Every now and then, someone sends me one of those social media memes that say something clever like “I am silently judging your grammar” or “I can’t be freinds with someone who hastypos.”

Usually I smile and say thanks. Sometimes, though, I stop to explain that I’m notthat kind of editor. I don’t fix people’s spelling, and I’m not really interested in your dangling participles.

“So, then, what do youdo, exactly?”

“I’m a developmental editor.”

And then I get a lot of blank looks.

Most people k...