Persuaded by the editor to accept a pound (3)
I believe the answer is:
led
'persuaded' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'editor to accept a pound' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'editor' could be 'ed' (abbreviation) and 'ed' is found in the answer.
'pound' could be 'l' (the pound sign is based on an L) and 'l' is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
'by the' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for led that I've seen before include "Light-emitting diode (abbr.)" , "sort of light" , "Took by the hand and showed the way" , "showed the way ahead" , "Guided; small light" .)