Let’s face it: The ‘genius’ stuff happens in the editing process. - Jeff Goins

The secret to editing your work is simple: you need to become its reader instead of its writer. - Zadie Smith

Words. Words. I play with words, hoping that some combination, even a chance combination, will say what I want. - Doris Lessing

Editing should be, especially in the case of old writers, a counseling rather than a collaborating task. The tendency of the writer-editor to collaborate is natural, but he should say to himself, ‘How can I help this writer to say it better in his own style?’ and avoid ‘How can I show him how I would write it, if it were my piece?’ - James Thurber

Editors have to be vicious. They’re working for the reader, not the writer. - Brendan Wolfe

I would advise anyone who aspires to a writing career that before developing his talent he would be wise to develop a thick hide. - Harper Lee

“A problem that a character can walk away from is a book a reader can walk away from.” - Unknown