Why can't language editors edit their own work?

The answer to this one is simple: we are human and we make mistakes. We are less likely to pick up mistakes in our own writing than in other people’s writing. An author's work becomes part of the author. I guess you could say that the biggest problem is over-familiarity with the work. This is particularly so in academic writing where many revisions of the work take place.

The same goes for anyone that thinks they will ‘get away with’ editing their own work. This just doesn't work at all! An outsider or third party is the better choice and is able to find mistakes and give constructive criticism far more easily than you can in your own work. We all think our language use is great and that we have very few flaws in our writing and speaking, but the truth is, no one is perfect.

I have come across many people though (usually people who do not have English as a first language) that actually admit that they need help with their writing and these people are far more than willing to consider suggestions, comments and criticism. This is not to say that first language English speakers are more difficult to work with, it just means that it depends from person to person and their general approach to receiving help and constructive criticism.

When I am asked by someone what I do for a living and I reply that I am a language editor, they usually say something like: “Oh, I must watch my language around you then” or “I better use proper English then”. I find this quite entertaining and simply reply that I don’t mind if the person makes a few mistakes (especially when speaking) because I invariably make them too!

Speaking, of course, is an entirely different thing to writing. When we speak, we don’t have as much time to think about what we want to say as compared to when we write something. Therefore, it is natural that our speech will contain more errors than our writing. Luckily, we can usually figure out what another person is saying – errors and all!

Getting back to my original point, language editors and people in general can (technically) attempt to edit their own work, but if they hope to make significant improvements to their documents, then I don’t suggest self-editing. Rather, everyone should take the time to hire an editor (other than themselves, of course ), or any person trusted to have sufficient language skills to go through the work. It really is worth it to get an outsider's view of your work! You may even learn a thing or two.