If you want to be a good writer, you need an great editor! Or editors!
Sharing my pages has always been an intimidating experience because I am met with these dilemmas:
1. My subject matter is not always an easy read and my topic is somewhat specialized, thus the need for an informed reader.
2. As hard as I try to be concise and maintain clarity and meaning when I write, I am still prone to "wordiness" and need an objective thinker to help hone my verbiage without losing my authentic voice.
3. The best editor is an honest editor -- someone who can help cull the masterpiece from the study sketches. This process requires a not only a creative thinker, but a patient one as well.
4. I don't want to bore anyone or waste their time! So, sometimes I hesitate to ask . . . go ahead, ask anyway! If I think what I am writing is interesting, chances are others will too.
5. TRUST! I have to fight my personal fears of inadequacy. I acknowledge that what I am writing is imperfect, thus the need for an editor in the first place.
Nevertheless, I am willing to share my work, and I am fortunate enough to have peers and mentors to share it with!
I am very lucky to have an excellent PhD panel with a great supervisor and advisors. Additionally, I am happy to count as friends some very talented wordsmiths who ALSO know more than I do about late antiquity AND are willing to help me excavate the best results from my writing.
To each of you, I say THANK YOU! Your efforts on my behalf are not only benevolent, they are REAL EFFORTS for which I am truly grateful.
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