Written by Martin Wiles

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At one time, one author and I wrote twice a month for the same website. Before we knew each other well, we often made the following comment on each other’s posts: “I knew it was you before I read the name at the end.” I detected her voice, and she could do the same with mine, although we had never heard each other audibly. This shows how clearly a writer’s voice can bleed through their writing.

As a long-time English teacher and freelance editor, I’ve heard a lot of voices. The students’ voices I have heard—sometimes too often and too loud. I have also heard a few of the writers whose work I edited, but most I only heard through their writing, not audibly. Still, if I had edited more than one writing of theirs, I learned their voices.

An author’s voice and style are comprised of their word choice, tone, phrases, sentence length and type, and punctuation. 

All writers have voices and should use them, not try to copy other writers’ voices. As editors, our challenge is not to let our voice overpower or replace the writer’s voice. After all, the writing is not ours, but theirs. As editors, we must be cautious not to suggest changes that alter the author’s voice or style. Instead, editors should encourage authors to develop their own unique style and voice.

Get a Taste for the Author’s Voice and Style

Rather than immediately diving into editing, an editor should read the entire writing. If the manuscript is book-length, they should at least read enough chapters to recognize the author’s style and hear the writer’s voice.

Recommendations by editing tools such as Grammarly and AI bots will often conflict with a writer’s voice. I have a particular style and voice, as do all writers. When Grammarly suggests a better way to write the sentence, but the suggestion does not reflect my style and voice, I ignore it.

Although editors must examine the PUGS and other details, we cannot let our suggestions interfere with the writer’s voice. Regardless of the genre, our job is to help the writer make it better, not make it our own.

Avoid Editorial Preferences and Prejudices

An editor must also avoid letting their preferences and prejudices determine their suggestions. If the writer likes the word “important,” the editor should not change it to the editor’s preference of “critical.” Unless, that is, the writer overuses the word in the manuscript. Neither word is incorrect, but the overuse of any word should be addressed.

When the editor works closely with the writer, their suggestions will match the writer’s style and voice, not eliminate or change it. And much of what an editor does with word choice and sentence structure can easily do that if the editor is not careful. We can suggest changes to sentence structure that preserve the author’s words, improving flow but not altering the writer’s style or voice.

Know the Writer’s Audience

Finally, the editor should know the writer’s audience. This will determine what suggestions we make. If our client is writing a formal academic paper, we would not want to suggest changes that would make the writing informal. Tone is critical and determined by the purpose of the writing and the audience.

By preserving the writer’s voice and style through the editing process, we can fulfill our responsibility to help authors express themselves in their own voices.

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