Editor as Mentor

Editing a piece of writing is a whole lot like taking a mentoring role in a younger person's life...

Picture yourself, the editor, when the author has just given you their baby, akin to their firstborn, their book, their precious, the 75,000 words they fought for with blood, sweat, and fingernails -- and said, "Okay, I've done everything I can with this thing. Please understand my heart for this project, please understand how much it means to me, please understand how this will have my name on it, please understand that I am being very vulnerable right now in letting you in on my secret little world." And then you're given the oft "envied-in-theory" task of taking their life's work, which is pretty good, and making it shine...

Now, as a mentor, you've been given the oft "envied-in-theory" task of coming alongside someone who needs or wants some guidance. They might well have had some amazing parents who brought them up and taught them the way they should go, but, in the end, the job of helping to form an effective life is not just a job for super-mom and/or super dad... So, mom and/or dad is able to see this mentor person as a complement to their child-rearing (not a threat), a help in times of trouble, a voice of encouragement when they feel as if their input is no longer valued.

In the end, authors get their names on books, and children are officially a reflection of their parents, but in reality, if it's not a collaborative effort (editors and mentors), they will just stay pretty good, not quite at potential--just shy of shining and often short of greatness.