WILCOX WRITING

“Do I really need an editor?” That is the golden question. You’re obviously interested in writing services if you’ve made it to this corner of the internet. Maybe you’re wondering about what the editing process is like or if you need an editor.

The short answer is that everyone can use an editor. The long answer is “maybe” and involves the purpose of your writing and whether you want polished and/or professional-sounding writing.

TLDR; You should hire an editor if you want to:

• Avoid personal bias in self-editing
• Have someone trained to offer the best editing possible
• Remove the burden on the writing creation process
• Improve your work to professional quality
• Show the world that your writing means business, and you’re good at what you do
• Improve your opportunity

Of course, editing services aren’t free. Editors also need to eat and require compensation for their time and work. Serious editors, like myself, do this for a living. Wilcox Writing, fortunately, offers low-cost editing, so the financial burden isn’t as great.

You could save on those costs by self-editing or giving your writing to a friend or trusted word person to edit your document. Self-editing is fine, especially if you’re good at it. However, self-editing comes at a cost. That cost is bias. Even as a trained editor, I can’t tell you how many times I had something pointed out in my own writing that I completely missed and felt stupid that something so noticeable was invisible to me. Our writing becomes our dear child, and we become accustomed to it and see it with rose-colored glasses. Having an editor is a second pair of eyes, a detached and trained observer that can spot holes and potential issues from a new, unbiased perspective.

You can get around this and save money by having a trusted friend edit your work. They can be the second pair of eyes that you need. However, they may not be formally trained in editing, and thus, don’t approach the writing as an editor would. They might miss or have less constructive feedback for improvement for things that are more nuanced. In short, unless your friend is a trained editor, the editorial quality wouldn’t be as strong as with a trained and professional editor.

Editors are highly trained at spotting things some people aren’t even aware of. We’ve been trained and have experience in editing, and have credentials from authoritative bodies showcasing our ability to edit. For instance, were you aware that the end of a sentence is the most emphatic position? By reordering a sentence’s clauses or phrases, you can emphasize some information over others, thus changing how your writing is perceived. There is also the cognitive load of writing, which writers might not be aware of. More phrases and clauses in a sentence increase the cognitive load, or the amount of mental effort required to grasp a sentence’s meaning. We pay attention to cognitive load and can offer tips to minimize that load.

Writers should also focus on the writing and ideas themselves. Dividing up your time into editing also divides your attention. Of course, every writer should have good grammar and editing skills, but they need not specialize in it, so they can specialize and focus on their writing. It also prolongs the creation process. After a long day of writing, you’d then have to take time to edit that writing, which can take several more hours or even days, depending on the project. At some point, you might just want to be done with it and move on to the next writing, since you already have that long to-do list of writings to finish. An editor could approach this writing more quickly than the author might be able to, since we have cultivated a specialized and efficient editing workflow. We also don’t get bogged down about changing this or that while editing, like the author might, since it is not our work to begin with.

Hiring an editor gives you a second set of eyes, takes the burden off the writer, gives you access to professional and specialized writing editing, and can speed up the creation process. You can focus more on what you want to do, especially if you prefer writing to editing.

Whether you need an editor also depends on the purpose and type of project. If you want to publish anything for professional or commercial purposes, an editor is a good investment. They can improve your writing, potentially giving you better access to a client base, improve client reach, and instill confidence in potential clients. The specific tone and words you choose can impact whether a client reads your advertisement or product and opts to use it. Editors like Wilcox Writing are trained to optimize the words to increase client reach.

Publishing fiction books can also benefit from investing in an editor. Even if the work is not commercialized, the book can act as a portfolio or showcase your talent. Books with even subtle grammar errors throughout (noticed by the trained eye) can show unprofessionalism or even a lack of ability and skill. Almost all professional books make use of an editor in some capacity.

Editors can even optimize wording on your public profiles, and we can write stellar, unbiased, biographies. For instance, on LinkedIn and other social media. When applying for jobs, Human Resources will often hire investigators to look into your social profile. The first thing they do is check your social media and look for red flags. Professional-sounding writing can impress recruiters. The right words can attract certain people to view your profile and impress them. It all depends on its professionalism, and choosing the right words for your purpose.

So the long answer for “Do I really need an editor?” is maybe. Almost all writing can be improved for the reasons listed. However, if you’re just having fun or just want to create, maybe you don’t need an editor. But then again, an editor can still be helpful. They can give that extra edge to your writing. Everything you publish to the world or that is viewed by someone else gives an impression, and you want to give the right impression. That impression is that you are good at what you do, and your content is professional, relevant, of high scholarship, and/or entertaining, depending on your aim. Who knows who might be looking at your writing? Recruiters? Someone with opportunities? Brands? An investment in an editor is a safe bet that if your content is viewed, it will make a good, strong impact.