Editing ... Scmediting

Before you send your masterpiece off to a trusted editor, take the time to lay out your ad/ book/white paper as you envision it so your editor can see your vision too.

Written Nov 12, 2008, read 676 times since then.

Good writing, even the best writing requires editing. Whether you are writing ad copy, a book, or a white paper for your business editing is critical to the success of your work. It's very difficult, if not impossible, to properly edit your own work - isn't that why we hire a professional to do it? There are few things you can do to self-edit and help cut down the cost of your editing budget for your next project.

The most common writing mistakes authors make are:

Repetition
Poor content organization
Repetition
Extra spacing
Repetition

The most common mistake is repeating the same event or fact over and over and over... throughout the manuscript. Essentially the author is beating a dead horse! Nothing turns off a potential client more than taxidermy projects in the lobby. Editing what goes before your client base or your potential customers is a critical step in the process.

Lack of organization and repetition usually happens when the author concentrates on grammar and fails to examine the document for cohesiveness as a whole. Have you ever had to sit down and listen to your dad go on and on with his old army stories and felt that he would never get to the point before you lost your sanity? A paper with content that is redundant or disorganized is like following one of dear old dad's rambling narrations.

Repetition as a technique has its place in writing when done effectively. The key is making sure the flow is not disrupted for the entire work and that the repetition has a point. The trick is writing the entire piece so that it moves at a reasonable pace and making the reader stay engaged.

The nit-noid editing for spacing, capitalization, and usage is just a matter of training your eye to seek out the errors. Reading a paragraph word by word backwards will often identify all kinds of typos to the casual editor. Spacing can be corrected using word processing tools like "replace." A few of the other annoying parts to examine are:

Font and type size
Margins
Headers and Footers if required
Table of Contents and Header Consistency
Spell check
Content for missing paragraphs, sections, etc

With patience and plodding thoroughness you can make your way through the document with confidence. A little more work on the front end of the project will get your work into your audience's hands faster.

Story telling is a good way to keep the reader hooked on the material so they will continue reading; however, make sure your stories have a point. For every story make a point and for every point have an illustrative story. When looking at your work with an editor's eye look for the way the words and the story work together. Learn everything you need to know about how to write to be read.

Writing to be read means thinking like the reader. Speak to the reader in a way that is appealing and engaging and appeals to them on an emotional level. Use varied sentence lengths but avoid constructs that are really complex to follow. Make your point quickly to keep the content moving. Avoid excessive use of adverbs, passive voice, and other empty words that add nothing to the overall content.

You may craft some really cool sentences that you have to part with in the interest of good fast moving content. Good editing makes the work more effective and more likely to make you look like the content genius you are!

Learn more about the author, Shannon Evans.

Comment on this article

Posted by Mike Schwagler, Redmond, Washington | Nov 13, 2008

Editing ... Scmediting...Indeed!

I totally agree - just take websites. Since anyone can write with a pencil or type on a keyboard doesn't mean they should write their own homepage.

In fact they probably shouldn't write it at all. But if they can't afford a pro to write it (...and not a web designer, please) they should at least have someone they know - who has been successful in marketing (a critical point) - edit it and/or rewrite it.

If they do write it themselves (substandard reflexive pronoun - sorry), editing is everything. In fact, the joke among writers is, "That's why they call us re-writers."

Editing is so much more than a grammar check - it's all about delivering the message in a way that says what you really want to say. Reading out loud into a tape recorder what you wrote can be quite revealing. Just watch out for split infinitives - quite common in speech, they need to be banned by law from the written word. Such as, "reading what you wrote out loud into a tape recorder can be quite revealing."

...and, of course, those substandard reflexive pronouns (and repetition, too.) And incomplete sentences.

-Mike-

P.S. I'm looking forward to your event on the 21st.
Posted by Dirk Farrell, Seattle, Washington | Nov 13, 2008

Thanks, Shannon! This article succinctly sums up our conversation. Having it on the web will help me when I actually find the time to sit down and work on my project!

Cheers, Dirk
Posted by Shannon Evans, Bainbridge Island, Washington | Nov 13, 2008

Thanks for the input. I really have strong feelings about the art of writing to be read (passive voice and all). Critical reading skills should be one of the first things an entrepreneur learns. Knowing how to look at what they do and what they present to the reading public is so important to business success.
Posted by Kate Phillips, Carnation/Seattle, Washington | Nov 14, 2008

Thanks Shannon. I never cease to be amazed at the typos and such I find in professional articles, brochures and websites.

If you're posting a comment, no big deal. It wouldn't be very efficient to spell check and proofread every word we write. But if a business's marketing contains obvious errors, it doesn't give me confidence in their attention to detail!

And books... oh man, don't get me started. A woman who was giving "How to Write a Book in XX Days" workshops had written a book 100's of typos, grammar errors, and other mistakes. Maybe she needed to take a couple extra weeks to have her own books proofread!

Coaching for Financial Transformation
Posted by Judy Dunn, Seattle & Renton, Washington | Nov 17, 2008

Useful tips, Shannon.

I truly believe that if people think too much about the details when they write their first draft (punctuation, grammar, etc.), they lose their writing voice. So your next to the last paragraph, about appealing to the reader on an emotional level, is great advice.

After the real you has come out on the page, with personality, emotion, and attitude, then it's easier to go back and edit for clarity and flow.

Over the years, I've gotten a lot better at editing my own work, but I think, in some cases, it can help to turn it over to a new pair of eyes.

This is an interesting topic and timely for me because I just started a five-part series on writing e-letters over at my blog.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom.
Posted by Terri Dunevant, Hillsville, Virginia | Nov 20, 2008

Thanks Shannon! Now that's the mark of a true professional; someone who bestows information that will save the client money. When I pay an editor, I would rather their time be spent on enhancements than dumb stuff I could've caught with just a little more effort.
Posted by James Hance, San Diego, California | Nov 20, 2008

I love this article. Just not sure about the correct spelling of "scmediting." :-) Also like your varied use of idea connectors: ellipsis, semicolon, em dash. Using the same punctuation throughout is boring, I think.
Posted by Nandell Palmer, Seattle, Washington | Nov 20, 2008

You did it again, Shannon. That timely post is definitely a winner!
Posted by Briana Barrett, Seattle, Washington | Nov 20, 2008

I like your jokes regarding repetition in the bullets, and the one where you add the word 'other' in the sentence "(...) empty words that add nothing to the overall content."
Posted by James Hance, San Diego, California | Nov 20, 2008

Hmmm. An ounce of selective editing can prevent a lifetime of debilitating verbosity.
Posted by Amy Wheeler, Maple Valley, Washington | Nov 20, 2008

Excellent article. I am a graphic designer, and work with large quantities of copy, some of which makes me cringe, and some which is really beautifully done. Not unlike a really good logo, well written copy is incredibly engaging and interesting--I can tell the difference, and I notice that I never make it to the end of the poorly written piece. If you want someone to read the whole message you have to make them want to!
Posted by Shannon Evans, Bainbridge Island, Washington | Nov 21, 2008

Did anyone notice the error I had in the piece? I deleted a portion of a verbose sentence and ended up creating a glaring error! Oh boy...I think I caught them all now...

Thanks John for the hint! ; )