How These 3 Quick Tips Can Instantly Improve Your Editing
By: Danny Dunn
Tags: Writing, Content Writing, Writing Tips, Copywriting, Productivity

1 — Reread the piece later

Let what you wrote sit. It does wonders to create the space necessary for your brain to process the piece more objectively when you return to it. We tend to get tunnel vision from being too close to something and this method prevents that from happening.

In so doing, you’re also giving your brain permission to rest from, at least, this piece. Even if you are doing more writing apart from this, at least you can switch off the part of your brain that’s been thinking (and perhaps stressing) over it.

The ideal time frame may vary from writer to writer. 24 hours is a nice round number that seems to work best for me. Maybe the time you need is longer, maybe it’s shorter. It’s not about watching the clock to the minute, it’s about disengaging from the piece so you can be an effective critic of it when you return.

Don’t have nearly that much time because you work in an agency setting (or a similar fast-paced environment)? Once again, mentally stepping away from the piece is key. If you only have a few hours to work with, use that time wisely. Make a plan and stick to it. Start the piece in the morning, let it sit, then review and edit it in the afternoon.

2— Reread for the two types of editing

There are two kinds of edits — substantive and copyediting.

Substantive edits are edits that affect the flow of the piece, its general cohesion as a whole, the effectiveness or order of its arguments, and other areas relating to the substance of the piece, hence the name.

Copyediting is usually what we associate with editing, and this refers to the smaller details of punctuation, spelling, grammar, and so on.

We’re inclined to try and edit quickly and, in so doing, we tend to combine the two processes. This is less than ideal and causes your own brain to essentially overload and trip over itself.

Instead, break it down into two separate phases. Focus on the substance first. Ask yourself if the piece flows and what you might change to make it read more smoothly. Maybe the point you wanted to lead with would be better towards the end. Maybe you could cut out an entire paragraph (or two or three) because it doesn’t quite add to the piece.

Then, focus on your copyedits. Grammarly is great for this, but even if you don’t feel like using it (they have a free version which incorporates into Chrome, Word, and wherever else it intuitively makes sense to connect, so there’s little reason not to), at least run your piece through a spell checker.

3 — Reread the piece aloud and then backward

These two ways of rereading allow your brain to catch things you otherwise wouldn’t.

The most ideal thing would be to hand your writing to someone else, right? That way, they can read it and give you an objective answer about what works, what doesn't, and where you use the word “complimentary” instead of “complementary.”

But, you can’t always do that. This tip is last because it should be done after all the more obvious, important edits are already made.

By reading the piece aloud, you’re engaging a different part of your brain. As you vocalize the words, you perceive them differently, giving you insight into tiny details that may affect how it reads. It’s also useful for catching those silly errors that evaded all of your previous rounds of edits.

Reading it backward is also an option, but it tends to be more time consuming than reading the piece aloud. We don’t read backward, so this method forces your brain to set aside any preconceived notions about what’s next. When we do that, we tend to fill in words that might not be there or, if we’re familiar with a phrase, speed through it (causing us to miss a word that should have been edited out).