What does an editor do, anyway?

What type of editing you need, and when

Editors understand there are different types of editing for mostly distinct purposes. Who knew? As a practicing planner, I didn’t realize there were numerous disciplines and techniques for editing top-quality documents. My focus today is on technical editing, but I often apply the skills of a structural editor, a copy editor, and a proofreader when working on a complex document.

I’m going to lay it all out for you below, so you can adopt an approach to editing that makes sense when reviewing your own documents for clarity, accuracy, and impact!