I wrote yesterday about making corrections after publication, but obviously, your goal should be to reduce the errors in the first place. The better your editing skills, the less you will have to rely on readers to do your editing for you after publication. Plus, improving your self editing will strengthen your writing and lead to more lucrative freelance writing jobs.
These self editing tips can help freelance writers get it right the first time.
Give it a rest.
Your writing improves dramatically when you leave it alone for awhile and come back with fresh eyes. When you are writing to a deadline, it helps to write early so you will have time to let it rest before editing. If you are writing breaking news, you may not have the luxury of letting your work rest before you begin self editing, but for all other assignments it helps to give yourself a break.
Read your work aloud.
Reading aloud helps me find:
- Subject/verb disagreements
- Repetitive phrasing
- Awkward sentences which are technically correct on the page
Know your weaknesses.
If you are making the same mistakes repeatedly, create a customized checklist you use for self editing.
I know a writer who frequently confuses a few similar words. Spell check doesn’t help because the words are spelled correctly; they just aren’t correct for the usage. She now keeps a short list of her worst offenses near her desk and double checks for those words and their usage before she submits her articles.
I use that more often than necessary.
I slip into passive voice.
I write many sentences using the same structure.
When I am self editing, I look for these specific faults so I can strengthen my writing.
Verify name spellings.
I have heard everyone’s favorite sound is that of his own name. If so, I would argue everyone’s least favorite sight is that of his name misspelled.
Whitney and Anjelica do not spell their last names the same way. Neither do Jim and Drew. No matter how common a name may seem, double check the spelling (in my rough draft I spelled Ms. Huston’s first name as Angelica.) If you misspell someone’s name, you risk making public apologies on top of making corrections.
Taking the time to make your work perfect may not be feasible in a lighting fast internet environment, but your freelance writing career depends on your ability to avoid being sloppy. Learn the self editing tips that help you submit clean copy the first time so you won’t find yourself having to make many corrections (or apologies) after publication.
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I first learned about reading aloud from Mens With Pens. Thank you for bringing this excellent point again. I never bother to be an editing maniac. Now I realize that your writing is your calling card on the web. Your graffiti marker. The photograph of who you are. Just as if one wants to impress someone on the first date, we need to impress our readers by giving our best.
Griffin´s last [type] ..A Bad Case of the Ubuntu
Yes. And to carry the concept further, we can never be sure as time goes on which immature version of ourselves the reader will meet first.
Great article, thanks for sharing this. I have subscribed to your RSS feed and am looking forward to reading more from you.
Keep up the good work and don’t stop posting please.