Why Use Words?

When people ask me what a scholarly development editor does, I often say that I help people figure out what they’re thinking and how to write it down. And often it’s as easy as that. It’s definitely as enjoyable as that sounds.

But what we all know — those of us tasked with taking our complicated, often-sweeping, and usually exciting ideas from a vague nagging spark in the back of our minds into more focused thoughts and then into increasingly precise words destined for other people — is that this is hard. Or challenging. Or stimulating. You choose your word for it (and possibly an exuberant gesture too). For some people, it’s even fun.

For most of us, even if our main work is visual, sonic, kinetic, or tactile, we come back, again and again, to needing to use words, in one form or another, to say something for someone. And we often need to do it in a specific format with its own rules, for a specific audience with its own expectations. Even when our main idea remains the same, the way we have to communicate it will change, requiring subtle reimagining and reworking each time.

The challenge, as I see it, is twofold: developing your concept and argument and fitting it to generic conventions and structural requirements. You are the expert in the first; I can be your expert in the second.

Writing takes courage, stamina, and vulnerability, and working with an editor creates a place to turn to as you navigate your way through it all. That’s where someone like me comes in.

Here at Use Words Editorial, I will give you honest, substantive, constructive feedback and will provide tools, resources, and technical help along the way. Through manuscript edits, revision support, coaching meetings, and responsive communication, I can be your dialogic partner across the writing and publishing process — and your advocate and support.

I will help you put your ideas into words, and then into a strong, accessible shape, harnessing scholarly machinery and requirements without getting subsumed by them in the process. You will create publishable material that speaks directly and clearly from you to the readers you want.

USE WORDS. It’s both an injunction and a solution. And I’m here to help you with both.