Never-Editors

About Writing     |     The Hollow Man Series, International Espionage​

​

Some writers feel apprehensive about working with editors. As a result, writers place tremendous pressure on themselves to be both writer and editor. But all is not lost. Self-editing is a valuable skill to develop, even if hungry editors are welcomed guests. While editors bring their expertise and fresh perspective to the editing process, self-editing allows you to review and improve your own writing before seeking external feedback.

Remember that editing is a process of revision and refinement. Be open to making changes, reworking sentences or paragraphs, and even removing sections that don't serve the overall purpose or quality of your writing. Revision is an opportunity to strengthen your work.

Here are some tips for self-editing your work effectively:

After completing a draft, take some time away from your writing before starting the editing process. This break allows you to approach your work with a fresh perspective and a more critical eye. Start by examining the overall structure and organization of your piece. Ensure that your ideas flow logically and coherently. Check if your paragraphs and sections have a clear focus and support your message. Consider reordering or rearranging sections if necessary.

Read through your writing with an emphasis on clarity. Look for any sentences or phrases that are unclear or convoluted and revise them for better understanding. Eliminate unnecessary words or repetitions that may hinder the flow of your writing. Aim for concise and precise language to convey your ideas effectively.

Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Review your draft for common grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, and proper punctuation usage. Here is where you’ll want to rely on word processors with automatic spell-checking and at least some level of grammar inspection. Take a giant leap forward by utilizing tools such as Grammarly, ProWritingAid or similar real-time grammar checkers as you write.

Instead of trying to catch all errors and improvements in a single read-through, perform multiple editing passes. Each pass can focus on specific aspects, such as sentence structure, word choice, or consistency. This allows you to give thorough attention to each element of your writing. Breaking the editing process into smaller, manageable tasks can make it less overwhelming.

Reading your work aloud can help identify issues with sentence structure, awkward phrasing, or pacing. It allows you to hear how your writing flows and pinpoint areas that may need revision. Pay attention to the rhythm and cadence of your sentences as well.

While self-editing is valuable, getting feedback from others can provide fresh insights and perspectives. Share your work with trusted friends, writing groups, or beta readers. They will undoubtedly offer constructive criticism and suggestions for improvement.

Self-editing is beneficial by helping foregoing the embarrassment of rookie mistakes and other obvious errors. As we have seen, extensive self-editing is both necessary and gratifying at the same time for the never-editors group out there..