I thoroughly enjoy the editing process, and the few editorial positions I've held have been an amazing experience. Despite my love of writing, editing and authoritative power, the life of an editor can be a struggle. Here are a few things that drive editors crazy.
1. Writers complain about their busy lives.
Sometimes you want to trade places with them just so they know your pain.
2. They say they'll finish it "right now."
"Right now" means sometime in the next twelve hours.
3. Doing a thousand edits all at once.
After a while, the words start to look like hieroglyphics, and you fall asleep on your computer.
4. The writer didn't check their work.
They know that an editor is going to comb through their writing for mistakes so they don't make an effort to check their work before they submit. Unfortunately, the more mistakes we have to fix, the more likely it is that we're going to miss something.
5. We don't catch everything.
Just because we know what to look for doesn't mean that we're going to find every little thing even though we try to fix as much as we can.
6. You see an error that you missed and panic.
Whether it's in an article, an essay, a story or a text message, you flip out and question all of your life choices when you use it's instead of its
7. You want to slap the people who point out your errors.
We know we missed that usage error, and we don't need anymore pretentious grammar nerds on our backs because we beat ourselves up enough.
8. Trying to remember if you're using APA or MLA style.
Then the English majors cry a little when we have to edit out the Oxford comma. Thanks a lot, APA! (Long live the Oxford comma!)
9. People ask you to edit during your spare time.
Does the work ever end! The answer is no, it literally never ends because everyone knows that they can come to you for help editing papers, emails, novels and articles.
10. You have to find polite responses for their work.
Sometimes it's a real struggle when both the content and writing need serious work.
11. No one believes that you can get a job with a degree in English.
Every business needs someone who can write clearly and intellectually, or someone to make sure their writing content and structure are sound. So the next time someone questions your career choices, charge them an editorial consultation fee every time they ask you to edit their papers and emails.
While there are several things that drive me insane, I do love being an editor. I love reading submissions and working with writers to develop their style and ideas, and I'll always jump on the chance to practice copy editing.
