The difference between writing, editing and publishing

It wasn’t so long ago when those were all separate functions.

You wrote something, sent it around and if you were fortunate enough to be accepted, your work was edited and then published.

That changed with social media.

The roles blurred and in many cases if you’re a blogger or content producer, you find yourself doing all three functions at once. Sometimes not very well.

While there’s certainly a lot of overlap, each job demands specific talents and expertise. Writing requires dreaming/an imagination, editing is a bit like solving a puzzle and publishing demands attention to detail.

Here’s a simple way to look at the differences:

Creation = writing
You come up with the idea, vision or story and bring it to life.

Re-creation = editing
You take the story and fine tune it, play around with the words, images and overall order. You also figure out how to adapt it to new formats (formerly serial rights, now reuse).

Pro-creation = publishing
You make the story public by reproducing it across various media. And by being a publisher, you’re also adding a layer of professionalism to the work, the pro in pro-create.

Many people can do one or two of these functions well. For instance, I think I’m pretty good at writing and editing, but my publishing skills could probably use a boost. Other people are natural editors/publishers. Yet these days, being a content producer often requires some proficiency in all three.

And if you’re not?
That’s where co-creation comes in. Collaborating with people whose strengths complement yours in order to add a fresh perspective and enhance the quality of your story.

How do you approach content creation? Where do you your creative strengths lie?

About Martin Waxman

Martin Waxman, MCM, is a digital communications strategist. He conducts AI research, leads digital and social media training workshops and speaks at events across North America. He's co-founder of two PR agencies, president of a consultancy and has worked in the industry for nearly 30 years. Martin is a LinkedIn Learning instructor, teaches digital strategy and social media at McMaster University, the Schulich School of Business, University of Toronto SCS and Seneca College. He's a member of the Institute for Public Relations Digital Media Research Center and a past-chair of PRSA Counselors Academy. He has a Master of Communications Management (MCM) from McMaster-Syracuse Universities.

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