Imagine pushing a magic button in your video editing software labeled “BETTER.” Any project you edit turns out exactly how you planned, every single time. Your audience is absolutely spellbound, wiping tears from their eyes, laughing out loud, or sitting in stunned silence as they see the world in a different way for the first time.

Bad news: that button doesn’t exist. Good news: EDIT BETTER shows you how to get there anyway.

EDIT BETTER was written for video editors who consider themselves advanced hobbyists or growth-minded professionals, artists who know that the tools of editing matter far less than the knowledge of how to use those tools powerfully. This book does not illuminate the workings of Avid, Final Cut, or Premiere, and is not a meditation on film editing. What it is: a provocative, wide-ranging collection of strategies and tactics for the creative application of TV and video editing, no matter your editing tools.

Author Jeff Bartsch lays out both big picture strategies and practical, boots-on-the-ground tactics for powerful communication. Going far beyond mere button pushing, Jeff good-naturedly blends communication theory, marketing, behavioral psychology, neuroscience, and nuts-and-bolts details of editing application from years of experience in Hollywood, the storytelling capital of the world.