Author • Oyeniyi Joshua

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Anonymous wrote: “I spend more on good books than I’ll spend on food. Because good food never impresses me the way good books does.”

Probably anonymous is a reader willing to give his all to a good book rather than food. But has he been able to find that intriguing book where he went on hunger strike just to give it all?

Meanwhile, the world is currently undergoing a phase where almost everyone has turned a writer, would anonymous not get lost trying to find a good book? Or what is good book to an anonymous?

Gone are the days when anyone could place an ink on a blank sheet of paper and be fulfilled as a writer. In a fast and revolving era, the world of writing is becoming a competitive expertise with the scarcity of readers who will settle for anything average. It is, rather, more convenient to explore the possibility of a better content on uprising webpages that have been able to meet the needs of their audience.

Good books or writings are more of treasured products that offers value. And to achieve that, just like the processes that goes into making a finished product, there are protocols that needs to be put in place.

More often than not, the work of an editor is usually underrated by the writing community. Even to the extent that they fail to see how they can work together to make their books or writings a whole lot of a package.

The knowledge of adding and subtracting has been one of writer’s fear of editors and has also been a common misconception usually passed around. Meanwhile, editors serves as an intermediary between the world of writers and readers. They help to give a second eye to writings and are more responsible for any grammatical mistakes, disharmony of ideas and ambiguous expressions.

In fact they are like doctors with the ability to diagnose the grammatical wrongs and finds a cure for them in every written document. They correct spelling errors, replace ambiguous expressions and rearrange the structure of ideas in that they all flow accordingly.

As a writer, there is an high probability that you will, many times, overlook the mistakes made in your content with the fulfillment of a completed project. You may even go through a content up to three times and still never find the mistake. On the other hand, the editor who is very professional knows how well to dig in into the writing and like the net launched into the sea, fish out those words that are not necessary.

Emma Hill, a great writer, affirms that “the first draft is black and white, editing gives the story color.” Writing without editing may never be able to compete in the world where information is easier to get. To take the pains of editing will assist in enriching the content.

Finished product are produce that are usually of great value to its consumer even after years of wear and tear. When a product fails to give that value, it is better to be considered as a waste.

Writings can also be of value or waste on the blank sheet depending on the writer’s decision. Even great writers knows this. It is the duty of editors to make a written document meet up to readers' standard. Even a great writing could lose its impression on the readers' expectation if ill-written. 

It will then be counted tragic when writers and editors' relationship assume the dog and cat kind when they both fail to understand their respective duty. The writer is to put the words down as they appear on his mind in his/her style, and the editor is to ensure that the writing is error free and comprehensible. 

But then as Blake Morrison rightly put that “editing might be a bloody trade, but knives aren’t the exclusive property of butchers. Surgeon use them too”. It may then mean that, more often than not, writers will need to understand the editor’s choice of action and editors be willing to discuss every aspect of change in the project.

Yet, writings can serve as a means of communication and a force of change. It can be rewarding especially when it is passing its message across to readers and the world at large. There is the sort of joy it brings to the writer who receives the accolades, and the editor who gets the conviction of a work done. 

On this note, the writers-editors relationship is one that can be more beneficial to all, if every writer sees the need to offer value through writing. Through this, ascertaining literary excellence becomes so easy and writing/books continually retains its place in the lives of individuals. Get an editor today!

Why Do Writers Need Editors?

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