#4: Why does a text need an editor?

I came across this quote and it answers the question quite perfectly. Because authors be writing all fearlessly and wild and rough around the edges, exactly as it should be.

An author does not need to sweat the small stuff - that's the editor's job. Heck, writer's block is swine enough, let alone unnecessary worries of things easily fixed on the 3rd or 13th draft. With fearlessness, a writer can create their most authentic work. With authenticity comes clarity, most importantly of voice – the je ne sais quoi. It is that which makes an editor stop in their tracks with the dawning feeling that in front of them is the glimmering pearl of a great idea – and that je ne sais quoi is what the editor will endeavour to preserve and protect above all else.

Editors aren't exactly merciless. We're not destroyers of dreams, but we owe it to our writers to be (sometimes mercilessly) honest. If the 1st draft of text is the unbroken mustang - wild and beautiful, we are the horse whisperers, taming and earning trust just enough as is needed to help its best potential manifest.

The other thing about editors is that is that we can't resist editing whatever we see in daily life...