Tina Haapala, Excuse Editor

I'm not just the editor of excuses, I actually edit other writers' stuff from time to time. As a matter of fact, editing has become my one of my primary responsibilities at my day job. I'm very lucky, because I was originally hired as a temporary employee to help out doing financial things, which often involves numbers and math, and, well, let's just say its best for all involved that I stay away from that. Instead, the owner of the company asked me to look over one of his upcoming newspaper columns and I practically rewrote it. I liked the challenge to make a published columnist's work even better, and I wasn't worried that he would take offense. I was SUPPOSED to be temporary. It was clear my talents were better suited to low-calculator-use environments, so I shifted to the marketing department and have been there ever since. By editing my boss' and other people's work, I've learned a few lessons that serve me when I approach my own pages.