Why hire an editor?

(From the website of the Manitoba Editors’ Association)

Communicate effectively to your intended audience
Editors specialize in language, whether that language is used in an annual report, marketing brochure, newsletter, novel, website – or anything in between. In other words, any project that has text in it can benefit from the help of an editor.

If you’ve spent months or years working on your project, it’s often difficult to see it with an objective eye. An editor represents your intended reader, and reviews your project with that reader in mind – whether it’s a 10-year-old child, a professional, or a member of the general public.

Editors will make sure the reading level is right and the text is structured to flow easily. They’ll eliminate repetition and redundancy and make sure your message is clear, concise, and says exactly what you mean.

Save time and money
If you’re like most writers, you’ve done everything you can to make your copy the best it can be. Yet once the item is produced, you’ve cringed at the errors that got through. Perhaps you’ve had to make last-minute corrections and reprint and resend corrected documents. It happens more than you think.

Experienced editors not only check spelling, punctuation and grammar, they check your facts, logic and sense. They’ll catch those mistakes that get by people who are perhaps a little too close to the project – before it’s in production.

A professional editor can also help you by overseeing special writing and marketing projects. When you have no staff dedicated to such projects, a professional editor can save you time and money by coming on board as needed and taking the project from beginning to end. Or an editor can augment existing staff when an important deadline looms.

Convey credibility
If you’re in business, you’ve worked hard to be recognized as knowledgeable and professional in your field. Your marketing materials are designed to convey an image that will gain the trust of your customers and tell them that you know what you’re doing. Simple spelling errors, inconsistent facts or faulty grammar reflects on the quality of the work you do – shoddy language translates to shoddy work, or tells readers that inaccuracies and mistakes don’t really matter to you. In either case, errors and can diminish your company’s image and jeopardize your credibility. Meticulous language, on the other hand, reflects the scrupulous care you provide to clients and customers. Professional editors can ensure the language that you use shows you in your best light.  

Richard (Rick) Johnson

Writer • Editor • Entrepreneur