The Importance of Peer Review, or George is Gettin' Upset!

I probably should wait 24 hours to write this, but part of me knows it’s important to write it now.

George is gettin’ upset.

Why is George gettin’ upset?

Someone had the audacity to tell him he’s not a perfect writer.

Can you believe that? Me! Two someones, in fact, said I’d written some stuff that wasn’t up to snuff. Stuff that wasn’t meeting standards. Stuff that needed to be fixed. They dared tell me I WAS NOT USING ENOUGH COMMAS.

You can see why I’m mad, right? I mean, I’ve been writing professionally – PROFESSIONALLY – for more than 22 years. Ten years as a journalist. Twelve years as a technical writer. I have a DEGREE in technical writing, for heaven’s sake. I know what I’m doing.

So . . .

I’m listening.

I’m listening to them.

Because as much as I dislike being told I’m wrong – BECAUSE I’M NEVER WRONG – one thing I’ve learned after writing professionally for more than 22 years,  it’s this:

I’m often wrong.

I get rushed. I get lazy. I get complacent.

I’m also a bit prideful. I’ve been working solo for more than five years, and suddenly I’m part of a group and am being asked to have my work checked again by others.

You know what else I need to get?

Teachable. And humble. Because like every other writer on the planet, I’ve got some stuff to learn.

So I’m learning it.

I hope this is how you see peer review. I know firsthand how much it irritates to be told you’ve done something wrong. That’s why I like to point out the things you’ve done right, too. Because you can learn from the good stuff as well.

But being humble and teachable enough to learn from our mistakes, well, that’s how we learn, right? I mean, this all sounds so familiar:

As the Lord is patient with us, let us be patient with those we serve. Understand that they, like us, are imperfect. They, like us, make mistakes. They, like us, want others to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Never give up on anyone. And that includes not giving up on yourself.

I believe that every one of us, at one time or another, can identify with the servant in Christ’s parable who owed money to the king and who pled with the king, saying, “Lord, have patience with me.”

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, April 2010 General Conference

Peer review can teach us patience. And patience is a glorious thing to possess.

George is calming down a bit now. He’s ready to learn again.