Imposter Syndrome: Why It Hits the Best of Us.

 Being an Editor When the Trolls Are Watching

Being an editor means making decisions in public, even when the work itself happens behind the scenes. You shape tone, structure, clarity, and credibility, and then you send that work out into a world full of opinions. Some of those opinions are useful. Others come from rivals, trolls, or people who simply enjoy tearing down what they could never build. The challenge is not just doing the work well. It is learning how to protect your judgement when outside voices get loud.

The hidden pressure of editorial work

Editors are expected to be precise, fair, invisible, and somehow impossible to criticise. That is an impossible standard. Every cut, correction, and change can feel personal to someone. Add public commentary, industry rivalry, or online sniping, and it becomes easy to second-guess your instincts. The danger is that you stop editing with clarity and start editing defensively. Once that happens, the work can lose its sharpness because you are no longer serving the piece. You are serving the fear of what people might say about it.

When rivals and trolls get in your head

Not every harsh opinion deserves a seat at your desk. Rivals may criticise your work to elevate their own. Trolls often want reaction, not improvement. If you absorb every nasty comment as truth, you end up carrying other people’s insecurity into your process. That does real damage. It can make you hesitant, overly cautious, or desperate to please everyone at once. Strong editors learn to ask a simple question: is this feedback trying to improve the work, or is it trying to rattle me? One deserves attention. The other deserves distance.

How editors protect their confidence

• ·        Keep a clear standard for your work so every opinion is not treated as equal.
• ·        Take useful feedback seriously, but do not confuse cruelty with expertise.
• ·        Step away from hostile commentary before it begins to shape your judgement.
• ·        Trust the process that got you here: careful reading, sound instinct, and editorial discipline.
• ·        Remember that not everyone who talks about editing understands what good editing actually requires.
• ·        Protect your focus, because your best work rarely happens while defending yourself against bad-faith voices.

Being an editor is not about pleasing every voice in the room. It is about standing by your judgement, refining your craft, and knowing the difference between critique and noise. Let rivals talk. Let trolls perform. Your job is to keep your standards high and your attention on the work.