Editors urged to join meaningful associations

Mr Woeli Dekutsey, President of Ghana Association of Book Editors, has called on editors of the English language to join meaningful associations to help upgrade their skills in the fast changing environment of editing.

He said “as an editor, a lot is expected from you as you add value to an author’s work and one in this position needs to consistently hone his skills by reading and researching”.

Speaking at an Editor’s workshop held at the Ghana Institute of Languages, Mr Dekutsey said the tools of the editor are still a dictionary or a concordance and the internet for research; adding that “because you are the gate keeper, yours is to enrich and make clearer what an author is seeking to say”.

He said just as in any form of communication the three main factors are the communicator, transmitter and receiver; in the publishing world, the three core things to be recognised are the author, the editor and the reader.

He said the role of the book editor is very important as he is the filter of the message from an author.

Mr Dekutsey said this role cannot be understated as any distortion in the message could create problems and the entire effort could be destroyed.

He said the editor, with his training, would know the target audience for each book and craft an appropriate message for them.

Mr Dekutsey said access to the dictionary, thesaurus, concordance and the internet should be unhindered to the editor as he goes about sorting the use of words, syntax and story an author is trying to tell.

He said “you need to have an eagle eye” but patience is a key ingredient in the editor’s job as he works harmoniously with the author to ensure that the right thing is done.

As part of the workshop, Mrs Agatha Akornor – Mills, Treasurer, Ghana Association of Book Editors, discussed with the participants, a variety of concerns associated with oral and written English, prepositional phrases, idiomatic expressions and clichés.

“Watch out for errors in prepositional phrases,” she said, and do not hesitate to remove extraneous materials, unreliable clichés and bombastic expressions not suited for the target audience of a piece of work,” she said.