Sunday at Seth’s

I like Seth Godin’s blog. It’s refreshing to not feel compelled to wade through comments sometimes (because you have no choice chez Seth). He also knows how to be pithy without sounding too much like, I dunno, a prophet or a salesman.

And he gets some things about editors and editing:

The copyeditor will fix a misstated fact, spot a typo and get your prose clean.

The line editor will rearrange a paragraph and help you organize a thought more clearly.

And the editor who is your partner will tell you that the chapters are in the wrong order, that you must delete a third of what you wrote, or perhaps consider writing for TV instead. This kind of editor is the one who will tell you your time is better spent doing something else entirely.

Then, to take it home:

Sure, fix my typos, thanks a lot, but what’s truly precious is someone able to fix your plan.

I happen to think all editors are precious, but he still has a good point.

And if you’re looking for a copyeditor, or a line editor, or a strategic editor, or an I-don’t-care-what-you-call-yourself-but-the-words-on-the-page-just-don’t-match-the-ones-in-my-head-itor, then click on over here and drop me a line.