The Freelance Writer As Editor

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Most of the work you will probably do as a freelance writer – at least initially – will consist of writing copy. Web content, various articles and maybe the occasional magazine piece or two. At some point you will probably be asked to edit something that a client has written on their own. This is a very cool thing and often time is the initial marker of moving up in the writing world.

I remember the first time I was asked to do an editing assignment. I immediately shut off my computer, hopped in the truck and headed to the office supply store and bought a gross of blue pencils. Well, I wanted to anyway. Instead, I took a deep breath, hunkered down and got right into it. It was such a refreshing change from struggling with word production. Heck they were already produced! All I had to do was slash and cut! Whooppee!

So, I’m about half way done and my monitor looks like something from the cutting room floor of a SAW sequel. You never saw so much red in your whole life. A moment of clarity struck me pea brain and I realized I was hacking away at the piece trying to make it sound like something I would have written. Moment of clarity number two then came whizzing around the corner and smacked me between the eyes. It’s not my job as editor to make the piece sound like something I wrote.

Back to the drawing board. I got rid of all of the changes and started anew. I fixed the foibles and rearranged a few things for the sake of clarity, but by and large I left it in tact.   It was fairly well written as it stood. Not anywhere close to what I would have written but still a good piece.

Then I reflected back to something that happened early on in my writing career. I had queried a trade journal about an article and it had been accepted. I had written for the journal previously and that had gone very well. So when I received the manuscript back from an editor at the magazine and it had been completely trashed, I was quite frankly, pissed. The grammar corrections were few. Near as I can tell, there wasn’t anything changed for the sake of accuracy or clarity, this editor wanted my article in her voice. Still fairly young in the business, I grudgingly made the changes and submitted the hacked up manuscript back. She still made even more changes after that and the published piece ended up with a factual change that put a great big helping of egg on my face. I still cringe.

Back to my lesson. When I returned the manuscript back to my client with the changes, he was very happy. He said the changes made perfect sense and added to the effectiveness of the article. A happy ending for editor and writer.

The moral here is that when you are asked to move into the editing arena for a client, keep your head about you and do what it takes to help the writer end up with a piece that is clear and still captures the essence of the writer’s distinct voice and style.

Posted by:  George