The Joy of Editing

OK, I'm going to say it. I love the actual editing process. I love being a book editor -- and as much as I love being a publisher, a business developer, and an entrepreneur, at the heart of it, I really just love being a book editor. Over the past few years, I've overseen hundreds of development and line edits on my books, but rarely had the time to edit a book myself. However, this weekend, on top of proposals, research, taxes, author guidelines, and a million other things, I finished editing a book and really, really enjoyed it.

I love the process of finding the author's voice and really digging into their message. Did they really convey to the reader the depth and breadth of what they wanted to say? Did they pull all the themes through they wanted to share with the reader. How can we artfully help them look good -- and still make sure they don't mistakenly offend someone. And how can we best help them present their advice and message to the reader? (Copyediting is something else altogether. I prefer to leave the spelling, punctuation, grammar, and style to the real experts!)

It takes a lot of time but it's so critical to a book's success. I work with some of the best development and line editors, but it's nice to do it myself when I can. The material really shines and I know it's a solid book. And editing brings back the joy of being an editor. I love business strategy, negotiations, presentations, and planning, but at the heart of it, books, authors, and words are the important part.