Editing

Editing

A rigorous editing skill for marketing copy, adapted from a publishing-editor methodology and retuned for brand and campaign work. Where copywriting generates, editing refines — running existing drafts through structured filters to ensure they meet Every's standards for clarity, voice, effectiveness, and craft.

This skill is opinionated: it doesn't just fix grammar. It evaluates whether the copy works commercially, whether it sounds like the brand, and whether it reads like a human wrote it with intention.

System

Editing is composed of four reference files, each representing a filter or methodology:

references/filters.md

The four editorial filters: blind spot (what's missing?), thesis (does this have a point?), prose quality (does it read well?), and brand fit (does it sound like us?). Every piece of copy runs through all four.

references/ai-tells.md

How to detect and strip AI-generated patterns — the rhythms, hedges, structures, and vocabulary choices that mark copy as machine-written. The goal is not to hide AI use but to ensure the output meets human editorial standards.

references/surgery.md

When to cut vs. rewrite vs. reorder. The decision framework for structural editing — knowing whether a paragraph needs a scalpel, a rewrite, or a different position in the piece.

references/effectiveness-check.md

Does this copy actually work commercially? The final filter — evaluating whether the copy does what it was written to do (convert, persuade, inform, engage) rather than just sounding good.

references/compound-from-edits.md

How to learn from Douglas's edits: compare versions, classify the delta, preserve his version as canonical, and update the relevant durable rule without overwriting the work.

When to invoke

• When reviewing and refining a draft for voice alignment
• When tightening copy that's already been written
• When a piece needs a final pass before publication
• When evaluating whether existing copy meets brand and effectiveness standards
• When stripping AI tells from generated or co-written copy
• When Douglas returns an edited draft and asks to compound or remember the changes

Reference routing

Dependencies

• foundation/marketing-os
• brand-voice/{relevant brand} (loaded dynamically)

Quick checklist

• Did the edit preserve the argument and creative premise?
• Did it remove repetition rather than unique information?
• Is the language active, specific, and recognizably Every?
• Does the piece still do its intended job?
• If Douglas edited it, did the system learn from the delta?