--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Being an editor it's a complicated job…" description: "\"Being an editor it's a complicated job, but the last impression I'd want anybody to have is that it's onerous. It's a joy - a complicated joy, but a jo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/david-remnick-4397_complicated_being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-b_1891272.jpg" --- # Being an editor it's a complicated job, but the last… ![“Being an editor it's a complicated job, but the last impression I'd want anybody to have is that it's onerous. It's a joy - a complicated joy, but a joy.” quote by David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/david-remnick-4397_complicated_being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-b_1891272.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/david-remnick-4397_complicated_being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-b_1891272.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/david-remnick-4397_complicated_being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-b_1891272.jpg) > “Being an editor it's a complicated job, but the last impression I'd want anybody to have is that it's onerous. It's a joy - a complicated joy, but a joy.” [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Editing is demanding yet rewarding; the final impression should convey both effort and joy. **In simple terms:** Editing is hard but joyful; aim for a lasting positive impact. Key Takeaway Balance rigor with passion in your work. Themes writing editing creativity professionalism Mood thoughtful motivational Type practical inspirational When to use this quote - publishing - journalism - content creation - author collaborations Key Concepts craftsmanship joy burden Questions to Reflect On - How do you maintain joy amid editorial pressures? - What strategies keep you from feeling the job is onerous? A Different Perspective The workload can lead to burnout. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) [Complicated Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated-joy-2733449/) [Editor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editor/) [Editor Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editor-complicated-2733451/) [Impression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impression/) [Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy/) [Joy Complicated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joy-complicated-2733450/) [Onerous Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/onerous-joy-2733452/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I got tired of people complaining that it was too hard to use UNIX because the editor was too complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-joy/i-got-tired-of-people-complaining-that-it-was-too-hard-to-use-unix/) [Bill Joy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-joy/) > [Riding is a complicated joy. You learn something each time. It is never quite the same, and you never know it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-dickens/riding-is-a-complicated-joy-you-learn-something-each-time-it-is-never/) [Monica Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-dickens/) > [There are days when you might enjoy being an editor a little less, due to one crisis or another. It is absolutely vital, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/there-are-days-when-you-might-enjoy-being-an-editor-a-little-less-due/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [My time as editor has been overlapped by a crisis - a prolonged, labyrinthine, tragic, seemingly non-ending crisis - that involves the prehistory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/my-time-as-editor-has-been-overlapped-by-a-crisis-a-prolonged/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [“One rule of the road not directly stated elsewhere in this book: 'The editor is always right.' The corollary is that no writer will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/one-rule-of-the-road-not-directly-stated-elsewhere-in-this-book-the/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Having been an editor for more than a decade, I thought I had a good idea of how much work was involved in writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-klassen/having-been-an-editor-for-more-than-a-decade-i-thought-i-had-a-good/) [Julie Klassen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-klassen/) > [You have to live and breathe Scotland if you're 'Scotsman' editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-neil/you-have-to-live-and-breathe-scotland-if-you-re-scotsman-editor/) [Andrew Neil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-neil/) > [My job as an editor is to gently prod the attention of the audience to look at various parts of the frame. And that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-murch/my-job-as-an-editor-is-to-gently-prod-the-attention-of-the-audience/) [Walter Murch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-murch/) > [Rewriting is a large part of the whole job. And get rid of stuff that's not working. Just pare it down until it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-loder/rewriting-is-a-large-part-of-the-whole-job-and-get-rid-of-stuff-that/) [Kurt Loder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-loder/) > [Every newspaper editor says the heart of the paper is the reporter - which is true - except for the pay!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-germond/every-newspaper-editor-says-the-heart-of-the-paper-is-the-reporter/) [Jack Germond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-germond/) > [The best compliment came from Knopf's Sonny Mehta. We were at lunch in New York with my editor, Gary Fisketjon, it was my first…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ross/the-best-compliment-came-from-knopf-s-sonny-mehta-we-were-at-lunch-in/) [Adam Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ross/) > [Newspapers have been likened to steamships that move very slowly, in terms of their direction. And when a reporter is sent out on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rosenstiel/newspapers-have-been-likened-to-steamships-that-move-very-slowly-in/) [Tom Rosenstiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rosenstiel/) > [“Don't make the editor's decision for her by not submitting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-janssen/don-t-make-the-editor-s-decision-for-her-by-not-submitting/) [Victoria Janssen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-janssen/) > [I could give you some names of Workshop participants who are as good as many who are being published but haven't had the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gunn/i-could-give-you-some-names-of-workshop-participants-who-are-as-good/) [James Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gunn/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) ## More by David Remnick > [The internet is very democratizing in some ways, but it also has other effects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/the-internet-is-very-democratizing-in-some-ways-but-it-also-has-other/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [We can hope that the responsibilities and realities will weigh on Donald Trump and he will not be the president we fear, but rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/we-can-hope-that-the-responsibilities-and-realities-will-weigh-on/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [The future is itself a story, and predictions are stories we tell to amaze ourselves, to give hope to the desperate, to jolt the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/the-future-is-itself-a-story-and-predictions-are-stories-we-tell-to/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [Russian is such a tough and complex language that I am happy enough to understand everything and read most things pretty well, but, without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/russian-is-such-a-tough-and-complex-language-that-i-am-happy-enough/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [You are losing because of Jewish bankers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/you-are-losing-because-of-jewish-bankers/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [“One cannot exclude the possibility of a fascist period in Russia,” Staravoitova said on the radio station Echo of Moscow. “We can see too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/one-cannot-exclude-the-possibility-of-a-fascist-period-in-russia/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [I'm a civilian, a citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/i-m-a-civilian-a-citizen/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [I'm a journalist - I'm not Robert Caro. I have a day job, and a pretty consuming one - a joyfully consuming one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/i-m-a-journalist-i-m-not-robert-caro-i-have-a-day-job-and-a-pretty/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [My time as editor has been overlapped by a crisis - a prolonged, labyrinthine, tragic, seemingly non-ending crisis - that involves the prehistory of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/my-time-as-editor-has-been-overlapped-by-a-crisis-a-prolonged/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [Democratic institutions, even in the oldest operating democracy in the world, are anything but perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/democratic-institutions-even-in-the-oldest-operating-democracy-in-the/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [Donald Trump seems to think it is within his rights to trample the First Amendment, to disdain the press, to punish protesters or flag-burners,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/donald-trump-seems-to-think-it-is-within-his-rights-to-trample-the/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [I understand the difference between journalism and scholarship that comes 20 years later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/i-understand-the-difference-between-journalism-and-scholarship-that/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [The Communist Party apparatus was the most gigantic mafia the world has ever known.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/the-communist-party-apparatus-was-the-most-gigantic-mafia-the-world/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [The only reason the word "brand" gets a little tiresome is that something that is complex and wonderful and deep begins to sound like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/the-only-reason-the-word-brand-gets-a-little-tiresome-is-that/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) > [I got in journalism for any number of reasons, not least because it's so much fun. Journalism should be in the business of putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/i-got-in-journalism-for-any-number-of-reasons-not-least-because-it-s/) [David Remnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) [Explore all 111 David Remnick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/) ## More Complicated quotes > [Of course I like you. It's because I like you I don't wanna be with you. It's a complicated emotion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlin/of-course-i-like-you-it-s-because-i-like-you-i-don-t-wanna-be-with/) [Marlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlin/) > [“Why the hell did he have to be so complicated? One minute he was charming, the next he withdrew behind his internal walls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lia-davis/why-the-hell-did-he-have-to-be-so-complicated-one-minute-he-was/) [Lia Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lia-davis/) > [Life is more complicated than we think, yet far simpler than anyone dares to imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/life-is-more-complicated-than-we-think-yet-far-simpler-than-anyone/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [We animals are the most complicated things in the known universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/we-animals-are-the-most-complicated-things-in-the-known-universe/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [Programmers are always surrounded by complexity; we cannot avoid it… If our basic tool, the language in which we design and code our programs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hoare/programmers-are-always-surrounded-by-complexity-we-cannot-avoid-it-if/) [Tony Hoare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hoare/) > [“Just because it's complicated, just because you think you can't ever know everything about another person, it doesn't mean you can't try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-semple/just-because-it-s-complicated-just-because-you-think-you-can-t-ever/) [Maria Semple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-semple/) > [The one thing I absolutely hate about social media are the people who abuse it. Whenever I see a person who constantly posts negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazmin-garcia/the-one-thing-i-absolutely-hate-about-social-media-are-the-people-who/) [Jazmin Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazmin-garcia/) > [I think the ethics and morals of genetic engineering are very complicated. It intrigues me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-spottiswoode/i-think-the-ethics-and-morals-of-genetic-engineering-are-very/) [Roger Spottiswoode](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-spottiswoode/) > [Your Starbucks order is directly proportional to how complicated your personality is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin/your-starbucks-order-is-directly-proportional-to-how-complicated-your/) [Kevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) > [I have learned so much from my dad. Perhaps the biggest thing I've learned from my dad is how to be prepared at all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-sekulow/i-have-learned-so-much-from-my-dad-perhaps-the-biggest-thing-i-ve/) [Jay Sekulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-sekulow/) > [The world is complicated and full of grays, but there's still truth there to be found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-world-is-complicated-and-full-of-grays-but-there-s-still-truth/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [ The parts of the \[Civil Right\] Movement we recognize so well now were not born from a single decision, but were a complicated and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/the-parts-of-the-civil-right-movement-we-recognize-so-well-now-were/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [Two people could build an outhouse in four hours. They're not complicated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-maxwell/two-people-could-build-an-outhouse-in-four-hours-they-re-not/) [Robert Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-maxwell/) [Browse all 3,190 Complicated quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complicated/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Being an editor it's a complicated job, but the last impression I'd want anybody to have is that it's onerous. It's a joy - a complicated joy, but a joy.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Remnick" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-but-the-last-impression-i-d/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Complicated" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-but-the-last-impression-i-d/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/david-remnick-4397_complicated_being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-b_1891272.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/david-remnick-4397_complicated_being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-b_1891272.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b2/david-remnick-4397_complicated_being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-b_1891272.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Being an editor it's a complicated job, but the last impression I'd want anybody to have is that it's…” — David Remnick", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Remnick", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-remnick/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Being an editor it's a complicated...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-but-the-last-impression-i-d/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-remnick/being-an-editor-it-s-a-complicated-job-but-the-last-impression-i-d/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```