Would you like pepperoni with that manuscript?

While editing levels and styles seem like a very straightforward, grammar-filled discussion, if you don’t know about the differences, then it’s hard to understand what might be available. It's a little bit like ordering a pizza. You may know the basics, but if you don’t know about the differences, you might not know what to order on a pizza...or know how to look at a manuscript for the edit.

(I know, I know. It is The Muffin, but we’re talking pizza today!)

A homemade pizza with lots of
toppings. || Credit: P. Humphrey

For me, often being able to visualize something helps me to understand it. Sort of like: How can you order a pizza without knowing what’s the pizzeria offers? Maybe I’m too hungry as I start writing this, but I was thinking about how to explain to a student about editing and variables in editing.

And I started to think in terms of pizza. When I started trying to think of something else, I kept coming back to the image of a pizza.


Why a pizza? Because there can be so many toppings, but editors build upon a base. Besides, doesn't everyone has their own favorite pizza?

• As editors, we have to know our base. Maybe it’s APA-style versus Chicago-style crust. Is there a house style to consider that alters the pizza style to make it their own? Don’t we all have a favorite pizza place?

• What kind of writing is it? Is it a technical document versus a romance novel? Think about how toppings can change what the pizza is: Is it pepperoni or pineapple with ham?
• How is the pizza divided and served? Regionally diverse colleagues discussed the unusual square-cut pizza pieces one local Southern pizzeria provide versus those who might provide a meal-in-a-slice. Is the document a short story, a novel or an instruction manual?

I know. It’s kind of strange to compare writing and editing to pizza, right? Maybe. But I’m hoping this helps my student to see the amazing variations that editing can have. And it is just unusual enough to make it memorable. Or maybe it just reveals that I’ve been watching too many episodes of Kitchen Nightmares?

So tell me, is there an image that has helped you learn something about writing or editing? If not, do you have a favorite pizza?

When she’s not making or eating pizza, Elizabeth King Humphrey writes and edits in Wilmington, NC.