When I joined the Professional Editors’ Guild in 2022, I thought I had editing and proofreading down to a fine art. I have good English abilities and a natural eye for detail. I love the technical side of editing – the formatting, fitting and finessing. I’m equally enchanted by words and how they can be massaged and polished so that they catch the sunlight and weave their magic. I think commas are terrible. They’re horribly, terribly confusing conundrums, but semicolons, for me, are a breeze. They all have their place – and I really thought I knew exactly who was who in the zoo. Turns out, I did … and I didn’t.
More than the three Cs
PEG opened my eyes to what being a copy editor is – beyond the three Cs of consistency, correctness and clarity was a whole band of others: caring, commitment, collegiality, caution, confidence, curiosity and credibility. From the very first introductory webinar I attended, I understood that I was entering a world where the people would be mightier than the pen.
Imposter syndrome
I read with astonishment the arguments that ensued on PEGforum – did real people really care that much about putting that curmudgeonly comma in its correct place? My jaw dropped as I frantically looked up words that Corné, ever the self-styled recalcitrant, used to explain concepts that I thought I knew (did he really mean callipygian?). I went from know-it-all to full-blown imposter syndrome in a matter of weeks.
Getting involved
Gritting my teeth and grimacing, I decided that if you can’t beat them – or in this case at least meet them on equal footing – you’d better jump in and see what it’s all about. So I put myself out there and started to learn from my PEG colleagues. There were endless opportunities – webinars, coffee conversations, training sessions and a regional group that met every month or so – not to mention PEGboard, the blogs, website resources with access to the OED and Hart’s, and, of course, the sometimes fiery but always informative PEGforum.
Once I had recovered my equilibrium enough to venture a question or opinion, I found I wasn’t alone … even the then PEG Chair, Alexis – who was, to me, the epitome of an editing goddess – asked questions. Hmm. So I moved a little closer and listened a little more, and soon I was offering my own suggestions and contributing to meetings.
I also became a much better editor. My understanding of the role expanded way beyond the mechanics of editing. I can now look at the documents I edit with an awareness of not only the author’s inescapable reality, but also the complexities of the ever-shifting technological lure, particularly for young writers and students. I have become a mishmash of editor, teacher and student, and I now know much, much more than I ever needed to know about some really strange subjects. I’ve also become an APA 7 savant – who knew such things were possible?
Joining the gang
While PEG’s national technical genies, editing goddesses and grammar gurus are omnipresent, the members of the regional groups are kind of like the peanut butter in a sarmie – it’s the tasty stuff that sticks everything together. The Eastern Cape PEG group is a smorgasbord of lovely down-to-earth people who genuinely enjoy our learning sessions, where we also swap advice, ask questions and share editing tips and stories. It’s a lonely business being a freelancer, and these informal, intimate meetings are a lifeline. They can pump up your confidence when the doubt creeps in, give you permission to pat yourself on the back or laugh a little. They’re dual-purpose learning sessions that provide know-how with a spoonful of sugar.
Bottom line
The point of this blog is to encourage you all to get involved. Without PEG, we’re not much better than the AI-wannabes. With PEG, we are continually learning, upskilling and understanding the never-ending complexities of the languages we edit and the world in which we work. We need to lean on each other, learn together, share what we know and watch over one another. Yes, I needed PEG to give me credibility, but it has given me – and continues to give me – so much more. It has given me a home – a peg to hang my hat on.
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