--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A good editor is one of the sharpest…" description: "\"A good editor is one of the sharpest tools a writer can have in her toolbox.\" — Karin Slaughter" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/karin-slaughter-1463_editor_a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-too_1475954.png" --- # A good editor is one of the sharpest tools a writer can… ![“A good editor is one of the sharpest tools a writer can have in her toolbox.” quote by Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/karin-slaughter-1463_editor_a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-too_1475954.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/karin-slaughter-1463_editor_a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-too_1475954.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/karin-slaughter-1463_editor_a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-too_1475954.png) > “A good editor is one of the sharpest tools a writer can have in her toolbox.” [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An editor acts as a precise, essential instrument that refines a writer’s work, enhancing clarity and impact. **In simple terms:** Editors sharpen a writer’s work. Key Takeaway Value editors as vital collaborators. Themes writing editing collaboration craftsmanship Mood appreciative professional inquisitive Type creative literary When to use this quote - publishing process - manuscript revision - author‑editor partnership Key Concepts literary craft precision tool metaphor Questions to Reflect On - How does an editor’s feedback improve your writing? - What role does self‑editing play before external editing? A Different Perspective The quote may undervalue the writer’s own skill. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Editor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editor/) [Editor Sharpest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editor-sharpest-5367254/) [Good Editor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-editor-777335/) [Tools Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tools-writer-1817222/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writer Toolbox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer-toolbox-5367255/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The main thing is that you have a good editor - one that believes in you and who will give you the feedback that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-darden/the-main-thing-is-that-you-have-a-good-editor-one-that-believes-in/) [Christopher Darden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-darden/) > [With a good editor you find yourself shaping as you talk and they will ask a couple of questions that open new things. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-rosenbaum/with-a-good-editor-you-find-yourself-shaping-as-you-talk-and-they/) [Ron Rosenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-rosenbaum/) > [An editor who is a mentor, advisor, and psychiatrist. Don't kid yourself-a good editor will make your book better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/an-editor-who-is-a-mentor-advisor-and-psychiatrist-don-t-kid-yourself/) [Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/) > [I've rewritten a lot of the scripts I've done. 'Little Shop Of Horrors' was a complete rewrite, but I didn't touch the dialogue. Essentially,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-oz/i-ve-rewritten-a-lot-of-the-scripts-i-ve-done-little-shop-of-horrors/) [Frank Oz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-oz/) > [“A good editor is like tinsel to a Christmas Tree...they add the perfect amount of sparkle without being gaudy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobbi-romans/a-good-editor-is-like-tinsel-to-a-christmas-tree-they-add-the-perfect/) [Bobbi Romans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobbi-romans/) > [To be a good editor or a good writer, I think you really need to be a great reader first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/to-be-a-good-editor-or-a-good-writer-i-think-you-really-need-to-be-a/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [“A good editor doesn't rewrite words, she rewires synapses.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-kelley-harrell/a-good-editor-doesn-t-rewrite-words-she-rewires-synapses/) [S. Kelley Harrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-kelley-harrell/) > [I tend to overwrite; I need a good editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolf-blitzer/i-tend-to-overwrite-i-need-a-good-editor/) [Wolf Blitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolf-blitzer/) > [“A good editor can make a respectable writer remarkable, just like a good parent helps a child become amazing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-alcala/a-good-editor-can-make-a-respectable-writer-remarkable-just-like-a/) [Justin Alcala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-alcala/) > [Truth is, every writer has to be a good editor, and you have to edit yourself. It's a skill every writer has to acquire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-scottoline/truth-is-every-writer-has-to-be-a-good-editor-and-you-have-to-edit/) [Lisa Scottoline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-scottoline/) > [A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/a-good-editor-understands-what-you-re-talking-and-writing-about-and/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [The smartest thing a filmmaker can do is to become a good editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-chandrasekhar/the-smartest-thing-a-filmmaker-can-do-is-to-become-a-good-editor/) [Jay Chandrasekhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-chandrasekhar/) > [“All of us who write need a good editor. - Sharon Langevin Crawford”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-langevin-crawford/all-of-us-who-write-need-a-good-editor-sharon-langevin-crawford/) [Sharon Langevin Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-langevin-crawford/) > [“It's very difficult to train a good editor," the author said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-edward-simone/it-s-very-difficult-to-train-a-good-editor-the-author-said/) [Val Edward Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-edward-simone/) > [Most of my success, I feel, comes from being a good editor as opposed to a great writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-max/most-of-my-success-i-feel-comes-from-being-a-good-editor-as-opposed/) [Tucker Max](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-max/) ## More by Karin Slaughter > [With 'Pretty Girls,' I saw the opportunity to talk not just about crime but what crime leaves behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/with-pretty-girls-i-saw-the-opportunity-to-talk-not-just-about-crime/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I've always been drawn to dark stories. I enjoy reading Flannery O'Connor, Patricia Highsmith, and Margaret Mitchell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-dark-stories-i-enjoy-reading-flannery-o/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I love puns. I've been known to turn the car around just to take advantage of a good pun situation. It really is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-love-puns-i-ve-been-known-to-turn-the-car-around-just-to-take/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Usually, when inspiration strikes late, the light of day reveals that I haven't gotten an idea for a book so much as a psychiatric…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/usually-when-inspiration-strikes-late-the-light-of-day-reveals-that-i/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“To all the librarians in the world on behalf of all the kids y’all helped grow up to be writers”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/to-all-the-librarians-in-the-world-on-behalf-of-all-the-kids-y-all/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“Moon was from somewhere up east, the kind of place where consonants took on a life of their own. In addition to this, she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/moon-was-from-somewhere-up-east-the-kind-of-place-where-consonants/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Feminism has been so co-opted, but the fact is, feminism benefits men as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/feminism-has-been-so-co-opted-but-the-fact-is-feminism-benefits-men/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Librarians have always stood up for writers and readers in every kind of community across this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/librarians-have-always-stood-up-for-writers-and-readers-in-every-kind/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“I’ve got to figure out before I die whether I want to be happy or I want to be right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-ve-got-to-figure-out-before-i-die-whether-i-want-to-be-happy-or-i/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Prior to the Civil War, most libraries were either privately owned or housed in universities or churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/prior-to-the-civil-war-most-libraries-were-either-privately-owned-or/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [In the South, we drink the Bible with our mother's milk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/in-the-south-we-drink-the-bible-with-our-mother-s-milk/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [Denise Mina is probably one of the most gifted writers out there, whether it's mystery or literary or whatever label you want to give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/denise-mina-is-probably-one-of-the-most-gifted-writers-out-there/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [If there is still an American dream, reading is one of the bootstraps by which we can all pull ourselves up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/if-there-is-still-an-american-dream-reading-is-one-of-the-bootstraps/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [I love reading almost as much as I love writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/i-love-reading-almost-as-much-as-i-love-writing/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) > [“a large chifforobe wedged into a small closet that their mother said they’d have to pay Tom Robinson a nickel to bust up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/a-large-chifforobe-wedged-into-a-small-closet-that-their-mother-said/) [Karin Slaughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) [Explore all 237 Karin Slaughter quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/) ## More Editor quotes > [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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [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/) > [“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/) > [It's always the paragraphs I loved most, the ones I tenderly polished and re-read with pride, that my editor will suggest cutting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/it-s-always-the-paragraphs-i-loved-most-the-ones-i-tenderly-polished/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [I never wanted to be an editor. I never wanted to be a boss. I just wanted to write, and it didn't make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-deford/i-never-wanted-to-be-an-editor-i-never-wanted-to-be-a-boss-i-just/) [Frank Deford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-deford/) > [Filmmaking has always involved pairs: a director coupled with a producer, a director alongside an editor... The notion of couples is not foreign to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luc-dardenne/filmmaking-has-always-involved-pairs-a-director-coupled-with-a/) [Luc Dardenne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luc-dardenne/) > [An editor is like a professional reader, and as I became a better reader, I also became a better writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/an-editor-is-like-a-professional-reader-and-as-i-became-a-better/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) [Browse all 317 Editor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/editor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A good editor is one of the sharpest tools a writer can have in her toolbox.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karin Slaughter" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-tools-a-writer-can-have-in-her/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Editor" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-tools-a-writer-can-have-in-her/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/karin-slaughter-1463_editor_a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-too_1475954.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/karin-slaughter-1463_editor_a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-too_1475954.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/68c/karin-slaughter-1463_editor_a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-too_1475954.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A good editor is one of the sharpest tools a writer can have in her toolbox.” — Karin Slaughter", "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": "Karin Slaughter", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karin-slaughter/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A good editor is one of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-tools-a-writer-can-have-in-her/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karin-slaughter/a-good-editor-is-one-of-the-sharpest-tools-a-writer-can-have-in-her/#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 } } ] } ```