It’s very humbling to dedicate your creativity, contact list, and analytical skills to someone else’s work
Last week one of our editors stopped at my desk. He was clearly frustrated. “I’m trying to figure out where yesterday went,” he said. “I wanted to get ahead with my own writing but I spent so much time helping other people write.”
Another editor I work with tells me at least once a year that she wishes she could do more writing of her own. Her time is rationed, and most of it is spent midwifing other people’s work.
A very incisive member of our team had a clever way to frame the dilemma: The way she put it is that when we ask a really talented writer to become part of the editorial team, we risk losing a writer. Yes, a good editor can bring in more pieces from more contributors, but it also means they will be helping others produce rather than producing their own work.
In one sense, it’s a smart shift. One gifted writer can provide only so much copy per year. A gifted editor can juggle multiple assignments with multiple writers and nudge along lots of pieces simultaneously.
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