If you ask any editor about the early stages of their career, you may hear some version of “I wish I’d known then what I know now!”
For those who are new to the field, it’s tempting to focus on rules such as grammar, punctuation, and style guides. These components matter, of course, but many editors later realize they underestimated other foundational skills.
Learning how to assess a text at the structural level, articulate feedback clearly and kindly, and manage revisions systematically often proves more valuable than memorizing grammar rules or every case of word usage.
Developing these habits early can dramatically shorten the learning curve for early career editors, but established editors can also find themselves revisiting these same areas. With experience comes speed, but also the risk of working on “autopilot”. Over time, editors may notice gaps they never fully addressed, including inconsistent workflows, unclear decision-making rationales, or difficulty explaining why a change is necessary to a client or author.
Across career stages, the most enduring editorial skills tend to fall into three categories:
- Editorial judgment (knowing what matters most in a text)
- Process (having a repeatable and adaptable way of working)
- Communication (making edits make sense to other humans)
Editing is as much about building the right skills at the right time as it is about having a knack for language. The editors who grow most sustainably are those who treat their skill set as something they periodically assess, refine, and strengthen.
Whether you’re just starting out or years into the work, purposefully revisiting the fundamentals can be one of the most effective professional moves you make.
We’re working on something that will help editors establish a reliable routine, improve consistency, and work more efficiently. Stay tuned!