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I remember finding the copy editing course I took at Towson University grueling. It was a required course during my first master’s program in professional writing. It was tedious and tiring. My eyes grew weary, and eliminating words became a game to me. When the professor told us to get a piece down from 500 to 300 words, we had to do it, and the result had to be better than what we started with that day. Editing is not easy, my friends. It requires us step away a bit and consider the reader more than we consider ourselves and the prose we have written. In fact, it requires us to be the reader and examine our work. It also requires us to become a bit detached.

The Cal Ripken Commemorative Book that celebrated Cal’s career and streak. Published by the Orioles, I served as…