Editing Quotes

“There is a saying: Genius is perseverance. While genius does not consist entirely of editing, without editing it's pretty useless.”

“It’s not that I was categorically opposed to the idea of scientists and physicians using gene editing to introduce heritable changes into the human genome.”

“Editing is where movies are made or broken. Many a film has been saved and many a film has been ruined in the editing room.”

“When I started editing on my home computer, I said to myself, 'Well, I could be at home studying for a class or I could be at home editing a video.'”

“Why isn't the manuscript ready? Because every book is more work than anyone intended. If authors and editors knew, or acknowledged, how much work was ahead, fewer contracts would be signed. Each book, before the contract, is beautiful to contemplate. By the middle of the writing, the book has become, for the author, a hate object. For the editor, in the middle of editing, it has become a two-ton concrete necklace. However, both author and editor will recover the gleam in their eyes when the work is completed, and see the book as the masterwork it really is.”

“It has been our experience that American houses insist on very comprehensive editing; that English houses as a rule require little or none and are inclined to go along with the author's script almost without query. The Canadian practice is just what you would expect--a middle-of-the-road course. We think the Americans edit too heavily and interfere with the author's rights. We think that the English publishers don't take enough editorial responsibility. Naturally, then, we consider our editing to be just about perfect. There's no doubt about it, we Canadians are a superior breed! (in a letter to author Margaret Laurence, dated May, 1960)”

“I confess... if I typo a Facebook post I will edit it. I know it's only Facebook but it's an editing sickness.”

“My life needs editing.”

“I edit my own stories to death. They eventually run and hide from me.”

“If I can only write my memoir once, how do I edit it?”