridge or a sending a Messenger post to friends or family.
But when it’s on the landing page of your website, or in a pitch for business, your CV or a job application, it can make the difference between success and failure. That’s when a professional could be your friend.
So what does an editor actually do?
The answers are many and varied but here are five examples of when you may need one – and how they can help you.
Websites
On your website, an editor should be looking at spelling and grammar and seeking out typos. They’ll use your style guide as a reference and ensure it reflects your tone of voice.
However things like SEO scores are important too, and there may be work to do on sentences that are too long.
The text may need breaking up with sub headings, while an editor can also help by getting rid of as much passive voice they can.
Blogs
A blog is much the same; it’s online content after all so needs to adhere to the same guidelines, which can be a challenge.
The tone needs to be engaging, but it’s important to remember not every blog is there for pure entertainment – posts need to inform, too. External links can help with that but it’s best to stay away from long passages and keep things as punchy as you can.
Don’t forget you’ll also need images; too much unbroken text is a challenge for the mind’s eye.
Press releases
A good press release takes skill. Sentences should be short and to the point, and the whole thing – minus headlines and notes, of course – shouldn’t be much more than 500 words. It should include quotes, contact details, and ideally an image or two.
Remember, journalists see dozens of press releases every day so your key message needs to grab their attention immediately. Knowing your target publication’s house style can be a huge advantage, while waffle or a dropped intro could cost you the coverage you’re seeking. A good editor ought to be taking a big red pen to both.
Newsletters
Newsletters for your customers – existing and potential – and other contacts, on the other hand, are your chance to celebrate your story. It’s okay to include opinions and a little colour.
However, if you want your audience to enjoy the read, it’s still a good plan to keep text concise and to the point. A good editor will ensure your text is free from typos, on message and brief. The tone and style of writing will depend on you and your business; our job is to eradicate repetition, clunky grammar and the like.
Novels and books
Novels and books can be demanding projects. There are different stages of editing, and it might be that you’ll need more than one person.
We’ll cover them in more detail in a future post but, briefly, they are:
· Developmental editing, which looks at the building blocks of a book such as plot, structure, characters and themes
· Line/paragraph editing, focusing on sentence structure and issues such as clarity and flow
· Word editing, to check for grammatical, spelling and syntax errors
· Proofreading, which is the final line of defence to ensure there are no errors in your manuscript
A good editor will make sure your book, be it fact or fiction, speaks to its intended audience. Timescales can vary greatly, depending on the raw material, but it’s a good idea to set out at least a rough timescale at the start.
We’d love to help with your editing needs and ensure your written communications are as good as they can be. If you’d like to know more, or see examples of our previous work, feel free to get in touch.
Remember, at Dolphin International Communications, we’re only a click away.