I’m happy to offer a guest post today by pinklightsabre — otherwise known as William Pearse. If you’re not reading Pinklightsabre’s Blog regularly, you’re missing out on some of the best writing on (or off) WordPress. And if you were to run into Bill’s writing unattributed somewhere, you’d know it’s his immediately. He has a novel style. His mind works in unfettered ways. His prose is musical and rhythmic and soaring and sharp, and he takes you, in a single post, to so many places and times that you find yourself unstuck from your own, ready to follow him anywhere he leads you. Last year it was mainly Germany, England, Scotland, Ireland, and many points in between, but it doesn’t matter where he is when he’s writing. He can be anywhere he likes, and he’ll take you along.

This piece is an account of Bill’s first job as a professional editor…