The recommended daily allowance

Reading Diana Athill's Stet is like taking a seminar in the art and craft of editing and then being invited to tea with the professor afterward.

Consider this gem:

[A]n editor must never expect thanks (sometimes they come, but they must always be seen as a bonus). We must always remember that we are only midwives — if we want praise for progeny we must give birth to our own.

Or this (she is writing about the shrinking population of critical readers):

Of course a lot of them still read; but progressively a smaller lot, and fewer and fewer can be bothered to dig into a book that offers any resistance. Although these people may seem stupid to us, they are no stupider than we are: they just enjoy different things.

Whether you edit church bulletins or your city's daily, whether you answer phones at a small press in the hopes of moving up or you cull gems from the slush pile, don't miss Athill's attempt to prevent her experience from being erased with her passing.