Editing [back to archive] The concise Oxford Dictionary defines the word "edit" as "...set in order for publication..." In practice editing can mean anything from a quick tidy-up of spelling and grammatical goofs, to a savage massacre that reduces a piece to a few clipped sentences. Some people (usually editors!) believe that good editing of a piece of text is as important as the initial writing of it. I think that's true in instances where the original text is a mess for whatever reason - over-written, repetitive, long-winded, pompous, full of jargon, etc. However if you structure your writing properly in the first place and write appropriately for the topic and audience concerned, extensive editing shouldn't be necessary. (These are issues I cover in my book, Powerwriting - see "author" page. The objective of the book is to get your thinking right before you write, which means your writing is pretty nearly right first time. It saves a lot of time in the long run and works far better. OK, commercial over.) I believe you need to strike a happy medium with editing. Tighten your text up, by all means, but don't throttle it to death, or it will lose its personality. Editing criteria The first part of the editing process acts like a final reality check on your writing. Go back to the five key elements of Powerwriting ... the MAMBA structure that I detail in my eBook (see "author" page.) M is for message. Does the piece really get over my message in terms of what I want to achieve, not just what I want to say? A is for audience. Have I really understood the audience I'm writing for and does this text connect with their needs and drives? M is for media. Does this text (or script) work well for chosen medium? E.G. If it's web text, is it short, snappy and scannable? If it's for spoken speech, does it sound natural when I read it aloud? B is for benefits. If my writing needs to bring about some sort of change in the audience's behavior or perception, have I supplied them with sufficient reason to change? Have I made clear what's in it for them? A is for articulation. Have I chosen the right style and tone of voice to articulate my message? Am I sure the audience will understand every word? If the answer is "yes" to all those points and your word count is right for the space/time concerned, then you're unlikely to need much editing. If you answer "no" to one or more points, see if you can rectify the problem with a few small changes. If you can't, though, you may find it easier overall to start again with a complete rethink. The same applies if your text turns out to be way too long. Shortening your text I've always found that if I need to shorten my text by more than a bit I have to start removing content, and that's where the balance can go seriously wrong. If you need to reduce the length of a piece by more than about 20 percent, you'll do better to re-craft it from scratch - editing your thinking, rather than editing your words. That way your final piece of work will hang together far more effectively than if it's just a "shadow of its former self." Structure This is a pruning process and apart from the thorns is similar to pruning roses. Yes, you need to be quite radical at times in order to strip out dead wood and irrelevant suckers. But if you strip out too much you'll end up depleting the flowering potential, or even killing the plant. First, satisfy yourself that your message flows in the correct order. - Does it start by identifying clearly the key point of the piece?
- Does it provide convincing and accurate substantiation?
- Does it conclude and summarize the main issue?
- If relevant, is there a strong call to action?
Style Style will depend to a large extent on the audience you're writing to, but there are a few common denominators that apply pretty much across the board: - Take out any adjectives and adverbs that don't work genuinely hard
- Remove repetitive words, phrases and sentences
- Make sure each sentence flows logically into the next
- Make sure paragraphs and sections flow in logical sequence too
- Where appropriate use sub-headings to make text more readable and scanable
- Run a final spell check and double check homophones, etc., yourself
Edit from screen or printed page? No matter how satisfied I can be with a piece of writing onscreen, once I print it out I nearly always find further improvements to be made. I know other professional writers experience the same thing, but it could also be an age-related issue. Old goats like me who grew up with typewriters had our grounding with paper-based writing. That could be why we can "see" our work more easily that way. On the other hand my teenage son does his homework assignments on a computer and when he's editing and checking, he "sees" no difference between screen and paper. Personal preference prevails! Others' opinions If you're not a professional writer (and even if you are) it sometimes helps to show your work to someone else and ask their view. But be careful. People will often go to ridiculous lengths to find something in your writing to criticize, just because they feel it's expected of them. If you want a balanced opinion from a colleague/friend/family member/etc., don't hand them your writing and say "what do you think of this?" That suggests you're expecting them to be critical. Instead, say you'd like them to imagine they're the recipient of your writing. Recap to them the basis of your message - what you want and/or need to achieve with this piece of writing. Then ask them if, as the recipient, they would go along with your message. With this approach you almost certainly will get more than a "yes" or a "no." And if there are any negatives you can ask why. The answers will be less about your writing than about your thinking in the written piece, which is probably where it will have gone wrong anyway. Others' editing Sometimes your writing will have to be edited by others - e.g. senior colleagues - whether you like it or not. If this happens do not let it go to its final destination before you've had another good look at it. Even if the other people have tried to be careful in editing your work the fact that they didn't create it to begin with, means they're not as in tune with it as you are. If someone has made a change that really is nonsensical, change it back again, even if that someone was your boss. In the end, you're probably the one who will get into trouble if the mistake gets though, so look after your own interests. (And blame me if it goes wrong!) Last few editing tipz... Montréal based online copywriter Nick Usborne recommends this, and I agree totally! You can read more about Nick here: http://www.nickusborne.com "...cross out the first paragraph and start reading from paragraph two instead. What you'll often find is that very little is lost by scratching those first few lines ... How come? Because the writer was warming up. Lots of writers, myself included, throw a few words at the page just to get started. The experienced writer will then go back and cut away the ‘warm up' stage." And from me... Once you've finished your final text, leave it for a while, then go back and take another look. No matter how wonderful you think it is, you'll always find something to tidy up or improve on after you've had a good night's sleep or even a walk around the office and a quick cup of coffee. Don't start editing until you've finished writing the whole first draft. If you try to fiddle with your work as you go along you'll lose the momentum of your thinking.
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