5 Characteristics of Highly Successful Editors

Do you have what it takes to be a good editor? Obviously you can read, so you’ve met the most basic requirement, but editing is so much more than reading (as I’ve said over and over and over). See if you’ve got these other indispensible attributes.

1. A firm grasp of the rules of grammar. No, you do not have to know everything under the sun about English grammar, but you do need above-average skills. Perhaps most importantly, you need to know enough to recognize when you need to look something up.
2. Insatiable curiosity and a mind for minutiae. Editors tend to be curious about everything. Those of us who are not specialists edit a wide variety of material on topics we don’t always get to choose. I find that exciting; I enjoy taking my mind to new places and learning things I never imagined I would want to know. Editors need to learn constantly and file those bits and pieces of information away in their voluminous brains. You never know when you will need to call up some random fact to help you on an editing job. Also, you will need to remember that the character Suzie Smith had a two-year-old tabby cat on page 10, so when that cat suddenly morphs into a six-month-old calico on page 72 you will recognize the discrepancy.
3. The ability to maintain a high level of concentration for hours at a time. When your mind drifts off while you’re editing, you are going to miss something. You need to be able to focus completely on what you’re editing, even when you are tired or would rather be doing something else.
4. A dirty mind. This is my favorite characteristic. If you don’t immediately snicker at the unfortunate headline “How to Put Pickles Up Yourself” (from a newspaper’s food section—at least that’s what my journalism professor told us), you will be liable to leave your authors in embarrassing situations.
5. A sense of humor. Another favorite of mine. Trust me, as an editor you will read assaults on the English language that will make you either sigh in despair or burst into laughter. Choose laughter.