When I taught kindergarten, I used to tell my students that I have eyes in the back of my head. So when my back was turned, they thought I could still see what they were doing—and who was behaving. They would tell me that they were looking carefully at the back of my head to see if they could find my extra eyes.
It might be nice to sometimes have another pair of eyes and to be able to see things in a different way than you usually do, but all you have is your own perspective.
And your perspective is fantastic. But when it comes to writing, having only your perspective is limiting.
After you’ve been looking at your writing for a long time, your eyes are tired. Your brain is tired. Even if you take a break and come back to it, you’re likely still looking at it in the same way. You’re closely connected to your writing. And this makes it easy to miss problems.
What if there’s a more effective way to say what you want to say? What if the words you’ve used are going to make it difficult for your readers to connect with your ideas? What if you’ve overlooked grammatical errors?
You need someone who’s not as closely connected to your writing as you are. You need someone with a new perspective—a new pair of eyes.
You need an editor.
Here’s what another pair of eyes can do for you:
Help you see your mistakes—You may not see your mistakes, but your editor will. Your readers will judge the credibility of your ideas by your grammar and spelling and by the clarity of your writing. Your editor will correct these mistakes.
Help you polish your writing—Maybe your grammar and spelling is okay. But there may be redundancy, wordiness, or lack of cohesion. Your editor will eliminate these problems so that your writing shines.
Help you meet the goals you have for your writing—Is your tone or choice of words appropriate for your target audience? Can important information be easily located and understood? Your editor will give you ideas about how to engage your readers and help you make your writing as strong as possible.
Before you publish, bring in an editor to view your writing with fresh eyes and offer you another perspective.
