Edit Wizard 4 U

Archive for December, 2010

Years ago I studied astrology and one of the things I learned was that we all have Scorpio and Pluto somewhere in our charts and that is the energy of compulsions.  We all have compulsions of some sort and one of mine is puzzle books.

Recently I realized that that is why I love editing so much.  It’s just like puzzle books.

When a client sends me their copy to edit, I look at it as I do a puzzle.  Hmmmmmm………..what’s the main theme here, what is the format this should be in, what are they trying to say?

Sometimes it’s a how-to book that needs some firmer language, sometimes a spiritual-type book that is a bit ‘out there’ and needs some down-to-earth tweaking. And other times it’s a report that simply needs proper formatting.

And a curious thing has been happening this past year. As my intuition grows, I notice my facility at puzzles grows as well. I simply intuitively know where the words are hidden. The pen in my hand just goes to where the answer is. Amazing.

I now see I’m doing that with editing, too.  If a sentence does not ‘feel’ right to me, it usually isn’t. And making text flow so it all makes sense is a compulsion of mine.

But even with the editing work increasing, I won’t be giving up puzzles anytime soon. Too much fun.