You love words. You love reading. You know how to spell and whether to put an apostrophe in ‘its’. You check CVs for friends, proofread your neighbourhood newsletter and use full words and punctuation in WhatsApp messages.

You consider editing as a full-time career, a side hustle or a nice way to make extra cash in retirement. You do a few courses, attend a couple of webinars and get yourself some reference books.

But rather than building your confidence, all this seems to do is make you realise how much you still need to learn.

In my experience as a PEG mentor, I can tell you that this is a common path for many editors. I can also tell you that mentorship is an excellent way to bridge the gap between ‘knowing how much you don’t know’ and knowing where to find the answers, both during and after your mentorship.

Ask a real-life editor

One of the most obvious benefits of mentoring is having an experienced editor ‘on tap’.

Mentors have been there, asked that, struggled with the answers and come out the other side. They may not always give you a definitive answer, but they will give you guidance, options, resources and plenty to think about.

When you’re working on a text and you find yourself thinking, ‘Is this correct?’ or ‘Is this tone too harsh?’ or ‘Am I over-editing?’, the input of an experienced mentor is invaluable

A safe space to learn, at your level

The one-to-one focus of a mentorship means your learning is targeted. If you are new to editing, you can start with the fundamentals. If you are more experienced, you can explore editing nuances or perhaps branch out into editing new genres.

Either way, you’re not working through content you already know or being overwhelmed by ‘higher grade’ concepts. Instead, you’re developing the skills you need for where you are right now.

Mentoring also gives you a safe space to ask questions you can’t find answers to online (or don’t want to ask in a public forum), and time to mull over and debate the options.

Editing beyond spelling and punctuation

One of the most common misconceptions I see about editing is that it’s mainly about the ‘correctness’ of grammar, punctuation and spelling. Yes, this is obviously a big part of what we do … But what about elements like tables, page numbers, formatting and heading hierarchies?

A good editor knows the difference between correct usage, house style and their own pet peeves – and has the discipline not to impose their own preferences on someone else’s writing.

What about understanding the author’s voice so that you don’t squash it by over-editing? Or assessing whether the writing level and tone are appropriate for the intended audience – and, if not, how to correct those without distorting the meaning of the text and the author’s intention?

These are deeper skills that you should develop under the guidance of a skilled professional – not by trial and error with paying clients!

Using the tools of the trade

So far, we’ve talked about the text itself. But editors must also know how to work confidently in Word (particularly), PowerPoint and Adobe.

Your mentor won’t give you technical lessons, but will give you useful tips to help you work with these packages effectively so that your clients can navigate your changes and comments quickly and easily.

Working with clients

When you’re editing a text, you’re also editing the ideas and intellectual work of the person who wrote it. If you want that person to keep using your editing services, you’ll need good communication skills so that you can give constructive feedback.

Managing the scope and expectations of an editing brief is also a big part of the job. When a client asks for a ‘light proofread’ but the document clearly needs structural editing, you must know how to handle that conversation and adjust your quote accordingly.

Learning from an experienced editor

Editing is not just about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s. It’s a package of language, technical and communication skills. An effective way to acquire these skills is by working on real texts, written by real people, and getting guidance from someone who has worked with real, paying clients!

For me, this is the biggest benefit of a mentorship: it builds experience in a way that stands you in good stead for editing in the real world.

Mentoring shows you how all the pieces fit together: language, structure, technology, client management and ethics. Most importantly, it gives you space to grow at your own pace, with support.

If you’re ready to progress from ‘I’m good at language’ to ‘I’m a professional editor’, a mentorship is a great place to start. Learn more about the PEG Mentoring Scheme. Visit our website: Mentoring – Professional Editors’ Guild

814 words