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Editors are the unsung heroes of good writing. I’m a good editor because I understand the importance of context and audience. Language is “correct” insofar as it communicates accurately and without unintended consequences. You don’t walk into a Detroit biker bar and enquire politely “Good sir, may I please trouble you for a glass of beer?” No, you demand: “Gimme a Bud.” This is the correct sentence for the situation and so qualifies as good English. The same principle applies to help pages for college faculty or articles for contractors. I can help you spot where you’ve lost your audience and written bad English, and I can re-write your prose to make it taut, appropriate and effective. I’ve done this for writers in all kinds of styles, disciplines and markets, much as I helped the students in my composition and English classes. However, an editor needs more than a sensitivity to context, he also needs an immaculate command of convention and detail. I started learning accuracy and consistency as a junior in high school, where my English teacher would mark a zero on quiz answers that were not complete, correctly punctuated sentences. That taught me an important lesson: don't under-estimate proof-reading. Poor proofing leaves a bad impression that's very difficult to erase.
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