The Case for Building Editorial Trust

There is a silent killer in today’s corporate world that is chipping away, little by little, whatever creativity your writers, content developers and even editors have. Like the infamous dementors from the Harry Potter universe, this silent killer is eroding the foundations of creativity, joy and even self-confidence of your most skilled, competent and creative employees. It’s called editorial micromanagement, and it should not be allowed to thrive in an organization or department.

Following is a story of the fictitious Sally, who represents countless examples I've both witnessed and lived throughout my career.

The Victim: An Enthusiastic B2B Senior Editor

Sally was hired as a senior editor by a successful and well-respected firm in the Western United States to oversee its editorial efforts. Up until that moment, the company lacked the skill sets of a professional business writer and editor. When Sally was offered the position, she was thrilled. One of her first tasks was to develop a writing style guide for the marketing department, which was later rolled out to the company at large.

After months of drafting, meetings with internal stakeholders and countless revisions based on feedback, the much-anticipated writing style guide was released. It was a true collaborative endeavor. Sally even got recognized for her efforts in front of her peers. The editorial gods had finally blessed her: Sally felt fulfilled and valued for her expertise.

The Offender: A Well-Meaning Head of Marketing

A year or so later, the head of the marketing department, Brian, asked one of Sally's co-workers to write an email on his behalf. It was an important email, aimed at unveiling a new product the company was releasing to its core audience. Her co-worker was the lead marketer for the product. To make sure the email was as perfect as humanly possible, the marketing manager asked Sally to work her editorial magic on the email. She nipped and tucked, changed the subject line and improved the call to action, while making sure the message was true to the product’s brand and following the writing style guide.

About 60 minutes after Sally finished editing the email, Brian asked to see her. She immediately obliged. Once she sat down, the head of marketing said in a frustrated voice, “I’m really tired of people changing what I write.” Sally was surprised. Apparently, Brian rewrote the original draft. It was this same draft the well-meaning Sally dissected (in a good way, of course).

Brian paid particular attention to three of Sally's edits. She explained why the changes were made. Brian accepted them. But it was the last change that branded Sally as an inflexible, editorial pariah.

“Why did you delete my comma in this sentence?” he asked.

“Oh, that’s because we follow AP style according to our writing style guide and the serial comma is not needed here,” Sally responded.

“Well, I’m disregarding our style guide. Not all rules have to be followed,” Brian said somewhat upset.

“OK,” Sally nodded and smiled.

The Aftermath: Confusion

A couple of months later, Sally was sitting inside her director’s office for her annual performance review. The review went well — she had either met or exceeded expectations. Toward the end of the review, Sally asked, “Is there anything I can do better? I’m always looking for ways to improve and grow professionally.”

The director said, “Well, I received some informal feedback that you need to be a little bit more flexible with your editing.”

“Can you give me an example?” Sally asked intrigued and surprised by the comment.

“When you edited Brian's email draft, he told me that you were somewhat inflexible with him about a comma. You were just doing your job, and he acknowledged this. In the future, I recommend that you tread carefully when editing his work.”

“Thank you for letting me know. In all honesty, I had no idea Brian had rewritten that email. I thought I was just helping the marketing project manager with her draft,” Sally stated. Her director smiled and said, “It’s not a big deal. You are doing well.”

The After, Aftermath: Loss of Creativity, Product Quality and Self-Confidence

Imagine this scenario is the rule rather than the exception. Great editors make sure to keep an objective point of view when changing someone else’s creation. Their aim is to enhance whatever is in front of them, always keeping their client’s best interests at the forefront. B2B writers are no different. They carefully craft their content, keeping the organization’s tone and messaging top of mind.

The problem occurs when content approvers pull out their editorial magnifying glass in a well-meaning attempt to add value when, in fact, they are simply trying to insert their voice. This type of editing is not objective. It is subjective.

When editorial micromanagement happens again and again, creativity suffers. B2B content developers and editorial managers are branded as inflexible for shyly raising their hands to understand if a change is truly needed when they are simply doing their jobs.

Work quality also suffers. After countless editorial paper cuts, people like Sally keep their changes to an absolute minimum for fear someone, somewhere is going to be offended if a comma is deleted, the word very is crossed out or utilize is replaced with use. Unfortunately, this mindset impacts more substantial and much-needed changes from taking place or creative writing projects.

Finally, self-confidence erodes. B2B editors and writers start to question whether they really are experts at their craft. If you are beaten down time and again, you stop showing up mentally to work and give up.

The Solution: Set Editorial Micromanagement Aside

To stop the vicious cycle of editorial micromanagement both sides of the aisle need to recognize the symptoms. My advice below is aimed at B2B writers and editors, as well as well-meaning content reviewers.

Advice to Writers and Editors

• Pick Your Battles. Sometimes it’s best to let things go. Not every comma is worth the fight. If the change doesn’t hinder the flow of the piece, makes the sentence grammatically incorrect or offends a reasonable person’s editorial sensitivities, let it go.

• Don’t Take it Personally. It’s not about you. It really isn’t. Unless this is your first writing assignment or your first time copy editing someone else’s work, if you’ve been doing this for a while, chances are you can write a coherent sentence and identify one that isn’t. Some people always feel the need to chime in, even when their feedback is not meaningful. Other people feel attacked when edited, no matter how tactfully you approach the situation. Regardless of their motivations for voicing their discontent with your editorial style, it’s not about you. Learn from the experience and move on.

• Consider Your Options. If the editorial micromanagement has gotten to a level that is truly unbearable (i.e., the content pieces are riddled with grammatical errors and messaging inconsistencies that are outside of your control), you should speak up and document your concerns in writing. If you feel disregarded and disconnected from your work, start looking for a better place — one where your expertise will be valued. Life is too short to spend 40 or more hours a week in an environment where you are not allowed to thrive and put forth your best effort without fear of repercussions.

Advice to Well-Meaning Content Reviewers

• Know Your Limits. Understanding the role you play in the editorial process is vital. Is your role to act as editor-in-chief, to review a piece for accuracy or to participate during the brainstorming process? Unless they are part of the editorial team of a magazine or newspaper, most reviewers are asked to check pieces for content accuracy and message consistency. Also, if the company identified the need to hire a professional writer or editor, extending smart trust works wonders. The key lies in hiring the right person with the right expertise to get the job done.

• Don’t Take It Personally. Yep, it’s not about you, too. If your well-meaning editor changes a sentence, please know that he wants you to look your best on paper or online. I have yet to meet a business writer or editor who is not committed to his craft or cares deeply about the work he is performing.

• Choose to Use Your Time Wisely. Micromanagement of any kind takes a toll on everyone. The amount of time it takes to make repeated, unnecessary edits — and later have someone both review and implement them — could be better spent on other tasks. With that said, if your writer consistently produces pieces that miss the mark, or your editor keeps forgetting to identify missing punctuation at the end of sentences, you might need to find a more suitable person for the job.

Bottom Line

Like any form of mismanagement, it is important to recognize the impact editorial micromanagement can have on your most creative employees. In the end, not every sentence needs editing.

#businesswriting #engagement #editing