On the Ground With Editor Alison Brower
Why even the best writers need an editor
When I relaunched this Substack, I vowed to remain true to its name by getting “on the ground” with a variety of people, figuring out what they do and what makes them tick. (I was also kind of lazy and didn’t want to come up with a new Substack name. The things writers do.)
Around that time, I reconnected with Alison Brower, a seasoned and consummate editor for a murderers row of publications. Most recently the L.A. bureau chief of Business Insider, she was previously a deputy editor at the Los Angeles Times and the deputy editorial director at The Hollywood Reporter. Prior to that, she held editorial positions at Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Adweek and O Magazine. Odds are, if you’re reading this, you’ve read something that crossed Alison’s desk. Talk about influence!
We got to talking about why editors matter, and why everyone, including the most well-regarded writers, thinkers, and creatives, can benefit from an edit — even, perhaps especially, those who don’t think they need it. Below are excerpts from our conversation with bold type from me for emphasis.
What does an editor do?
An editor has two, maybe three, constituencies. The primary job is to help a writer say what they really want to say in the clearest and most precise or — depending on the type of writer — most colorful way they can say it. The job is to help the writer frame, organize, and express their ideas in the tone that they want but also with clarity.
You also have to be thinking of the audience. That may depend on the writer. Maybe they're writing for an audience that they cultivated themselves, maybe it's for a publication. You have to address that audience's aspirations, curiosities, and pain points. If you're working as an editor at a magazine or website, you also have a mandate from your boss to do your job efficiently and make sure everything meets the needs of the publication, but the purest part of the job is thinking about the writer and what they want to say.
Making someone sound like themselves — it almost sounds like therapy.
I can think of two writers — one for a well known magazine, one a famous and beloved humorist — who need a ton of editing to sound like themselves. It’s not uncommon.
When I was editing Mary McNamara at the L.A. Times — she’s a Pulitzer-winning TV columnist that evolved into a culture columnist — she had no problem knowing what she wanted to say, and saying it in an entertaining way. All we worked on was endings. There’s also line editing: making sure someone doesn't start with the same sentence construction every single paragraph. You’d be surprised how often that happens.
If you’re lucky enough to start with a writer at the beginning of something, you can ideate together and talk about what other writers who’ve tackled the same subject have done. There’s a difference between “let’s make sure that there's nothing wrong in this piece” and “let’s make sure we’re saying something that needs to be said.”
What’s the future of your kind of editing?
A lot of people run their LinkedIn posts past an editor. The consequences of a really well — or poorly — executed LinkedIn post can impact your bottom line. You’re seeing more and more people from the magazine and book publishing world going out on their own as book doctors or writing doctors in general, helping people put together book proposals or edit pieces they're writing for their Substack.
Publications in general are spending way less hours on editing than they did in the ‘90s. But editing is a skill that cuts across disciplines. I’ve been involved in video projects, for example. Having taste and being able to express taste in a diplomatic, encouraging, and professional way is a really big part of being of editor [Ed. note: and a skill that will never not be in demand].
Time for your dose of Friends in Napa! If you’re an Amazon Prime member, you can read the Kindle version of my new novel for free if you sign up for First Reads. It’s a cool program wherein you get to download a free book every month, and you can pick from a selection of new and noteworthy titles. And it’s free. Did I mention it’s free? Who doesn’t like things that are free?
Also free: two shindigs that I’m hosting next month. If you’re in Los Angeles or New York, or want an excuse to be, come by and say hi, and yes, there will be wine. Click the pic to RSVP.
Los Angeles:
New York:
Cheers!