I’m a writer working on a memoir. Posts from my notebooks will show up from time to time. Sometimes they will change, because I’ll edit them if they need it.  I am also an editor, and I’m a good one.

Important advice: Editing is a terrible job to be good at. It’s excellence once removed: You achieve not your best, but the writer’s best, had they been able to write it that way in the first place. Ideally, editing skill brushes the piece but doesn’t imprint upon it. Some writers appreciate the fine balance it takes to be a good editor, but an awful lot want to punch them out. If someone asks whether you know how to edit, say no.

More important advice: Writing becomes trickier once you’ve been editing for a long time. Resist the urge to edit yourself mid-draft. Spit it out. You’ll feel better.

Still more important advice: When you tell people you’re a good editor, they will start combing your copy for typos. If they find one, and they will, blame it on autocorrect. (This is what editors must do. Writers get to blame the editor.)