When a tricky editing project has put me out of my depth, the first thing I reach for is my trusty style guide. But that will only get me so far. As an environmental sciences editor, I’m confronted daily with this conundrum: when my grasp on the subject matter is limited, what do I lean on to make the trickiest editing decisions? The answer I have found lies in building a personal relationship with the writer of the work.
What does a personal relationship between an editor and writer look like? We could classify most any interpersonal interaction as a “relationship,” but in my experience, it’s been most helpful to think of the author-editor relationship as one of mutual respect and trust built through time and intentional empathy.
It doesn’t have to be a friendship, but I make the best editing decisions when I know the author well enough to have some context of what they write about and how they communicate. This understanding usually begins with meeting them personally.
It’s not uncommon to hear editors say that the more they read text from the same author, the easier it is to see patterns in strengths and weaknesses. For instance, in a recent editing venture with a writer I work with regularly, I noticed they had a solid grasp of punctuation but struggled with verb tense. That context informs my understanding of their writing style beyond simple grammar and punctuation.
For a new writer I started to work with recently, after meeting him to talk about my initial queries, I learned not only that he was British, but also that he was incredibly conscientious and selective with his wording, both very helpful pieces of information for me when editing. It’s unlikely I would have learned these facts without meeting him.
Getting to know writers personally helps me to understand not just their style, but the content of their writing in a broader context. I first heard this advice from a family friend, who edited engineering reports for the city of Seattle in the 1980s: she’d get beers with the engineers she worked with and would have them walk her through their projects.
I’ve participated in my fair share of happy hours and coffee runs, and they always prove beneficial. Even if I don’t always grasp the technical concepts right away, the practice fosters trust and paves the way for future improved understanding. One of the biggest breakthroughs I had regarding editing technical specifications (a type of engineering document) came after a series of conversations with a handful of engineers. I asked them what they felt was important to get right and how I could help.
It’s much easier to communicate with and query writers I have relationships with. One writer I worked with never seemed to respond to my comments or emailed queries. After noticing how often they pinged me with updates, it occurred to me that texting them queries might be better. Lo and behold, they responded!
Every person is unique and communicates differently. If I have an established relationship with the author, I can know how to adapt my communication method to query effectively.
So, the next time a tricky editing project has you feeling wilted, consider it an opportunity for a relationship. Along with choosing your style guide, actively try to get to know the writer and watch the work improve as the relationship blossoms.
How Well Do You Know Your Writer? was originally published in Tracking Changes (Winter 2021 edition). Members receive a PDF of the quarterly Tracking Changes newsletter by email.
Header photo by Danae Callister on Unsplash.
