Congrats, Ashley! Loved this post. I'm a professional editor and writer, and in my experience, editing tends to either be dismissed, undervalued, or misunderstood. I loved that you demystified the process a little here. It is impossible for a writer (even me, who is trained and who has been editing others' work for more than a decade) to successfully edit their own work. Nor should they! Writers sometimes apologize to me for all their "mistakes," but our brains are actually designed to automatically correct errors and missing information so we can move about the world. The more familiar you are with something, the easier your brain does this. Which means we are fighting against our biology when we edit our own writing. What a lovely thing it is to have an editing partner!
I loved this - showing the reality of editing, of being edited; the differences between drafts. V important, not just for writers to see, but for anyone who thinks writing for a living is super easy and, sure, we could all do it if we wanted....
Congrats on going back to uni! Lots of people in my life have made this decision recently, and I think this "second time around" thing stands to the fact that we're not really going to know till our 30s what we might want to study! To go at 17 is almost like pulling a subject out of a hat, to go a decade and a half later is because we know what we want, and we want to learn everything we can about it.
Congratulations! I really admire the professionalism you put into your work, and the fact you share the process behind your newsletter it's important to make your readers understand the amount of work behind your weekly issue. You're already a great writer and I'm sure this new path at the school will make even the best come out of you.
Congrats on taking the big step! I work w my Editor over the phone and I have to say, the process has definitely improved my writing without sacrificing my voice. I’m all for a good editorial relationship
Hi Ashley! Congrats on getting into j-school! Sometimes I wish I’d stuck with journalism as my major in college. I hadn’t realised how much those skills would come in handy now.
One thing I wanted to ask about (asking for me) is how you and Claire met and setup the arrangement of her being your editor. My newsletter is currently unpaid and none of my friends write weekly essays, so if I were to arrange a “work swap” with a friend (where I edit their pieces and they edit mine), the work would be unbalanced since I’m writing with more frequency. Do you have any suggestions on finding editors when you’re starting out without a budget?
You are a born researcher and writer, Ashley - I know you will be brilliant at Madison. (We have dear old friends there, and my wife did her postdoc there, so I know the city well - a wonderful place to spend this time.) oh - yes, Claire is a great editor!
Congrats, Ashley! Loved this post. I'm a professional editor and writer, and in my experience, editing tends to either be dismissed, undervalued, or misunderstood. I loved that you demystified the process a little here. It is impossible for a writer (even me, who is trained and who has been editing others' work for more than a decade) to successfully edit their own work. Nor should they! Writers sometimes apologize to me for all their "mistakes," but our brains are actually designed to automatically correct errors and missing information so we can move about the world. The more familiar you are with something, the easier your brain does this. Which means we are fighting against our biology when we edit our own writing. What a lovely thing it is to have an editing partner!
I loved this - showing the reality of editing, of being edited; the differences between drafts. V important, not just for writers to see, but for anyone who thinks writing for a living is super easy and, sure, we could all do it if we wanted....
Congrats on going back to uni! Lots of people in my life have made this decision recently, and I think this "second time around" thing stands to the fact that we're not really going to know till our 30s what we might want to study! To go at 17 is almost like pulling a subject out of a hat, to go a decade and a half later is because we know what we want, and we want to learn everything we can about it.
Congratulations! I really admire the professionalism you put into your work, and the fact you share the process behind your newsletter it's important to make your readers understand the amount of work behind your weekly issue. You're already a great writer and I'm sure this new path at the school will make even the best come out of you.
Congrats on taking the big step! I work w my Editor over the phone and I have to say, the process has definitely improved my writing without sacrificing my voice. I’m all for a good editorial relationship
Congrats on going back to school! Excited to see where this takes you!
Congrats on making the move! And thank you for sharing a behind the scenes of the editing process - it was super interesting.
Wonderful, Ashley! Excited for you. ✨
Hi Ashley! Congrats on getting into j-school! Sometimes I wish I’d stuck with journalism as my major in college. I hadn’t realised how much those skills would come in handy now.
One thing I wanted to ask about (asking for me) is how you and Claire met and setup the arrangement of her being your editor. My newsletter is currently unpaid and none of my friends write weekly essays, so if I were to arrange a “work swap” with a friend (where I edit their pieces and they edit mine), the work would be unbalanced since I’m writing with more frequency. Do you have any suggestions on finding editors when you’re starting out without a budget?
Congrats on the next chapter Ashley! Can't wait to see what you'll do next.
So excited for this next chapter! You are amazing.
You are a born researcher and writer, Ashley - I know you will be brilliant at Madison. (We have dear old friends there, and my wife did her postdoc there, so I know the city well - a wonderful place to spend this time.) oh - yes, Claire is a great editor!