Finding a Voice

“I want to be led by my authors, to be taught by them, to be transformed as I edit their stuff.”

That’s Dave Zimmerman of InterVarsity Press, talking with us last week about influence in the workplace. Dave once wrote a book about superheroes, and this “led by/taught by” line reveals his Clark Kent humility. In part two, he offers great advice to young professionals while owning the good and bad of being an influential voice in the lives of common citizens like me.

Enjoy.

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Dave, be honest. Do you have a superhero power when you’re at work?

I take possession of the authors I edit. I take a little credit for their ideas. I see myself less clearly because I cloak myself in the best of what I see in them. Take Mark Van Steenwyk, for example: I see him as a moral genius, and I see myself as a moral genius for recognizing that genius in him. And I see myself as heroic for having made space for him to share his vision.

Your talent and his, joining to create something more than the sum of the two. I like it. What’s at stake when it comes to having influence?

The let-down. I tell people that their idea doesn't merit publication all the time. That's not how I put it, and that's not even always what I mean—I often mean that we're the wrong publisher or medium for their work—but I've sought publication enough on my own to know that what gets heard is "You're not good enough."

That unintended message gets heard even by authors I do acquire for publication; they hear it when I call on them to revise their draft, when I critique their assertions, when I make casual jokes that I thought would strengthen our relationship. I once edited a book that, in one passage, went into more detail than I thought was needed about some particular plot point in some particular sci-fi or fantasy film. I wrote in my comments, "Nerd alert!" I thought I was being funny, but in that one comment I eroded nearly all the trust we'd built together to that point. Writing is an act of vulnerability, and editing very easily becomes an act of tyranny, of colonization, of violence.

We’re fragile people, and I’ve seen this interplay in many places: between managers and cooks, teachers and students…between me and my kids! What’s the tension like for you?

It's weird: editors are both behind the curtain and up on a pedestal. Writers want to hear from us, they want to talk to us, they want to be around us. We have a lot of power. But we're also standing behind our authors, whispering in their ears, steering some of their steps. It's a private, arcane, almost secret work, and yet we get sought out and crowded around when we are out and about in any kind of official capacity.

It’s clear that you have an influential voice—even power—in others’ lives. Give us another story that makes you proud to don your cape.

I recently had lunch with a woman who, by virtue of her vocation (and her gender, unfortunately) has developed a tragic lack of self-confidence in her ability to communicate truly life-changing messages in her writing. I've watched people get moved to tears when she talks; I've been similarly moved myself. I've seen people go through paradigm shifts in her audience. She's, like, a dream author. But she's been forced into this artificial mold, and she struggles to find her writing voice. So my challenge with her will be to help her cut free of the constraints that have been placed on her, to help her write like she talks instead of writing like she's being judged for it. It can be a terribly traumatic experience, but it can also be incredibly freeing and empowering.

The editor-author relationship, I'm convinced, is built almost entirely on trust: the author must feel safe and secure with the editor, the editor must help the author find their footing in this new realm. On the days when I get to participate in that, I feel pretty dang good about my job.

I would too. You’re helping people find their way. What’s the best advice you´ve received on developing influence?

Well, "Be not afraid" is always a good one. And Frederick Buechner wrote a book whose title was Speak What We Feel, not What We Ought to Say. I always thought that was a good one, too. You have to own your influence and your message—own your voice and the words that take shape in it—while also recognizing that you're not infallible.

Another thing that's been helpful to me: If something's worth doing, it's worth doing for free. It's also worth getting paid to do, of course, but don't let money and all it represents—security, prosperity, etc.—tyrannize you.

Like villains often do?

Right. "He has showed you, O mortal, what is good…. To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8). That ought to do it.

Great reminder, Dave. Thanks for your advice and time.

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Read part 1: Can You Hear Me Now?

Dave Zimmerman is Associate Editor at IVP Books and the author of several titles, including Deliver Us from Me-Ville, which is on sale as an ebook for $.99 through September 7. Get your copy here. Dave is also a young professionals coach here at The High Calling.

Post image by garryknight. Used with permission. Sourced via Flickr. Interview by Sam Van Eman, YP editor and narrator of A Beautiful Trench It Was.