When editing is good, it is invisible. I was trained never to interpose my own voice over an author’s voice, but to strip away the obstacles that come between the author and the reader. Good editing removes the background noise between author and reader, so that the author’s voice can come across clearly and vividly.
I care about communicating, and I care about style. Thirty years’ experience as an editor has taught me that good style actually comes from clarity of thought. It’s like good design. If you can base the design of an object firmly on the core of what it does and beautify that functionality, your design will be strong and good. The same with writing. The best way to write well is to be clear about what you mean at a deep level—and then everything falls into place.