Main menu:
In last week’s post, I discussed the importance of proofreading in good writing and offered tips for effectively practicing this vital skill. The companion skill that holds equal importance to proofreading is editing. In fact, the characteristics of both skills overlap in many places. In essence, proofreading and editing go hand in hand – a “double whammy” that will greatly improve your communications.
Editing is the process of reviewing your work and making changes to it, in order to improve its effectiveness, correct errors, and ensure that what you are trying to communicate to your audience is correct, clear and concise. As part of the services I provide to Grammar Girl Communications clients, I routinely offer suggested changes to the text of the documents I review. To this end, I have developed a kind of “template” for my editing activities, which helps me cover all the bases and offer the most comprehensive editing services possible. Here are a few of the practices I employ in my editing activities:
1. LEAVE YOUR EGO IN YOUR DESK DRAWER! I believe that self-
It is important to keep in mind that virtually all successful writers have editors – even published authors of bestselling books! Therefore, the best advice I can give is to keep an open mind, whether you are editing your own work yourself, or you have employed an editor to do the job for you. Do not take umbrage at any edits that are suggested. They have been made with the best of intentions, and with a sincere desire to help you, not harm you! You should also remember that edits are typically suggestions. If you have very strong feelings of disagreement about an edit, by all means make your own decision about whether to accept it or not. Just be sure to ask yourself if it is your ego prompting you to ignore the suggestion, or if there could actually be a perfectly valid, objective reason for the suggested change.
2. LET IT REST. This suggestion may look very familiar, if you read last week’s blog post. Just as it is a good idea to get away from your work for at least 24 hours before attempting to proofread it, it is also a good idea to do this before making any edits. This can help break the brain’s tendency to fill in the blanks and mentally auto-
Therefore, my advice is to go do something totally unrelated to the subject of the piece you have just written. Focus your thoughts and physical activities on this “other thing” to the max. Then, go back and take a look at what you’ve written with more objective eyes.
3. GIVE IT A FIRST READ WITH YOUR PEN STILL IN YOUR POCKET. Before you launch into scribbling notes, rearranging words, or cutting out swaths of text, take the time just to read the entire work. Read for content. Read with the goal of making sure you can comprehend what is being said (if you can’t, then it’s a pretty safe bet that a total stranger can’t, either). Pay attention to the “flow” of the writing. Are your ideas arranged logically? Is there a smooth transition between paragraphs and from one idea to the next?
If your pen is practically jumping out of your pocket at this point, just itching to start slashing away at the words, try a compromise. Instead of wholesale editing during this “first read” process, try merely using a highlighter to mark passages that might need some work. That way, you have given yourself a kind of road map to follow when the full-
4. ON YOUR MARK, GET SET – GO! Once you have gotten these “formalities” out of the way, it’s time to start the actual editing. Go back to the highlighted parts that, during your first read, did not quite make sense to you or did not describe your thoughts accurately enough. Play with the words, rearranging them, deleting some, etc. If you find gaps in the writing that require more research, or facts that need checking, make notes in the margins. Then you can go back to your sources to find the missing information and insert it into the proper location in the text.
When you have finished the editing process, once again let the work – and your brain – take a rest. After 24 hours or more, go back and reread the overall work in its entirety and “tweak” anything that still sounds “off” or incorrect.
5. WHEN IN DOUBT, TAKE IT OUT! This is the most difficult part of the process! As stated above, it is often extremely difficult for writers to part with any of their “babies” (their words). There may well be an idea – or an entire string of them – that you have included in your work that just isn’t relevant. It may be interesting, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it belongs there. Have the courage to take it out and “tighten up” the work.
In my own writing, I often come up with a fantastic turn of phrase, idea or a “fast, fun fact” that just screams to be communicated, but NOT in the context of what I’m currently creating. I go ahead and “bite the bullet” and remove it from my work, knowing that my writing will be better because I did. It’s a bit like pulling off an adhesive bandage really fast, to minimize the pain. But I don’t totally trash it! Instead, I have created a special file, where I put all of these “gems.” That way, my poor, overworked brain doesn’t have to commit them to memory, but they will still be readily available if I ever come across a place where these puzzle pieces truly fit.
6. WHEN IN DOUBT, FARM IT OUT. Just as I suggested in last week’s blog post about proofreading, if you truly do not have the heart to edit, or the skill, or the time, there is absolutely no shame in hiring the services of a professional, like Grammar Girl Communications. We are always happy to help, at affordable prices and in a timely manner.