My 5-Month Transformation After Hiring a Personal Editor to Face 'Writing'
Something I started new in 2024. That is, hiring a personal editor. Five months have passed since I started being accompanied by an editor in August 2024.
The first half was handled by Yupi-san, and the second half by Shohei Seto-san. (In principle, they do not change assigned editors, but this was a special exception.)
Looking back, this might have been the most meaningful investment I've ever made in myself. So, I'd like to introduce the changes I've experienced over these 5 months of having a personal editor.
▼ Click here for details on the personal editor service
Why I decided to hire a personal editor
I am in my 10th year of living abroad, currently in my fourth country, India. As my life abroad will likely continue, I thought it would be nice to record my fresh feelings and even events in my daily life that make me think 'I can't deal with this unless I turn it into content!'...
Until now, I mainly took photos, but there are times when I can't carry a camera, and I realized that emotions and inner movements can't be fully conveyed through photos alone. That is precisely why I want to leave behind 'fresh records' using both photos and text.
That said, how do you write text? I've never learned how to write, and I'm not a writer. That's when I found the 'Personal Editor' service. I signed up immediately, thinking, 'Being able to hire a personal editor is so luxurious!' and 'This sounds interesting!'
Achievements over 5 months
Since hiring a personal editor, I have written 15 articles in 5 months. (2 of these were written before I had an editor.) Since having a personal editor, my PV counts and the number of 'likes' have increased by an order of magnitude.
(Updated 2025/06/09)
I was surprised that the number of people reading my articles increased, with likes that used to be in the single digits reaching over 400 at their peak, and some articles even exceeding 100 likes.
▼ Some of the most read articles that were edited
Changes that occurred in 5 months
Discovering the joy of writing essays
Before meeting my personal editor, I had never touched upon 'essays.' Through exchanges with my assigned editor, such as 'Can you elaborate a bit more on this emotion?' or 'Can you express this in a slightly more cynical way?', I was surprised to find that I could actually write them. Above all, I realized that writing is very fun.
Improvement in writing speed
My first article took a whole day while I held my head in frustration, but now I can write one article quickly in 60 minutes. I have established a style of noting down things I notice while on the move in Google Keep (which syncs between my phone and PC) and writing it all at once when I sit down to write. Using ChatGPT to check for typos and omissions has also saved me time.
Changes brought about by the editor
There are articles I can only write because the editor is there. I might not have been able to hit the publish button on this article, 'Things to do in your 20s,' without the editor. I was hesitant, thinking, 'Is it okay for someone like me, who is nobody, to write an article like this? Is there anyone who would want to read it?' but I changed my mindset to 'Don't judge for yourself whether it's interesting or not. That's what the editor is for! Let's just write it and show it to the editor.' and was able to just try writing it. My personal editor becomes the first reader and gives me feedback, which pushes me forward.
▼ This article, which resulted in a surprising sudden increase in followers among women in their 20s
Writing that isn't honest won't resonate
Articles I wrote while trying to 'wrap things up neatly' and sugarcoating my true feelings never felt right to me, and my editor would see right through them anyway. Since there's no point in writing like that, I decided to write only my true feelings.
Reasons for writing and new encounters
Why do I write? Because I want to leave a record for myself. Because it's a tool for self-expression. If that's the case, I should just write what I want to write without worrying about what others think. Since shifting to that mindset, writing has become easier.
Also, I find myself empathizing with the writings of people struggling in the same India—in Bangalore, Delhi, and Mumbai—nodding along so hard my neck hurts. It's been very encouraging.
Things I did to improve my writing skills
How to get read?
Questions and walls I hit while writing, such as 'How do I come up with a title?' or 'How many characters should one article be?', can mostly be solved here.
How to keep writing?
It lowers the hurdle for writing significantly and summarizes practical techniques for keeping at it.
How to become able to write faster?
Gather materials, no matter what.
Increasing the resolution of essays
What is an essay? What is it for? A book that shows the philosophy and direction of the essays I want to write.
Reading through note extensively
I read through the notes, featured articles, and popular articles of people related to my personal editor. I input good articles.
Summary
I tend to get caught up in work and daily tasks, putting off the time to write my own notes, but by setting a deadline of 'I have to submit this to my personal editor', I was able to update my notes regularly. And I was able to expand the joy of expressing myself through writing and the range of my expression.
As I continued to write, the feeling that 'It would be a waste not to share this story! I really want to tell this!' started overflowing both inside and outside of work, and I finally started writing a corporate note. My work as a PR professional has increased.
I want to continue expressing my experiences through photos and writing in the future. It was a good 2024 where I was able to upgrade my 'writing'.