No matter how you feel about the act of writing – a difficult chore with tons of roadblocks or you love it so much you can’t stop writing – having a second set of eyes on your creation is a good idea. I’ve been taking on more and more editing work. Many of the people I’ve edited for are experts in other fields like real estate, beauty industry or fitness gurus. I get to read the expert’s article before it’s published and I help them find what needs to be clarified.
As an editor, my goal is to cut away words and sentences that are not contributing to the overall message of the writing. Sometimes words just sit there taking up space instead of propelling the momentum or meaning of the piece. Today’s reader doesn’t have time to sift through paragraphs searching for the point.
Some of the top issues I edit for are:
- Logic flow
- Typos
- Grammar
- Unnecessary verbiage
- Flowery clichés not adding to the meaning
- Areas to condense and make concise
One of the experts I edited had this to say:
“You are AWESOME!!!
You have magic in your pen. I love your edits and greatly appreciate your work on this.”
I was relieved to be getting such positive feedback because I realize being edited can feel invasive like you’re under a microscope. But I made this writer feel comfortable, and she appreciated how the suggested changes made her look as a knowledgeable author. So before you hit “send” on an important email, newsletter or article, it really won’t hurt to have an editor take a look-see.
