I cannot imagine what editing was like before computers. An editor had to take a red pen and go through a hand-written manuscript and make editor's marks (which I still love!) to make corrections. Then the author went through the same pages and accepted or rejected the editorial suggestions.
When I think of the length of manuscripts written by great authors like Dickens and Tolstoy, the editing job must have been frustrating and tedious. I have it easy by editing on a computer. Even if it is a PDF that I have to create a TXT file writing out the suggestions, my job is still so much easier.
St. Francis de Sales is the patron saint of editors for Catholics. Imagine what his editors had to go through; he was a prolific writer himself.
So this Christmas weekend, I will raise a toast to editors of old for trailblazing the profession I now practice.
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