As an editor, I sometimes feel like a real-life magician
For a nerd with a love of language like myself, perhaps this is the next best thing to being Hermione Granger, writes Harriet Williamson
As a Voices editor, one of the most important parts of my job is to take the copy of writers – freelance and in-house – and ensure that their words are polished until they sparkle.
Largely, we are not good editors of our own work, and even the best writers benefit from an editor’s eagle eye. We’re often too close to something we’ve written, and therefore more unlikely to spot whether a slight restructure would improve the effectiveness of the piece, or if different word choices could add impact. It takes a fresh perspective to assess an article as a whole, and decide where fat could be trimmed and the most pertinent points expanded upon.
I take immense pride in editing, whether it’s copy from veterans like our chief political commentator John Rentoul – which is always meticulously clean – or more rough and ready submissions from people who aren’t, first and foremost, writers, but have unique perspectives on current affairs and salient talking points.
Transforming copy that arrives in need of a bit of TLC into something that flows and engages readers feels like alchemy – a form of editorial magic. As a nerd with a love of language, perhaps this is the next best thing to being a real-life Hermione Granger.
For opinion pieces, there is great value in having someone’s authentic voice shine through, and we always endeavour to keep as much personality in as possible.
Editing requires some less flashy skills too, like a good grasp of grammar and how best to structure sentences. But even this, and the process of making a submission adhere to our house style brings with it real satisfaction, as I’m sure our dedicated team of sub-editors will attest.
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Ideally, writers who submit to Voices should aim to produce the best copy they can, and carefully read over their work before filing – particularly as we are a small editorial team, juggling a myriad of daily demands. But we understand that the nature of the fast-paced news cycle and tight deadlines mean things will get missed.
Of course, editors aren’t perfect either, as TheIndependent’s weekly Mea Culpa column demonstrates!
Yours,
Harriet Williamson
Voices commissioning editor