Great Quotes for Writers Editing Their Own Work
Inspirational Quotations by Famous Writers & Editors
Oct 2, 2009
The art of editing is as necessary if not more necessary than the art of writing. Editing is what turns good writing into great writing. Editing can make the difference between an acceptance letter and a rejection slip.
Keep these editing quotes in mind as you write if you are a writer, and remember the writing is not finished after just one or two drafts. If you are an editor, you can probably relate to more than one of these quotes, and you might want to post a quote or two by your desk.
Or if you are like most, you are both a writer and an editor, both creative and detail-oriented, and you can use these quotes to better your writing and editing skills.
Great Quotes by Great Writers and Editors on Editing
"The waste basket is a writer's best friend." ~Isaac Singer
"There is but one art, to omit." ~Robert Stevenson
"Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style? and avoid How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?" ~James Thurber
"Will you tell me my fault, frankly as to yourself, for I had rather wince, than die. Men do not call the surgeon to commend the bone, but to set it, Sir." ~Emily Dickinson
"In art economy is always beauty." ~Henry James
"Read your own compositions, and when you meet a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out." ~Samuel Johnson
“You can be a little ungrammatical if you come from the right part of the country." ~ Robert Frost
"There is a difference between a book of two hundred pages from the very beginning, and a book of two hundred pages which is the result of an original eight hundred pages. The six hundred are there. Only you don't see them." ~Elie Wiesel
“The letter I have written today is longer than usual because I lacked the time to make it shorter.” – Blaise Pascal
"The work was like peeling an onion. The outer skin came off with difficulty... but in no time you'd be down to its innards, tears streaming from your eyes as more and more beautiful reductions became possible." ~Edward Blishen
Using Quotes on Editing to Make Productive Changes
As these quotes demonstrate, you as an editor do not want to change the work of a writer to fit your desires but to allow the writing to be the best that it can be.
If you are a writer editing your own work remember that beginning a new draft instead of just rephrasing and moving around sentences on the original draft can be the most beneficial editing you can do.
No matter what type of writer or editor you are, do not be afraid to cut or make radical changes to a manuscript; just be sure to keep a copy of the original draft.
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