A writer-editor-teacher’s quote of the week #111

[ . . . ] “sounds better” is rarely justification for an editorial change. Because the author has the final say on all changes that are not actual errors — facts, grammar, spelling — the editor must state the case for his suggestions convincingly.

— from “Line Editing: Drawing Out the Best Book Possible” by Maron L. Waxman, in Gerald Gross’s Editors on Editing, third edition (1993)

Filed under: Teaching, Writing and Editing