Hello and welcome to a special episode of the Optimize Yourself podcast where I provide my written articles in audio form so you have the opportunity to listen instead of read if that’s your preference. My hope is that you’ll use this opportunity to get up and step away from your desk to build the habit of moving more throughout your workday.

Today’s reading is for an article I wrote for Frame.io titled “The Ten Commandments of Working with Editors.”

» Click here to read the whole article at Frame.io

Curmudgeon. Loner. Keyboard monkey. Cave dweller. Hermit.

These are just a few of the choice names many have come to associate with those of us who edit for a living.

And they’re not 100% wrong. Stereotypes often emerge from a grain of truth.

There’s no question that editors are unique creative creatures that are often misunderstood by producers, directors, and clients:

• We more often than not prefer to work alone.
• We don’t get a whole lot of sun (not familiar with “The Sun?” Here, let me Google that for you).
• We can be ridiculously OCD about “our way” of doing things.
• We don’t like to be told what to do.
• And we get really snappy when you touch our keyboards (sorry about that, it’s nothing personal).

If you’re a producer or client sitting on the couch in an edit suite struggling to understand what makes your editor tick, and you’d like a better understanding of how we operate, I hope the following “commandments” will give you some important insights.

[Author’s Note: I totally get that “editor” encompasses a wide range of job types. For those of you specifically in the Fortune 500 agency world, for example, it may be routine for the editor and producers to sit together during a session. I assure you, whether you’re with your editor every day in his or her suite, or collaborating cross-country with a tool like Frame.io, you will have a superior working relationship with your editor if you adopt the spirit of these commandments—which will yield a superior end product. And that’s something we all want.]

The Ten Commandments of Working with Editors

1. Thou shalt respect each editor’s unique personality.
2. Thou shalt understand the creative process takes time.
3. Thou shalt be patient and understand that “we will get there.”
4. Thou shalt not micromanage the process.
5. Thou shalt understand we report to multiple people.
6. Thou shalt maintain the position of “collaborator.”
7. Thou shalt not “play around” with our cuts (or touch our stuff).
8. Thou shalt accept that editors are not technical wizards.
9. Thou shalt accept that not everything can be “fixed in post.”
10. Thou shalt accept that editing is our career and our passion—but it’s not our life.