Replay: Benjamin Dreyer shares Five Things He's Learned about Being Your Own Best Editor
Check out the first five minutes of his recent class.
“I hope you are writing for your own satisfaction. But after you’ve had that first writing session, it’s time to go back and do a little self editing. You have to remember: you’re not there to have a good time. You are there to fix things. You’re there to see what’s not working and to make it work better.”
“I’ve found it useful to find the punchy word hanging around in the middle of the sentence and consider whether it might do well to go at the end. Think about that when you are revising your own writing: Is there something that would make the sentence punchier if you just moved a couple of pieces around a little bit?”
“A sentence can be as long as a sentence wants to be – as long as the reader can get from the beginning of the sentence to the end of the sentence without having to double back to the beginning because you sent them in the wrong direction.”
“Sometimes a sentence is so tight it can’t breathe, and I find myself suggesting to writers to add a few words to help make a little bit more sense. So don’t necessarily always be like, “ I’m gonna take this out.”
“Writers, readers, self editors: your job is clarity, clarity, clarity, clarity.”
– Benjamin Dreyer, Five Things I’ve Learned about Being Your Own Best Editor
Last week, the author of the New York Times bestseller Dreyer’s English and the retired copy chief and managing editor of Random House, Benjamin Dreyer joined Five Things I've Learned to share all he’s learned about how you can make your writing more effective, clearer, and sharper.
In Five Things I’ve Learned about Being Your Own Best Editor, Benjamin breaks down the concrete habits and editorial strategies that professional editors rely on but writers are rarely taught. Through real examples and practical guidance, he shows you how to diagnose problems in your own prose and revise with confidence. He also reveals the subtle “listen before you fix” mindset that underpins truly thoughtful editing, illustrating how attention, restraint, and clarity can transform any piece of writing.
About Benjamin: Benjamin, – beloved by authors, editors, and his social media followers – has a unique knack for playfully deconstructing the English language. In his book, Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style, he distills his experience as the managing editor and copy chief of Random House into a useful guide for everyone who wants to improve their writing skills. Included are all the lessons on punctuation, grammar, and spelling a writer could ever desire, combined with insider wisdom and fun facts. Benjamin brings the same enthusiasm, authority, and irreverence to his talks, delivering valuable lessons on clarity and wit to students, professionals, and aspiring writers.
A graduate of Northwestern University, Benjamin began his publishing career as a freelance proofreader and copy editor. In 1993, he became a production editor at Random House, where he worked with a roster of writers that included Michael Chabon, Edmund Morris, Suzan-Lori Parks, Michael Pollan, Peter Straub, and Calvin Trillin. Benjamin has copyedited books by authors including E. L. Doctorow, David Ebershoff, Frank Rich, and Elizabeth Strout, as well as Let Me Tell You, a volume of previously unpublished or uncollected work by Shirley Jackson. He currently travels from New York City.
Benjamin is also on Substack! Subscribe to his page below:
Thanks for being part of Five Things I’ve Learned on Substack.
Visit myfivethings.com to view personal video invitations from writers, thinkers, and artists we admire – and to get special discounted pricing with our Five Things I’ve Learned Multi Pass.