A friend of mine once told me about a quotation made by the author, Stephen King, in his book, On Writing, in which he states “…to write is human, to edit is divine.” I found this quotation most fascinating and quite honestly, I was more than a little surprised to think that anyone would consider editing as being divine. After thinking about this quotation for some time, I realized that there are many who write—they put their thoughts on paper, communicate with others and some writers may not be concerned with how to spell, punctuate or to use grammar properly. They can be more interested in getting their thoughts communicated—to be creative in whatever they are writing—to cause the reader to visualize a scene or story in their mind’s eye. However, editors can focus too entirely on the rules and can end up sanitizing writing to the point where the writer’s voice may disappear. Perhaps this is what Stephen King meant when he said “…to edit is divine.” As the editor-in-chief for the American Biographical Institute, I make every effort to keep the writer’s voice intact and to make minimal changes to an entry or text while adhering to the rules of grammar.

Recently, while watching a reality show on television about fashion design, I heard the designers’ mentor say to them regarding the designs they were creating “…remember designers, edit, edit, edit.” I thought this was a fascinating way to tell them that their designs should be looked at many times and possibly edited or revised to make them more precise and more accurate for the project. I had never thought of editing being applicable to the world of fashion design but there it was mentioned over and over again by a very popular designer/mentor. This proved to me that editing not only applies to the written word but can also apply to other aspects of our lives. There is a need to review and edit whatever we are undertaking to make sure it is accurate or more precise, while still allowing for creativity to shine through.

At A.B.I., I oversee the creation of a person’s biography for inclusion in our directories. It is important to provide each person with a biography that reflects the important aspects of their lives and their achievements. I take my editing role quite seriously and make every effort to incorporate not only proper grammar, spelling and punctuation, but also creativity and an accurate reflection of the author’s life.

About The Author: cmitchell

Carol Mitchell is editor-in-chief of the American Biographical Institute. With 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, she has worked closely with many individuals from around the world to document distinguished accomplishments in ABI’s biographical reference directories. Carol’s background in editing, production, marketing and customer service, combined with her organizational skills and an eye for detail have served her well throughout her career. You may contact Carol at cmitchell@abiworldwide.com.

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