What 20 Years of Me Editing Gives You, a Business Academic
I’ve been an academic editor for 20 years, during which time I have edited hundreds of academic texts. So what can I do after 20 years that I couldn’t after 5 or even 10?
At 5 years, I was a good copyeditor. I could catch sneaky errors, I could zip through reference formatting, I was playing a good editing game.
At 12 years, I was a damn fine editor. I was asking more pointed questions about what the writer meant, how sections really related to each other.
At 15 years, I was pretty awesome. I was starting to unlock new skills – seeing the story of a sentence, locating where things were off, how to fix them, explaining why all of it mattered.
At 17 years, I was at the top of my game. I had learnt so much, could see so many ways to improve writing and thinking. I was ready to teach.
At 20 years, I am unbeatable. What I tell you about your manuscript is usually an echo of what reviewers say when it comes to contributions and storytelling, having too many ideas and not enough structure. I can cut down a manuscript by 10% without any significant impact to the ideas. I can help you craft a better Introduction, a winning Abstract. I can tell you when the Discussion section needs a heftier response from you, and when your argument doesn’t make sense.
Spending 20 years examining words through a microscope have given me an edge that only an expert can cultivate over time. I read widely, in linguistics and storytelling; I read the editorials in management journals. I always ask to read reviewers’ comments. I’ve seen manuscripts through 10 years of development to eventually be published in the top-tier journal in that field. I’ve supported and guided authors when they’ve been lost and couldn’t see the woods for the trees. I’ve seen journal editors come and go, and publishing criteria change.
Experts are made, not born. My years and years of looking at sentences, fixing up sloppy arguments, trying to imagine what the author could possibly mean have resulted in a quiet confidence about my ability to do anything with language. Juggle, chop, re-jig, rewrite, ask for help… I know what it takes, I know what is needed, I know how to move forward and get you to where you need to be.