Being an editor is not for sissies. They work hard, and the better they are at what they do, the more abuse they take. If you're unsure what an editor actually does (besides mangle your lapidary prose), this description might help. It's from Sue Khodarahmi, managing editor of Communication World, the monthly magazine for members of IABC (International Association of Business Communicators):
Usually I read a story first for content, figuring out what the point is, correcting any immediately apparent typos or grammatical errors, and flagging anything that might need to be confirmed. A second and sometimes third or fourth edit often reveal inconsistencies or gaps in the information--if it jumps from point A to point C, for example, I might rearrange sentences or paragraphs, tighten them up a bit, and reword any awkward phrases. Finally, I look at each word to see if there might be a way to make the story flow a little more gracefully.
This is good normal editing, the day-to-day stuff that makes an article and a publication sing. Khodarahmi is describing what she does for other people's writing, but you may have noticed there's nothing in the list that writers can't do for themselves, too. Writers worth the title will take all these steps toward making their own writing better, even if they're lucky enough to have a good editor.
I would add one self-editing task that Khodarahmi was too nice to mention: GET OVER YOURSELF. The only writing that is strictly for self-expression is writing that you self-publish or do in your private journal. If it's all about you, quality can take a back seat to your ego. No harm, no foul. In all other cases, though, it's not self-expression any more: it's commerce. For public consumption. Someone else's reputation or investment is at stake, and quality--not the purity of your motives or the intensity of your feelings--is what counts.
No matter how brilliant you are, a good editor can make you look better. Don't bite the hand that feeds you.
