The Seven Qualities of a Terrific Editor

The new year has me thinking about editing, which is my livelihood and the livelihood of several friends and colleagues.

What makes a terrific editor, especially for an editor working with first-time authors like my clients Bob Tierno, Ron Sorter, Holly Rench and Keno Vigil?

I’ve come up with seven main qualities. Note that #1 and #2, as well as #3 and #4, represent complimentary qualities:

1. Fanatic Attention to Detail (“in the weeds”; word precision and sentence structure)

AND

2. Big Picture, Holistic Thinker (“blue sky,” 50,000-foot perspective; chapter and narrative flow, overall context)

3. Linear, Analytical Thinker — Dedicated to Process andConsistency

AND

4. Conceptual, Creative Thinker — Open to Opportunistic Accidents and Serendipity

5. Comfortable with chaos

6. Curious

7. Patient, Supportive and Compassionate.

What do you think?

What have I missed?

What qualities in an editor have helped you on your writer journey?