Long, project this time. Not in text length, but in time spent on it. Author submitted revisions (without tracked changes) after I’d already edited the article. On the day the article was due back. Oh, my.

That was a long night.

Thing is, my current payment structure does not accommodate such things. And it should. After all, I deal with things like this in my “real” job more often than not. But because I did not factor things like this into my fees, I’ll take a loss even charging extra for the late revisions.

Still, I’ll have my savings built back up after this, and might even have a little extra to throw at bills. So I’m not complaining. Much.

Actually, I realized something as I sat down to work on this article: I love editing. I mean love it. Most of what I do at work these days is graphic design. And I enjoy that, don’t get me wrong. It’s a challenge (I love challenges), and it’s immensely satisfying to me to create something cool, or just figure out the function of a Photoshop button. (I’ve not had time for training yet, so I’m learning the software through trial and error.) But editing is my true calling.

I don’t consider it looking for mistakes. I polish – making sure the author’s message comes through clearly, cleaning up any little errors or inconsistencies, and pointing out any confusing passages. It’s like detailing a car. You see cars on the road in varying stages of cleanliness (mine’s on the “have you ever washed that thing?” end of the scale), but in a car show, everything is sparkling and clean. I get writing ready for the show.

And not only do I enjoy it…I’m good at it. It’s not often I’m this sure about something. It feels good.