I freely admit it – editors kind of irritate me.

Editors vex me, though they are absolutely indispensable to the creative process.

That hurt a little to admit…

Still, I am vexitated by editors (vexed and irritated).

Okay, fine, they serve a very useful purpose, kind of like a bodily agent that kills weak cells for the good of the overall organism. Anyway — I wrote this little spin on the famous speech by Hamlet and made it apply to editors and editing in general.

If you have ever been “edited” you will appreciate this —

From Shakespeare’s The Tragedy of Hamlet (with apologies)
To edit, or not to edit — that is the question:
Whether ‘tis nobler in the book to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous composition,
Or to take pen against a sea of errors,
And by opposing end them? To proof, to proof,
No more, and by proofing to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That books are heir to, ‘tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish’d. To proof;
To proof, perchance to approve, ay, there’s the rub;
For in that proofing what edits may come
When we have shuffled the book off to press,
Must give us pause: there’s the fear
That makes calamity of careful editing. . .

And here is the original text —
To be, or not to be — that is the question:
Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die, to sleep–
No more–and by a sleep to say we end
The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep–
To sleep–perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub,
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause. There’s the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.

— E. Out (for now).