res ipsa loquitur

A good editor’s work is invisible.

Readers and reviewers complain about bad spelling, poor tables, sentences that are unclear, and errors of fact. They do not notice if the spelling is correct, the tables are clean and simple, the sentences are easy to understand, and all the facts are correct. Readers expect such things. They will assume that the author did everything perfectly. Only the author will know the truth.

The editor must be prepared to be invisible. This is difficult. Many scientists and administrators working at the editor’s institution will not understand what the editor does and why this is important. That is something editors will have to accept. We know what we do.